Kabab and Curry Restaurant - Indian and Pakistani Cuisine — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

Here's y review from October, 2023 --- Been here several times now and dinner service definitely isn't their strong suit... I say that because the times I've been during dinner, they seem to only have one server working the dining room, while the owner just hangs out behind the counter playing on his phone. It's tough for me, because I value service as much as the food, but I will say that they do an excellent job with their food!

I'm Pakistani, so I prefer Pakistani food over Indian food and this place definitely fits the bill! The depth of flavor is present, so is the menu and all the items they have on it! Their roti is on point, Karahi is nicely done, palack has a great texture and flavor too. Only issue with their food is their watered-down yogurt mint chutney, which really should be thicker.

I'll still give them 4 stars; even though their service is worth 2 stars, the food is worth 6 stars! This was my review from March, 2023 --- I absolutely love good Pakistani food (since I’m Pakistani) and when I was in the Pittsburgh area and heard there was a Pakistani/Indian place, I needed to try it! All the reviews are excellent about this place, which also hinted that it was worth trying, but I also understand that so many don’t understand the true Pakistani flavor and simply putting a masala in something makes people rave about it, but that doesn’t accurately represent its authenticity.

I came on a Friday night and they were very busy, but not packed. Service from the order taker (there’s table service, but after being seated, I literally waited 15 mins before she came back to take my order) was very slow. After placing my order, the food came out in decent time.

I opted for veggie biryani, roti, and chicken karahi. I asked for water to drink and they brought warm bottle of water, which I suppose it good. My order came out and I asked for chutney and got yogurt mint chutney which was watery, but the flavor was decent… it’s the type of chutney (tho too thin) I do prefer. The raita that came with the biryani was very bland and boring, only having red onions in it, no cucumber and no coriander. I asked for medium as a heat level of my biryani and hot as a heat level for my chicken karahi and both seemed medium. The kahari was actualy a more basic chicken curry, definitely didn’t resemble a chicken karahi I’ve ever had. Karahi has way more tomatoes in it and those offer a nice chunky texture, as well as a sweet note, curry doesn’t have this. What I got tasted and looked more like basic chicken curry. The roti was really nice, not the best I’ve had, but it was pretty legit. The biryani was also excellent. And their white rice had a fair amount of coriander added to it and it was truly basmati.

While eating, the manager came over to check on me and brought me some Sooji Halwa, which was decent… not as sweet as I’d prefer, but it was nice. I asked for some ras malai and they had it, so I ordered some and that tasted great (It’s one of my favorite desserts, period!). The only issue is the patties were tiny and they only give you two and it’s $6! That’s ridiculous as in the DC area you get 2 full size (like ¼ burger patty size) patties for that price.

Overall, the experience was decent, but far from the best I’ve ever had and I don’t know that it’s worthy of all the rave reviews it gets… that just tells me they need more Pakistanis in the area to open restaurants… though I feel this is a northern Indian place serving Panjabi style food, not Pakistani. Regardless, it’s the best I’ve had in the Pittsburgh area, so...

Feb 2024

Came with some friends who do not like spicy food, so we asked for the mild level. The food was delivered mild, but it was still very flavorful and our friends were very appreciative and enjoyed it.

Came for a second visit, and while it was not quite as successful as our first, it was still very good. Probably due to our selection of dishes. Also, perhaps, maybe someone else was cooking the night we stopped in? We noticed a much milder spice level even though we asked for everything to be medium?

Nonetheless, all of my comments from below still stand. See new pictures for the new dishes that we tried on this visit.

My friends and I really enjoy the flavors of Indian cooking. As also know that there is a wide variety and regional differences on that sub-continent and it is not that easy to find those differences in most Indian restaurants in the United States, or in Pittsburgh. Kabab and Curry has the tagline of offering Indian / Pakistani tastes and also lists Punjabi style dishes on their menu so we decided we would give them a try … we are sure glad we did!

To do a fair comparison, we ordered some dishes that are standard fare in any Indian restaurant but also asked the hostess what she would recommend as representing the most authentic tastes of the Punjab region that they cook in their restaurant. We were asked what spice level we preferred? We asked for Medium which was just right for us, as it was spicier than most places – on a par with a 6 or 7 at most Thai places. We ended up with the following:

The traditional appetizer of Samosas was done a bit differently here. Normally it is served with mashed potatoes and peas. Here we got more cubed potatoes. It was tasty and clearly the dough was folded in the kitchen before being fried. It was served with Tamarind Chutney and the flavor was a bit different – maybe a bit more acerbic than most Samosas we’ve had before. Not bad, just a bit different.

For the different appetizer we tried the Aloo Tikki Chaat. This was chunks of Potato that normally come as fried fritters, but here they were crumbled up and mixed in with a yogurt and tamarind sauce. This led it slight creamy and sour notes. Two of us liked this treatment. The others did not.

For the traditional main dish, we tried the Chicken Makhani or Butter Chicken. This was done well and we all like it. It was definitely spicier than the norm and the flavor profile was different than the norm as well. None of us could tell exactly what was different, and we all liked what they did, but there was just something different in their combination of spices. The other traditional dish we tried was the Aloo Sabzi Masala. This one featured corn in it. That was a surprise as none of us had ever seen corn in Indian cooking before. Again, very tasty, and again, somewhat different in the flavor profile.

The Punjabi dish we tried was called Chicken Haleem which was a soupy stew with shredded chicken in it. This was probably our least favorite dish even though it was still good. It just did not stand up to the flavors of everything else that we had on our table.

Of course, no Indian meal is complete without some bread and we tried the Garlic Naan and Gobi Paratha. Both were good, but nothing unique to say about either.

Service was great. Both the hostess and the woman who brought the food from the kitchen area were very accommodation and made sure we lacked for nothing. They answered our questions and curiosity with a smile. For all that food, including tip, we ended up spending less that $35 per person and had...

Ordered delivery on a whim. I got the samosas, chicken kofta with chana (chickpeas), and kheer (rice pudding). The cost was moderately high in terms of portion per dollar, so I wouldn't say it's the greatest bang for your buck but the food is definitely good.

Their kheer is definitely the best kheer I have ever had. It's super creamy, luscious, and indulgent. You can barely feel the rice, that's how smooth it is! I thought they had a fair portion for the pudding. There weren't too many nuts, raisins, etc to detract from the rice itself, which I prefer.

Samosas were a great size and moderately crispy, not too oily as well. I think they were a bit too spicy for my taste. However, they had a good ratio of peas and other vegetables to potatoes. The sauce that came along with the samosa was a great balance of sweet and savory, with a little kick and a nice plum flavor.

The chicken kofta with chana was the item that seemed a little small for $15. There were around 4 meat balls, which were definitely flavorful and quite good. They were still juicy even after waiting for the delivery driver. It's served with a portion of rice. The mild option still has flavor. I would have liked more chana, though. The ginger was an interesting add to the dish. I believe they add ginger to all their entrees.

Overall, I recommend it if you're craving Indian food and are in the Dormont/South Hills area. They have many unique dishes, such as haleem and paya, that aren't available in other Indian restaurants.

Edit: Just saw the response from the owners and I think it is only fair to update the review since the issue with pricing comes primarily from the high fees associated with delivery and not the...