Wakha Restaurant — Restaurant in Dubai

Contrary to popular belief, Shinwari cuisine is not Afghan cuisine, it is the cuisine of North Western part of Pakistan. You know, the worst part about Pakistani restaurants in general is the customer service. But Wakha, wins by a mile when it comes to customer service. The waiters were very polite, greeted us with a whole-hearted Assalam o Alaikum. I felt very happy with the way they welcomed me, believe me, food tastes better with good customer service! So we ordered, Shinwari lamb karahi and a platter of assorted barbecued items with such a delicious serving of kabuli pulao. Don't know why fellow Pakistanis complain about lamb meat having a stench, I find that smell sweet and it speaks of the fact that the food being cooked is healthy. Best thing about them is that they cook fresh meat, displayed right infront of us. It is totally clear that wakha management keeps hygiene on priority. The meat was clean, and the place where the meat was being grilled was spick and span! Yes, of course they'll take their time to cook, why wouldn't they? We're talking about freshly cut meat here, not frozen and partially prepared gravy from before. Each dish is cooked from the scratch. And the food is worth the wait. Shinwari lamb karahi is paradise! Not gonna criticize, just gonna advise a little to add more tomatoes to the mix to have more gravy, and don't forget to always ask the customer whether they want chillis or not. People with taste buds like mine are only looking for the pure taste of the meat cooked in the fat. No spices, no mirch masala. I don't like spices and chillis at all, and I am sure many others don't like that either, and the sohbat was quite spicy than it should be. I'd recommend to cut down on the spices. Either way, Shinwari cuisine is supposed to be healthy food. Green tea is a must to help digest the high energy food. I would be a regular at wakha, if it isn't that much expensive. But i am very sure that this type of quality food is worth all the bucks! May Allah reward you guys with more success, team...

Afghani Cuisine is one of my favorites and I am up for a Kadhai and Naan anytime. I recently went for dinner at the new Jumeirah Branch of Wakha and was so happy to finally dine in instead of ordering in. We sat outdoors because the weather was amazing.

We were offered fresh juices and I ordered one with a mix of Orange and Pomegrenate. The juice was fresh, without sugar and balanced out the spices of the meal.

We were served their Wakha Platter which is their version of Mixed Grill and it was served with their famous kabuli rice. The kebabs were right out of the grill with Meat and Chicken options. The dish was good for 3-4 adults. I loved how tender the meats were and I could taste the spices in each and every bite.

We then tried their Lamb Shinwari Kadhai which was my favorite specially with the fresh hot naans. The kadhai was tomato based with spices and green chillies.

We finished off the meal with their Kahwa & Sheesha which settled in so much food perfectly.

All their staff were so hospitable and served us very well.

Taste: 5/5

Ambience/Decor: 3/5

Service: 5/5

Value...

We are loyal customers of Wakha, been coming for few years, almost twice a month but they are slowly loosing the touch now. Jumeriah place looks tired and in need of a major renovation.

The major issue is quality of service though, it is deteriorating each time I visit. They have so many staff but you will not find anyone to order, you will have ask them to take order. Menus are old and torned apart. There is no one to order if you need an extra naan. The service staff moves intentionally without looking at customers so they don't have to interact or take orders. Literally there are so many people but no service. They will be doing their stuff or sometimes even talking but will not attend to customers.

I would like to give 1 star due to this bad level of service but we love their food and cannot do it. I already raised this complaint twice with them but seems to be zero change so have to resort to this public review in hope of some positive changes. We hate to see one of our favourite restaurants dying due to such service levels. Hoping owner takes notice and...