Visited Charlottesville for some business and ate here. Had the buffet with chicken chapli, eggplant, lamb curry with afghan bread and white rice. Also noodle soup. Everything was phenomenal. Buffet well priced at about $ 10.
Frank H.
Place rating: 5 Charlottesville, VA
Love the food. The staff is kind. Not best middle eastern food you will find in the world, but best in Charlottesville. — this is all referring to the dinner. I cannot speak for the buffet.
Emily T.
Place rating: 5 Fairfax, VA
Absolutely excellent. Great food– perfect blend of spices, great variety– have been there with friends and family many times and there isn’t anything we don’t like(always order the squash on the side!!) Nice cozy atmosphere inside. Just don’t order carryout or delivery, it’s not worth the time or stress.
Arun M.
Place rating: 5 Glen Allen, VA
For buffet its not about quantity, its about quality and from the taste and quality the food here is good. The people are friendly, and the buffet variety pretty much is straight to the point. If you’ve never had Afghan food then this is the place to try especially for a quick lunch. The variety is limited but what is there you’ll want to eat more than once. Overall, if the dinners are anything like the lunch buffet, then I would try that one day.
A B.
Place rating: 2 Clifton, VA
The quantity and quality is pretty subpar. There aren’t a lot of Afghan places in Charlottesville but this is pretty meh.
Phil M.
Place rating: 1 Colorado Springs, CO
Just plain bad. We had the lunch buffet, which is what we were told we’re supposed to get to try a variety. Everything up there was luke warm or cold. The flavors were bland. Even the bread was plain disgusting. It was like the worst Indian food buffet you can imagine. And I’ve had afghan food before so I know how good it can be. As Unilocal say, «Eek! Methinks not!»
Adil K.
Place rating: 1 Austin, TX
Wow this place name is kabob place famous afghan restaurant they can’t even make a simple chicken and beef combo right it was so taste less I feel bad for all the people living in Charlottesville area who wants to eat afghan food just couple of hour drive near Washington, D.C. Come check out some real food with real taste.
Christine M.
Place rating: 2 Charlottesville, VA
Sorry… I really wanted to like this place, it sounded so delicious and the location, convenient and the price is right… however, the food was baaaad. I see the other reviews, I see that everyone loved the food, but both my husband and I was not happy with our food! Maybe my mistake was that I ordered the buffet, but it was such a poor experience I won’t be back to see if I was right. The thing that got me right away was that the food was cold… not luke-warm, but cold. Cold as in you could tell the food must have been prepared in advance and then stored in a fridge and to heat it up they just put it straight on the buffet. Cold chicken and rice dishes.mmmm. Again, maybe its because it was buffet food, but everything just seemed liked some sauce from a store-bought curry package had just been dumped on the food. The spices weren’t right and it was just mediocre.
Nia L.
Place rating: 5 VA, VA
This place is legit Afghan upscale. If you are from a place like Nova, that has a glut of Afghan kebab shops, you won’t be disappointed. The flavor is outstanding and the only difference between this and the hole in the wall, strip mall kebab shops up north is less grease and white table cloth settings. Very friendly, not overbearing or talkative staff. They get the job done and tend to tables without being absent or pesky.
Daniel D.
Place rating: 3 Fort Lauderdale, FL
I visited Afghan Kabob for the first time after having ordered delivery multiple times. The overall experience was average with some highlights. When you walk into the restaurant you will encounter a very simple room, the atmosphere is just basic nothing to rave about. Throughout the night our service was adequate, they served us promptly and they kept a close eye on our drink situation. My biggest issue and highlight is the food. While the food is very well seasoned, and has s good flavor to it, the portions are just disproportionate. If you order a meat plate you will get a couple of bites of meat, and a tonne of accompanying carbs. So even though the overall portion is BIG, the main ingredient which is supposed to be the hero gets lost easily.
Elisha C.
Place rating: 5 Scottsville, VA
This place has been on my list of restaurants to try for ages and I finally got around to it this past weekend. Went to dinner pretty early in the evening with a fairly large group and the restaurant seemed a little understaffed so it took a little bit to put our orders in and receive our food but the waitstaff was very helpful and friendly so no stars off for that. I split an order of vegetarian samosas as an appetizer which were perfectly spiced and super crispy, I would definitely recommend them. They also brought a salad out before the main course but I was unable to eat mine as it was dressed with a yogurt-based dressing and I don’t eat dairy so if that’s something you are trying to avoid you may just want to let the waitstaff know. For my main I had the veggie kabob with mixed vegetables as a side. It also came with choice of white or brown rice and naan. It was super flavorful, a filling portion, and delicious! I would definitely return to try some more of their numerous vegan options, possibly for their super popular lunch buffet!
Tiffany N.
Place rating: 4 Charlottesville, VA
We tried several appetizers, and they were all delicious. I especially enjoyed the manto, similar to Turkish manti. The rice that came with my entrée was aromatic and delicious. However, the meat was tough. I’ll give it another chance and try some other dishes. On a side note, the décor was beautiful. When I took my 3-year-old daughter to the bathroom, she saw some wall art in there and said«I didn’t want to live here before, but now that I saw that I want to live here.» :)
Marc G.
Place rating: 5 Charlottesville, VA
I order delivery from them often. Extremely speedy service and often give freebies like firnee or a vegetable dish. The food is always amazing and fresh!
Michelle W.
Place rating: 2 Virginia Beach, VA
Used to be good, but lately waiter service has been severely lacking. On my recent visit, there were only 2 waitresses working and it was around 6pm dinnertime. One of the waitresses was pretty friendly, and the other lady(who served us) was not. In fact, after I finished eating she never checked back on me again. But funny enough, she began a LONG conversation with the customers right next to me, while clearly seeing that I was waiting for the check. Once I told her I wanted the check, she said she«didn’t know» I wasn’t being served, and she assumed that the other waitress(of whom I never saw of again) was supposed to give it to me. In addition, during my overall experience she was impatient and not very hospitable. Not sure I want to come back again until the service improves.
Janice P.
Place rating: 4 Charlottesville, VA
Despite the rather tacky exterior strung with Christmas lights all year round, this is a GREAT place if you’re craving yummy Afghan food! The interior is actually quite cozy and nice, so don’t let the horrendously awkward parking area and outside of the restaurant scare you away. I definitely recommend coming during lunch hours on a weekday. It’s about $ 8 for an all-you-can-eat buffet with 2 kabob meat options that rotate, 2 types of vegetables, rice, naan, soup, and some kind of dessert, I believe. Excellent deal. They cook their meats well, the rice is always deliciously moist, the naan is soft and not too doughy, the sauces are delicious. If you come for dinner, the portions are generous and the prices aren’t bad(usually $ 12 – 15 for a kabob combo entrée with one vegetable side and rice). Service can be a little slow at night if it’s busy, but not unreasonably so. Yep, I’m a fan. :)
Cody Y.
Place rating: 4 Haverford, PA
Excellent Afghan food and a lunch buffet that just can’t be beat. My girlfriend and I stopped by Kabob Palace to take advantage of the lunch buffet($ 8.95). The interior is small and cozy, with Afghan artifacts and artwork hanging on the walls. It was Monday, so business was a little slow and there was only one waitress on duty, who after a few minutes noticed us and we were immediately seated. The lunch buffet consists of several items — a mini salad bar, chicken kabob, beef kabob, brown rice, white rice, an eggplant dish, chickpeas, chicken curry, naan, fruit salad, and Firnee. I was able to sample a little bit of everything, and I was impressed by how good everything was for a buffet. The chicken kabob was juicy and delicious(I like it a little spicier), although the beef kabob was a little dry(but not bad). The rice was soft and warm, and I really enjoyed the chickpeas, chicken curry(a little sweet!) and eggplant. The naan here is a little different than what I’m used to — it was crispier and was closer to pita than naan. The fruit salad was obviously from a can(the only disappointment), and be sure to try the Firnee, an Afghan style custard, made of milk, seasoned with rose water, cardamon and topped with shredded pistachio. The consistency is a little weird but the dessert itself was surprisingly light and sweet. Overall, I loved the buffet and plan on coming back to try the dinner menu. If you’ve never had Afghan food before, this is a fabulous introduction — Kabob Palace offers traditional Afghan food and some other regional items(such as gyros), and they aren’t as heavy on the seasoning as other places. And the buffet price is totally worth it.
Bonnie L.
Place rating: 4 Charlottesville, VA
This place is a gem! I took my dad here to try Afghan food for the first time & he thoroughly enjoyed the meal! We ordered the kabob wrap with the lamb tika & agreed that the meat was delicious. We also tried the borani badenjan(fried eggplant) with nan bread– which we happily gorged down within minutes. I’m subtracting a star only because the fries that came with our meal were very generic– they’re comparable to the ones available in the frozen aisle of the grocery store. However, I did appreciate that they were not heavily salted. As for dessert, I had to try the sheer e yakh(afghan ice cream) because anything with rose water appeals to me. My dad thought the rice vermicelli garnished on top was a little off-putting, but I loved it. Both that and the borani badenjan were large enough to share. This was my second positive experience here & I will definitely come back. I think the prices here are very reasonable & the food was delicious. I hope to try the lunch buffet during my next visit!
Thuan T.
Place rating: 4 Falls Church, VA
Wonderful food that I always come back to when I’m desiring to eat good Afghan food. Came here on two occasions; once was during dinner and the other was during the daily lunch buffet. During the dinner, ordered the lamb kabob entrée with samosas for appetizers. Samosas and all appetizers tasted great and well-priced in my opinion. Lamb kabob entrée came with a near mountain of rice and tasted great, though my only criticism would be that there was quite a lot of rice compared to the amount of meat that came with the dish. Otherwise, it was fantastic. Lunch buffet was excellent; $ 9.50 for all you can eat. Buffet had beef and chicken kabob, eggplant, white rice, brown rice, salad, naan, custard and fruit when we went. Beef kabob was a tad dry and the eggplant was quite oily, but the food was still great. Lunch buffet was definitely worth the value.
Julia N.
Place rating: 2 Charlottesville, VA
I must be missing something because I definitely did not have a four star experience here in terms of food at least. We decided to order by menu instead of eating the buffet and everything we ordered was disappointing in some/all aspect(s). For example: 1) Many of the«dumplings» in the manto were undercooked and the sauce it was in seemed to be a simple blend of tomato sauce and frozen veges. the bag of green beans, carrots, and corn you can get from your local grocery store. Seriously. 2) The complimentary bread was hard and had the texture of cardboard(actually think it might have been harder than cardboard). Wouldn’t be surprised if it had the taste of cardboard either. 3) The lamb was super gamey. I’m already used to gamey meats like lamb and goat but if I actually can’t enjoy lamb because it still tastes TOO gamey, something went wrong. The food here was just really disappointing but I’m glad to be proven otherwise if the chance is given.
Lindsey S.
Place rating: 4 Charlottesville, VA
Good food, good prices! We had the eggplant dish for starters, very tasty. It’s a bit on the oily side but not too bad. The naan is not like any naan I’ve ever had, it’s almost like a very soft large cracker, not bad just very different. I wasn’t very hungry so I had a side order or the chicken curry, it was more like a thick chicken stew and again heavy on the oil, I removed some with my spoon. The flavors were really good. I ended up taking most home. I really like my husbands dish it was a lamb curry with brown rice and topped with soft carrots and raisins. Surprisingly on the sweet side. It was nice. No dessert, but we love baklava, might come back to try it.