Mechanicsburg BBQ Lahori Kabab Restaurant- Mechanicsburg — Restaurant in Hampden Township

I've been ordering from Zahra for around a year at the recommendation of a co-worker. I travel to Harrisburg a lot for work, and the food at Zahra is good; however, after one of the employees (who could possibly be the owner) treated me today, I will not be returning in the future. I brought another one of my co-workers in today to order dinner to go and we were greeted by a man (presumably an employee or the owner). My co-worker had some questions about the spices and I was deciding whether to order from the Indian food menu or some of the restaurant's other offerings. During the entire conversation, the employee was complaining about his online reviews and that all of his food offerings were fresh. We ordered for takeout and waited at one of the tables; my co-worker was sitting and I was standing. The employee came over and told me to take a seat in a condescending tone. I asked him what the issue was and he told me that I was "scaring" the customers. I politely took a seat out of respect for his wishes, confused as to why he would act like that towards me, especially after spending money on food at his business. Once our food came out, I asked the employee off to the side to ask why he reacted like that (he could be having a bad day). He immediately got defensive and said he had to help another customer (not true) and I wanted to speak to him away from the other customers not wanting to make a scene. He reluctantly came to the side and I told him that his behavior was unacceptable and that if he wanted better reviews online, he had better start showing his customers more respect. The employee talked about some "incident" he had with another customer and quickly gestured me towards the door as if he was escorting me out. I have eaten at a lot of Middle Eastern restaurants, and never have I been treated with such disrespect. I work in client services and would never treat a respectful customer in the manner that this employee or owner treated me, but yet the employee/owner attempted to portray me as a gangster looking to cause trouble. My advice for the employee or owner is that food and customer service go hand-in-hand and that treating his customers right will ultimately lead to better reviews and will be beneficial for his business. Attempting to paint all customers as troublemakers will alienate his customer base and turn other people away. In conclusion, the employee never apologized and in my opinion, the service I received today was subpar. I will not be returning in the future.

UPDATE: It looks like the employee I spoke to at the restaurant was indeed the owner, and he left a comment on my review accusing me of fabricating my review. Instead of worrying about your reviews all the time, maybe you should serve your customers better. Instead of attacking the integrity of your customers with your responses, you ought to take a look at your integrity and the way you treat others. Unfortunately, it seems like I might not have been the first person who was treated badly at your...

This is a nice little place. We visited for the first time and ordered a variety of items to try. The young girl who waited on us (counter service only) was nice and friendly in trying to explain what the difference was between certain entrees we asked about. The food arrived hot and fresh. The vegetable and chicken samosas were delicious! We wanted the platters listed on the menu but were told they didn't have them and that the Tandoori mixed grill replaces them (at a much higher cost). We were also told they were out of Saag, so we ordred the Goat Karahi. That was delicious! The meat fell off the bone and of course, the basmati rice is always my favorite rice! The garlic Naan was good, but not great and seemed old. The mixed grill was large and plentiful that we couldn't finish and took the rest home. We also sampled a dessert which appeared to be a rich, creamy, sweet type of rice pudding. A few hours later when going to finish the meal, I noticed the larger piece of Tandoori chicken was still raw in the center and smelled bad. I did return the next day to advise what happened and I was given another well done piece to take home. I don't think we'll be coming back to this establishment in the future based on the hesitation of the gentleman who waited on me when I returned to advise about the raw chicken (with photo evidence, as well as our receipt), as the girl who waited on us the day before wasn't there. He seemed to think I was lying and in disbelief about the raw chicken when it was clearly raw in the photo. Although I truly appreciated being given a new piece of chicken, that is all that was offered. If I had not accepted it, nothing else was offered. I feel that a partial reimbursement or even a discount on a future meal would have...

I've been to Zahra several times now over the past few months. While I cannot speak to how this restaurant was in years past what I have experienced has been nothing short of delicious. Even better, the prices are extremely reasonable most hovering around $11 a plate.

My most recent visit I ordered the Chicken Kofta which was the special for the day and my girlfriend ordered the chicken seekh kebab platter. Both were very tasty. The kebab platter came with a heaping portion of rice and a great creamy garlic sauce on the side. The kofta, which is meatballs in a spicy gravy, came with a large side of rice and plenty of naan for dipping. If kofta is the special for the day I highly recommend getting it. They don't have it all the time and it's always worth ordering when it's available.

The staff has always been extremely friendly and responsive. I've not lacked for anything when I've been there.

The only negative I could possibly say about this gem of a place is that the food can sometimes take a longer then average time to come out when they have a lot of orders to process at once. I've never felt like the food took too long, though, and the staff has always made sure I was well taken care of if there was a delay.

If you enjoy Indian/Pakistani food, or are just looking for a good meal at a good price you can't go...