Kabuli Grill — Restaurant in New York

We were genuinely excited to try this place after seeing it all over Instagram — the food looked amazing, and we figured Eid would be the perfect time for a family outing. There were only five of us, and we showed up around 10:45 PM — yes, it was a bit late, but still well over an hour before closing. That should’ve been plenty of time for a normal dining experience. Instead, what we got was just… a mess.

From the start, things went downhill. We were craving the lamb shank, a qorma, and a few grilled meat options. The server said they were out of kofta and lamb shank but would go check to be sure. Fair enough. When she returned, we placed our order: chicken, lamb chops, chapli kabab, lamb tikka, and lamb qorma.

Then she came back — again — and suddenly half our order was no longer available. Now, only the qorma, chicken, and lamb chops were supposedly available. On top of that, they didn’t even have the Kabuli topping. Already frustrated, we adjusted our order again. And guess what? A little while later, she returns to say they’re also out of qorma. At this point, we’re wondering: what did she even check the first time? Why was this all being revealed to us in frustrating, slow-motion waves?

We finally settled on bolani kachalu, mantu (which we ordered as appetizers), chicken, lamb chops, and fish. When we asked about drinks, she said they were out of mocktails and only had soda and water. A little disappointing, but we tried to roll with it.

Then the food started arriving — and with it, a whole new round of letdowns. The salad was basic, and the sauces were in tiny bowls that were laughably small for a table of five. We had to keep asking for refills, and it took forever each time. Then came the bread: it was cold, stiff, and dry. Not even room temperature — like it had been sitting out for hours. Naturally, we asked if they could warm it up.

The server took it back, and then disappeared. A long while passed. No bread. We finally asked if it had been forgotten, and she said, “No, it’s being warmed — it just takes time.” Um… okay? Are we slow-roasting this naan or what? Eventually, she brought the bread back — and it was still cold. Not even kind of warm. Not toasted. Not soft. Just sad, cold, chewy bread again. It was honestly laughable at that point — like a restaurant prank show.

As for the rest of the meal: the bolani was flavorless and doughy, the potato filling clearly old — dry, crumbly, and lacking any herbs or seasoning. The mantu we ordered as appetizers never showed up. When we reminded the server during the main course, she said she’d bring it. Spoiler: she didn’t. When we were literally leaving, we mentioned it to the owner, who handed us a cold box of mantu in a foil takeaway container. No garnish, no sauce, no apology — just vibes.

Most of the food was meh at best. The chicken was the one highlight — tender and juicy. But everything else? Bland. Massive portions of plain rice, barely any meat. And the fish? Spoiled. We had to send it back. Not even slightly questionable — it smelled and tasted off, and that’s just unacceptable.

And then, the cherry on top: while we were eating, we saw another table getting mocktails. The same mocktails we were explicitly told were not available. We asked the owner why we were told they were out — and her response? “Oh, maybe we were busy then.”

First of all — you weren’t. When we arrived, there were maybe 2 or 3 other tables occupied. It wasn’t some dinner rush chaos. So that excuse made zero sense. How does being “busy” explain straight-up lying to a customer about what’s available on your menu?

Between the chaotic service, the cold stale bread situation, the missing items, and the general weird energy of being fed partial truths all night, it was just an incredibly frustrating and disappointing experience.

Save yourself the trouble and just go to Sami’s. At least there, when you order food, they actually bring it — and it’s warm....

Went to this place with high hopes for Eid. Actually cancelled another reservation elsewhere to come here because of all the good reviews. Unfortunately, it was a really disappointing and embarrassing experience.

We had a party of 9. We were sat in the back room, there were other families there as well. It was like a banquet space, half the room was lit up the other half was dark. Felt makeshift. There weren’t enough chairs around the table, so my husband and I went and personally grabbed them from another table. It was freezing cold inside, all my guests kept their jackets on. There were no plates no utensils on the table itself, it was bare. When all of us were finally seated, the very nice server (which was the only only good part of this place) gave us take-out menus to order. Take out menus for a nice place like this? I know people are coming here to celebrate things, take out menus are not it for even medium-end places. We placed our order with the nice server. Turned out they were out of ALL the appetizers, and only had water and canned sodas, no other drinks. 1 basket of bread, 1 container of sauces were brought out for a huge table to be passed around. We saw another table get their order of fries, onion rings and other fried stuff. they looked very disappointed and left in the middle without touching their food.

Our food arrived 45mins later and it was cold. And then the waiting game began for plates and utensils. The nice server grabbed us 2 plates then we waited for 7. Until they forgot? We approached another server (she was extremely rude, probably overworked) and asked for plates, to which she replied if you can find one then eat. What???? Then she walked down the hall saying other stuff and having a really mean attitude. We have to go search for our own plates?? We sat and waited, and waited. Our food got colder. And the plates finally came. I was ready to leave by this point. Lamb chops were over done. The kofta kebabs were the only good thing. I served cold food for dinner to my guests. The whole experience was Super embarrassing as a host myself. Wasn’t asked about dessert. Had to get up and personally go ask for a container and the check. Overall a very very disappointing experience. We spent $300 and it was not worth a single penny sadly. Most definitely never coming back here again. My guests themselves said they would never come back here again. More embarrassment. I understand it’s a new place, but please dont over extend yourself then. Take as much as...

I also own a restaurant which is why i want to leave this review. The place is built out very well with a nice modern atmosphere. The spanish server is kind and patient. But the food is where this place needs work. For starters the appetizer recommend for a large party is the Kabuli platter which has an afghan name but the food comes out of a chinese buffet. No reason for an afghan spot to be selling onion rings, calamari, coconut shrimp and chicken nuggets as a recommended appetizer. The order came missing the samosas and wings which didn’t arrive until after the main course was brought out. Samosas were more like polish pirogies and wings were excessively spicy. Bread was served cold straight from the kitchen and we ordered 3 manti which 2 arrived piping hot and 1 was bare cold. We had a party of 10 but for some reason one person received his order in 10 mins and the rest of our party had to wait about 25 mins. He was done with his food by the time everybody else received their order. Lamb shank was served unevenly cooked and lamb chops were undercooked. Chicken breast platter was actually pretty tasty but was served with only rice and chicken nothing else. White sauce is given upon request in very small quantities even if you are a large party; we had to ask several times for more. They also didn’t have any drinks available only water and soda. The place is fairly new but still by now the flow should be established and food should be coming out consistent. Best of luck to them as...