Erbil Kabob — Restaurant in Fairfax

My dining experience at Erbil Kabab in Fairfax, Virginia, was a delightful blend of flavors with a few minor hiccups along the way. Let's start with the positives: the food was undeniably delicious. Each dish, from the kababs to the mezze, was bursting with authentic flavors that transported me to the streets of the Middle East. The aroma alone was enough to whet my appetite, and the presentation was beautifully done.

However, there were a couple of areas where the meal fell short. The shawarma, while flavorful, was a tad on the dry side, which detracted slightly from its overall enjoyment. Additionally, the rice served with the main dishes was a touch too salty for my liking, making it slightly overwhelming when paired with the other dishes.

As for the service, while it wasn't bad per se, there is certainly room for improvement. The staff were polite and attentive, but there were moments where it felt like they could have been more proactive in attending to our needs. Perhaps a bit more training or organization could help elevate the level of service to match the quality of the food.

Overall, my experience at Erbil Kabab was a positive one, with delicious food serving as the highlight of the meal. With a few tweaks to address the dry shawarma, salty rice, and service improvements, this restaurant has the potential to become a true gem in the Fairfax...

Always ordered the whole chicken, drove 40+ minutes to get it, didn’t mind, not great service but good food made it worth it.

Had called in today for a late night order of the chicken, phone doesn’t pick up well on the road, first time get disconnected, second time no line, third time finally connects and I hear “WHAT?!?” on the other end. What the absolute hell kind of service is that, I ask if I can place an order he says the kitchen is closed fine I reply ok that’s fine but no need to pick up with “WHAT” he says that I was calling and hanging up on him. Why the heck would I be doing that, clearly if it dropped and I tried again I meant to order… I explained I didn’t hang up I wasn’t connecting he says he doesn’t care and rudely adds on more, pissing me off. No need for me to spend my money on a business that has no manners for its customers.

Being Asian and a food connoisseur, I’ve been to a lot of restaurants of different ethnicities. As long as the food is good and the service is bearable to a degree where it doesn’t cross over to rude, I don’t mind, I don’t expect all smiles. I get that there are a lot of cultural differences, nuances, and tones. But this was flat out rude and the guy wasn’t even open to listening to what had...

I was really excited about this place as my wife is from Al Basrah Iraq and we try and eat anyplace where there is Iraqi food.

I purchased the mixed kabob (iraqi kabob - mix of beef and lamb) ($22.99) and chicken chunks. The chicken was not great, but at least it was moist - it lacked seasoning and didn't taste like it was cooked over coal. The kabob had too much salt and had two bone shards in three bites. The salad was very poor and looks to be barely an afterthought, the humus tasted manly of tahini and was thin. The bread is great and this places saving grace.

I also had the Kibbeh Halab (11.99 for 3). It cracked when fried so was likely frozen, and because it cracked and was filled with oil. The flavor of the filling was also too sweet; tasted kinda like apple pie. Good Kibbeh is savory, and this wasn't good. (Making it uniform so it doesnt crack with the rice is really hard, but that's why it's so expensive) They also didn't give me any garlic sauce with any of the food - which is just un-Iraqi.

The young lady who helped me was wonderful, without her in this mix it would have been...