Kabob Express — Restaurant in Virginia

We have been regular customers for the past 5 years, visiting at least three times a month. However, on 11/18/18 I had a terrible experience with the cashier , which was enough to ensure that I will definitely NOT visit this restaurant again. At around 4:50 pm, I went to collect naan bread as part of my order. The employee who always has been working at the register (I always see him working at the register when I go there) was grabbing the plastic bags from a bundle, and proceeded to put the naan in, fold it, and give it to me. However, as I grabbed the bag firmly by the handles and walked with it, the naan fell through the bag and onto the floor. He stated in a rough tone, “SEE, I TOLD YOU BE CAREFUL.” Truthfully, though, there was a HOLE through the bag that was most likely made while he was grabbing it from the bundle. I told him about the hole but he repeatedly denied that there was no hole , but I then requested for a new batch of naan. He came back with some naan, but I asked him if it was the same batch of naan that fell to the floor, to which he said “YES.” I complained and said that I’d like a new batch, not the one that fell to the floor. He responded with “WELL IT WAS YOUR FAULT,” and did so in an aggressive manner, while I firmly said that there was indeed a hole through the bag. I requested for a new batch of naan, to which he stated that he would get it for me but VERY RUDELY gestured for me to move to the side for other customers. While I was waiting for the new batch of naan the owner/chef (he claimed himself as the owner) came out of the kitchen with the naan in a plastic bag and I asked if I could talk to him and we both went to the sitting area and I told him what actually happened and he also confirmed that the bag was actually ripped. He repeatedly apologized to me on behalf of his employee’s behavior, but I requested for the employee to apologize for acting unprofessionally. As the employee came along, they spoke something in their language, and as I requested for an apology again, the employee was very offended and started misbehaving as the situation escalated. He then yelled, “GET THE F* OUT OF HERE. I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE AGAIN,” as well as yelling numerous insults. I made my way outside to talk to the manager, and another customer came along and suggested that maybe he was having a bad day. As this folded, the employee looked at me from inside in a sinister manner again and yelled, “WHAT? YOU WANT TO CALL THE POLICE . GO! GO, CALL THE POLICE!” I was very offended by the manner of this employee as the situation unfolded. He threatened me in such a way that if I spoke anything to defend myself, hands would be raised and a physical assault would’ve broken out. He acted very combative, dangerous, and EXTREMELY threatening. Due to this treatment, I vowed that I would never visit this...

Conveniently located in a strip mall in Centerville, there's plenty of parking for this small Afghan restaurant. They offer an all-you-can-eat buffet which is rather small and mostly salads, sides, and vegetarian dishes, while they have a fairly large menu overhead of grilled plates of chicken, lamb, beef (various versions) that are accompanied by two types of rice, a tiny salad, and a large freshly baked flat bread. They provide quite a lot of food per dish, but prices reflect this, as plates run anywhere from $9-19, depending on how much protein is involved. Example: A beef and chicken combo costs around $19 at the time of this review, which is quite steep for a self-serve place without table service. Food is served on paper plates and with plastic utensils, which is strange for sit-down orders. Grilled dishes come with a small container of dipping sauce and another of yogurt, both rather bland. You also get the choice of one small side from the buffet.

The restaurant looked clean and was well organized, with the front of the house running efficiently as patrons streamed in and out. And although the sit-down section is nicely decorated in traditional Afghan decor, the way the food is ordered and picked up by the customer at the front gives this place a fast food feel, even with those prices.

As for the food itself, the chicken is quite good but the beef had a weird texture, as if it was overly tenderized. Given the choice, next time I'd only order chicken kebab and not the beef. Overall, it's not a bad place to pop into for a quick bite, the food is very filling (I couldn't eat dinner the same night, still full!), the restaurant seems clean (though I didn't check the bathrooms, but older reviews on this aspect are now worrying), and they even have a TV overhead next to the menu that looked like to be showing the kitchen where fresh bread was being baked, and the front desk staff was friendly and polite. For the NoVA area, whose food quality I find sadly lacking (I'm not a local, but visit the area quite a lot for many years, eating out regularly), this is a nice, casual find.

Hopefully the restaurant will keep up the quality of service and perhaps consider increasing on buffet options, even offering table service for the prices (or lower the prices). One could say they're the Afghan version of Moby Dick (local chain restaurant), with...

My wife and I have been going here ever since we moved here 5 years ago. We think this is the best kabob place in the Fairfax / Centreville area.

Their portions are large. Unless you've ever thought about trying out for an eating competition, expect to have leftovers. Their sandwiches are very large, so expect to finish about half, and their platters, while expensive, come with large portion of rice, small salad, meat, an entire thing of nan (bread)

They provide two different sauces for everything you get. The white sauce is a very thick yogurt sauce with a strong tang. The green sauce is a little spicy, but is also is much thinner, so it doesn't stay as well on things that don't have a lot of surface area to grab on (like rice). The white sauce is better for things like sandwiches, and the green sauce is better for things like meat and rice (if you like a little spice that is).

If you enjoy gyros, you should definitely give the 'Gyro Sandwich' a try. I've brought a few to my friends house once, and now they demand that every time we meet, we get these gyros. We also recommend requesting two white sauces instead of a white + green, as the white sauce goes really well with the gyro sandwich, but if it's your first time, definitely just let them give you both sauces and try both to see which you really like.

If you are in the mood for a platter, give the lamb kabob platter a shot. It's just shy of $15, but it's well worth the price. You can...