Khyber Pass Kabob — Restaurant in Dublin

Late one Friday night we were redirected us to Khyber Pass. Our original intention was to head down to Fremont to an Afghani restaurant known for good food and terrible service. But Khyber Pass was such a breath of fresh air, and beat the rest of the well known Afghani restaurants hands down in every category.

Service - Gotta start here because the service was so good we were almost laughing. We had been used to other Afghani restaurant's waitresses avoiding eye contact and forcing you to have to run them down just to get your order taken. Tonight at Khyber Pass we had three different people ask if our order was taken (just to be sure), bread brought promptly, and water glasses constantly refilled. Our waitress Katrina (blond hair) after hearing it was out first time at KB gave us numerous thoughtful suggestions. When we mentioned how much we enjoyed her suggested appetizer of Mantu (Afghan styled dumplings, stuffed with ground beef, onions and spices, topped with yoghurt sauce and split peas) and that we were going to save some for our son, she ran back to the kitchen and brought us another order in a take-out box.... for free! Seriously?! Later after the restaurant closed at 9:30 numerous latecomers headed out obviously disappointed. We saw the manager run back out to the parking lot and invite them all in to eat. We stayed chatting with the owner Sultana and the wait staff until 11:00. Quite the family feeling which was a nice change of pace.

Food - Excellent in every way. I ordered the" Beef Tikka Kabob" with tri -tip that was well marinated and perfectly charred. Many kebobs can be dry and tough but these were moist and tender with a flavorful seasoning. My wife ordered the "Quabili Pallow" with a lightly seasoned lamb just falling off the shank, and the blend of raisin and carrots adding just the right amount of sweetness to the browned basmati rice.

Ambiance - Clean and nicely decorated with a raised group seating area in the back. KB is in an old strip mall, but parking is plentiful and the seating comfortable.

Owner - Sultana and her husband and family (niece is the bubbly waitress with the big smile) keep this restaurant feeling family owned without being too cliquish. When Sultana heard that it was our first time, she pulled up a chair and said we had to try a dessert she just made called "Firni" (Afghan pudding with milk, rosewater, cardamom, slices of almonds, and pistachios). Note that this is AFTER we already paid our bill! She meven suggested some nice hot teas to go with the "Firni" and gestured over to Katrina to bring some our way. Though we were full the home made dessert and tea was a great way to finish off the meal. Don't expect to get free stuff like we did, but expect to be treated like royalty.

Khyber Pass will now be one of our East bay go-to restaurants, and justly deserves all the Yelp...

It is in an old, unappealing, run-down strip mall. Despite this, Khyber Pass Kabob is one of the most authentic Afghani restaurants in the Bay Area. Established on July 2012, Khyber Pass Kabob is a family-run business that serves a wide variety of kabobs and traditional Afghani dishes. The owner of the restaurant is “grateful for the opportunities that Allah and America have given her.” The atmosphere of Khyber Pass Kabob is set as a traditional Afghan home surrounded with indigenous decor. Toward the back of the restaurant, there is a painting of a young Afghan girl, who was kidnapped. The owner of the restaurant told us the symbolism behind the painting, is freedom. There is a stage located on the right side, where people have to remove their shoes before entering, and they have to sit on the floor to eat. This is a great way to experience a genuine Afghan meal. Many people praise Khyber Pass Kabob for their fresh food. For the appetizers, there is a complimentary flat bread offered with a mild red chutney as well as a spicier green chutney made of cilantro, green pepper, vinegar and some other seasonings. A salad is also served that consists of tomato, cucumber, onion and a bit of mint. The eggplant borani and bolani is one of Kyber Pass Kabob’s signature dishes due to the skill needed to make this dish. For entrees beef kabobs and Quablili Pallow (lamb shank) are the most popular dishes. The kabobs are grilled with a tad bit of char lines around them. All of the meat that is served in the restaurant is Halal, meaning it is permissible in Islam. To end the Afghan journey, baklavas are wonderful treats for dessert topped with ground cardamom. Khyber Pass Kabob is an amazing restaurant with hospitable waiters, authentic dishes, and traditional décor. It is highly recommended that you check out Khyber Pass Kabob located in Dublin on...

I was excited to see “Brown Rice” on the menu. I need to eat healthy and I’m diabetic so I really appreciate it when a restaurant has brown rice. I ordered the lamb kabob with brown rice. I was served white rice with seasoning. The restaurant seems to think it’s OK to call seasoned white rice, “brown rice”. I felt mislead and frustrated. It took them a little while to make my meal despite me being the only person in the restaurant at the time. They cook it after you order which is fine but I had only allotted a certain amount of time and could not wait for them to replace it with something. However, they did offer to replace it with salad. The cook came out and explained how it's OK to eat the white rice because they rinse the starch out of it. They proved they don't understand or know health. White rice turns to sugar very quickly and can be dangerous for diabetics. Rinsing it does not change this. Again, misleading.

When I walked into the restaurant it appeared empty. I waited a bit and the lady in back finally noticed me. After waiting a while for the check I decided to just get up and walk to the counter so I could pay and leave. The food was certainly better than average. I just can’t get past the brown rice thing. They really need to change their menu. I research restaurants before I go and I felt this was false advertising. It’s also a new one on me. I’ve never been to a restaurant that had a different definition of brown rice. It also cost $18. That’s way too much for lunch.

Unfortunately, I will...