Kabul Afghan Cuisine — Restaurant in San Carlos

This is my first experience eating Afghani food, and I wasn't sure what to expect. I got a takeout order, but I guess it was up to me to say that I was going to be eating it by myself and I needed some utensils, because they gave me nothing but my food which was kind of a shock when I got back to my hotel room. 😕 Thankfully, the front desk of the hotel knows this kind of thing happens and they had some spares for me.

I wanted to try Quabili Pallaw as I'd read that was the classic Afghani dish. I didn't want lamb, so they helpfully suggested I order it without meat then get an order of Kabab-E-Gaw. It also came with some bread.

The portion sizes were quite large, and dishes are definitely meant to be shared. I should have asked if they did half orders, or what they might recommend for a single diner, because sadly I had to throw out quite a bit of food.

The food itself was surprisingly lacking in flavor. Again, I had never eaten this kind of food before, so I have nothing to compare it to. But typically I would expect some kind of spice or flavoring to be added, but it was incredibly bland.

The stewed beef was very high quality meat, and very tender, but it tasted like what I would get in an Irish stew, which was quite surprising. It should be very flavorful based on how it looked, but it really wasn't. The bread was fresh and warm, but bland. The rice with carrots and raisins was good, but lacking in much flavor.

It could be that I simply ordered the wrong thing to try out Afghani food for the first time, and it also could be that this restaurant is amazing for the type of food they serve, but I can't say that I will seek out this kind of food again based on this experience. Still, I'm glad I...

Kabul has always been one of my favorite restaurants. I even wrote a five star review here. But I had the most unfortunate experience this evening.

I went to pick up my order. I noticed a sign on the table by the entrance that read to ring to bell for pick up or take out orders. So I did. The man approached me and growled, "So you like ringing bells???" It caught me off guard so asked, "I'm sorry, I don't understand." So he repeated it again and added, "... I mean you saw me coming and you rang the bell." I told him I didn't know if he was a customer or the manager. Then he proceeded to ask, "Can I ask you a personal question? Where does that name come from?" I just said it's Arabic and wanted to quickly get out of there. He seemed bothered by that answer too and rolled his eyes.

I too worked in customer service many years ago and I know it can be daunting. So I'm understanding of mistakes with orders and all. But rudeness? Absolutely inexcusable! If you're bothered by the sound of a bell, then maybe don't have a sign that requires people to ring it. There was ABSOLUTELY no reason for him to be callous and obnoxious. I've never experienced being greeted like this before from any place I'm receiving service from. But regardless, you just don't treat people that way! I don't know what possess people to just be rude for no apparent reason. Maybe he's culturally predisposed to treating Muslim women like subhuman where...

The location is not the greatest, the decor is a little tacky and worn, but the food and service are excellent. But, then again, if they were located in a fancy building instead of a shopping complex, and if the decor were modern instead of dated, the prices would be much higher.

We didn't know what to order so we asked help from our server and he happily obliged us. We ordered 3 appetizers and each one was great. Didn't realize Afghan food was so yogurt heavy!

We then had a brief and interesting conversation with one of the servers - an older, Afghani gentleman who also helped us selecting an entree. The entree was their signature lamb kebab and it was simply perfect. Nicely seasoned, perfectly grilled on the outside yet soft and tender on the inside with a perfect pink color. The accompanying rice pilaf and bread were great too.

Dessert was baklava and the firnee. Both were served immediately as they're pre-made. Unlike many other places where the baklava is greasy and syrupy this one was was nice and crisp but not overwhelmingly sweet. The firnee was well set and, again, not overwhelmingly sweet.

Overall, an excellent dining experience and would 10/10 repeat it if I felt the craving for...