Kababi Cafe by Kuluck — Restaurant in Sunrise

I'd never been to a Persian restaurant before, so I really didn't know what to expect. We started with a couple of the yogurt dips and lavosh. The dips were both good, but I preferred the one with the shallots over the one with the cucumbers. The bread was very thin, warm and had a toasty flavor that I really liked.

I've had kabobs, but not like this. I was expecting the ones with chunks of meat and vegetables, but that's not what they do here. These were all meat. For my entree, I ordered the yellow split pea stew. It is a concoction of split peas and beef in a gravy. It had lots of peas, but was pretty short on beef. The beef was not as tender as it could have been, but the flavor of the dish was wonderful. It came with a hefty side of delicious basmati and saffron rice to soak up the gravy. I also tried one of the beef kabobs. Again, this was not what I was expecting. Instead of the beef being in chunks, it was spiced ground beef that had been formed around the skewer to grill. I liked the seasoning, it was kind of like a Swedish meatball. Two skewers made a nice size serving for two meals.

There were a couple of people that ordered the falloodeh for dessert and let us try samples of that. This is a really different experience. It's frozen rice noodles served in a syrup of rosewater. It comes with a side pitcher of lemon juice and another one of cherry syrup. I first tried it plain, which was like slurping up a very sweet, frozen rose. Then I tried it with the lemon and the cherry, which made it a very interesting combination that was deliciously different.

My only quibble with Kababi was that the service was very slow.....it was just short of two hours when we got our food, and we were about ready to order a pizza. That being said, the wait staff was very nice. They were quite helpful about taking photos of the entire group, taking time to get everyone in the shot.

There is also a pastry case that looked very intriguing for another visit. I'd like to sample my way from one end to the other - pastry is my weakness.

So, if you're looking for something totally different and you aren't in a hurry, this would be a great place to check out. One other bonus....they very frequently have a Groupon offer. That's always a...

I came to Kababi Cafe for Sunday buffet last week and it was okay.

The atmosphere and service was a 10/10. Very friendly staff and they were attentive. The place is large so you don't feel overwhelmed and had a lounge type feel since there was a stage for live music.

The buffet items weren't bad but they weren't great either. A bit more variety would make it excellent.

They had prepared salads, Cesar and garden but the Cesar salad wasn't dressed and didn't taste like Cesar salad since it had tomatoes but it was tasty.

The chicken salad needs seasoning. It had seasoning but you couldn't taste it.

The veggies were very nice but it would be helpful to label which ones were pickled and which ones weren't. There was mint and radishes but as a non Persian, I have no idea which dishes those accompany.

The hummus and pita bread was 10/10 and the grape leaves were the best I ever had.

They had falafel pizza which was dry and over cooked. 😕 The waffle fries were yummy and the beef dishes (beef in green sauce and beef in split peas) were excellent.

The carrot rice was tasty but the white rice was my favorite.

The chicken was very moist and delicious, but had no gravy. So adding some sort of gravy would be good. I ate it with the grilled tomatoes.

The lentils were okay, but not stellar. Perhaps a soup instead would be nice.

My absolute favorite was the minced beef kabobs. I forgot the exact name but it was 10/10. I added a white sauce and it was stellar.

The hot food items were NOT hot. They were warm to lukewarm. The buffet station needs to stay heated because it probably would have made the food taste a lot better.

The desert table needs help. The fresh oranges and cantaloupe was the sweetest I have had in a long time, but the cookies were overdone and the pistachio pastry has no filling.

The homemade cake was delicious but could use a sauce since it was on the drier side and the puff balls with the rose water cream was good. There is a yellow rice pudding that they make that was delicious but the rose water flavor was a bit much after a few bites.

Overall it was a 3.5 out of 5. Just making the food hot would make it a solid 4. But service was stellar so it will be an overall 4 out of 5.

I left full and was very happy I came to...

I was delighted with everything about my experience here, from the friendly and helpful service (I claim no expertise on Persian food; our waiter was excellent in explaining his personal recommendations), to the unexpected and cheerfully entertaining belly-dancing performance late in the evening.

There are minor issues in presentation - white tablecloths and paper napkins, music a little too loud for conversation when the dancing started, but this is a family restaurant in South Florida and so much better than the usual offerings in the area.

Portions are family-sized and meant for sharing; prices are in line with the quality and quantity. The pomegranate chicken stew I ordered had a generous amount of tender chicken in a velvety pureed walnut sauce, which was a perfect balance of sour, sweet, savory and spices. The waiter had cautioned us that some diners didn't care for the unfamiliar flavor combination, but I thought it was delicious. My companions were equally pleased with their entrees and appetizers.

The menu is extensive, with many options to satisfy carnivores, omnivores, vegetarians and vegans. The wine list is also surprisingly good, mainly quality U.S. West Coast brands likely to compliment the grilled kebabs and complex stews. We had very competently produced drinks from the cocktail menu.

Though too full to enjoy dessert, the offerings looked delectable - I'm looking forward to future visits.

There's adequate parking (the restaurant is in the back corner of the mall, not visible from University Drive), plenty of room around the tables, and high chairs for family seating. The atmosphere is clearly meant to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to relax and enjoy themselves; there's no impatient rush to get tables turned over for the next batch of customers. This is all too rare when most of the area options are diners, downscale anonymous chains or trendy but stiff food boutiques.

I didn't enquire, but a gentleman I suspect is the owner was out in the dining room supervising and making sure of smooth operations. There's every reason to believe Kababi Cafe will become one of the community cornerstone restaurants that locals remember forty...