Kebabs & Kurries By Dhaba — Restaurant in Fairfield

WALKED INTO KEBABS & KURRIES LIKE A DETECTIVE ON THE TRAIL OF A HIDDEN GEM—EMPTY DINING ROOM, CURIOUSLY HIGH RATING, SKEPTICISM LEVEL: MAX. BUT OH, MY SUSPICION WAS ABOUT TO BE MELTED INTO A CURRY-SCENTED REVERIE.

STARTED WITH THE PAPDI CHAAT, AND GOOD LORD—THIS WAS NO APPETIZER, THIS WAS A GODDAMN CULINARY SONNET. CRUNCHY, CREAMY, SWEET, SPICY, SOUR—IT WAS LIKE THE ENTIRE CAST OF FLAVOR CHARACTERS BURST ONSTAGE AT ONCE, DELIVERING SHAKESPEAREAN MONOLOGUES THROUGH POTATOES, ONIONS, YOGURT, AND THAT GLORIOUS PANI PURI. A MASTERPIECE.

DRINKS? SAY LESS. MY ROSE LASSI (AKA ROOH AFZA LACED ELIXIR OF THE DIVINE) THREW ME INTO A NOSTALGIA-INDUCED SPIN CYCLE, BACK TO INDIA, BACK TO CHILDHOOD, BACK TO EVERYTHING GOOD. MY MOM'S MASALA LASSI? SHE SIPPED, SHE NODDED, SHE ASCENDED. "PERFECTION," SHE SAID—AND THAT WOMAN DOESN’T THROW PRAISE AROUND LIGHTLY.

THEN CAME THE ENTREES. THIS IS WHERE THE SPECTACLE STAGGERED SLIGHTLY. CHICKEN? FLAWLESS VICTORY. MOIST, TENDER, BATHED IN GLORY. THE DAL? FLAMES. FLAVOR. A HUG FROM AN AUNTIE YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IN YEARS. NAAN? LIKE EATING CLOUDS WITH YOUR HANDS.

BUT THE PANEER. OH, THE PANEER. WHAT HAPPENED? A BOLD MISSTEP IN AN OTHERWISE CHOREOGRAPHED DANCE. RUBBERY AT FIRST BITE, CURRY A TAD BITTER, LIKE SOMEONE WHISPERED A MISANTHROPIC SECRET INTO THE GRAVY. IT GOT BETTER AS I ATE, BUT STILL—HOW DO YOU TRIP OVER PANEER?

SO, YES—FOUR STARS. NOT FIVE. BECAUSE TRUTH MATTERS. BUT DO NOT LET THAT DETRACT FROM THE WONDERLAND THAT AWAITS YOU HERE. THIS PLACE? STILL A REVELATION. STILL A RENAISSANCE. STILL WORTHY OF YOUR TIME, YOUR TASTE BUDS, AND YOUR MOST FERVENT EMOJIS. JUST... MAYBE...

This was the WORST service I have ever experienced at a restaurant. We went there for a dinner tonight, where we ordered several dishes. Our Food arrived late, the entrees arrived later than the naan — even thought, it’s clear you need naan to eat the entrees; Water was barely served, we only had 1 bottle provided between 5 people and the refill only happened after asking 10 times!! When requested to expedite, waiter kept saying “10 more minutes” every time we asked him. We ended up finishing our kebabs without naan & requested the waiter to cancel the incoming entree and naans. The waiter confirmed the cancellation, yet brought 5 naans 5 minutes later. When we questioned, why did you bring the naan as we no longer need it due to the delay — the manager came by and started arguing. Rather than resolving the situation, he insisted that we pay for everything including the naans & an entree that we cancelled due to the long delay. The manager kept yelling, “we can’t take a loss” — finally after going back and forth in front of other customers, he apologized and said “it’s okay” & provided us with the bill without the dishes which we never even ate! I have never in my life experienced such service in any restaurant, where we had to keep asking for things. I’m not sure how this place received 4.7 stars, if there was a negative option, I’d even give that. It’s Friday night, it’s apparent that it will be busy yet this owner had two people running the show — one who can barely understand English and the other who’s supposedly a manager but has 0 customer service skills....

2025:

This was one of the worst dining experiences I’ve had. We ordered regular hot and sour soup but were served something completely off — it had a sour, vinegary taste and croutons was old and dry up. We had to call the chef to the front just to point it out. Shockingly, he admitted he’d been serving it all day and knew it wasn’t right, yet continued to serve it anyway.

Despite their clear mistake, they still charged us, which we didn’t argue over — but it shows a lack of accountability.

The Hakka noodles were no better. They tasted like someone had just sprinkled black or white pepper or plain chili powder on top to make it spicy — not flavorful at all. We had to specifically complain and clarify everything to ensure the rest of our main course was even edible.

As for the rumali roti — it’s supposed to be made with maida (refined flour), but theirs was a mix of maida and wheat flour, which completely changed the texture and taste.

Too many regrets from this visit. Definitely not going back.

Old Review (2022):

It was a good experience not a great experience.. not consistent in the food/drinks. We ordered buttermilk twice but both time was different second time it was super salty so we had ask them to redo.. which was not properly.. just added more water on the top but at bottom masala was same.. Momos was okay won’t recommend. It wasn’t authentic was served with some random chutney. Order was coming randomly even though we ordered everything together in second round. Manager/Employee need to work on this. Practice more. Overall it...