Zara Afghan Cuisine

Came for the food but disappointed by the service.
Arrived Saturday evening for dinner and the place was empty besides another group that came in the same time we did. The lady who was working front who I believe is the owner left to go to the back for the longest time ever. We didn’t get our orders in until 15 minutes later. Waited another 20 minutes or so for our food to arrive.
Food was okay but it would’ve been great if we actually received our food hot. My bf got the chicken kabob over rice and I had the kofta (ground beef) wrap. When I took my first bite of the wrap it was cold, lukewarm at best. My fries were stale as well. When I had a bite of my bf’s chicken it was hard as a rock and dry. My bf feels like his chicken kabob was just microwaved. Regardless, we were hungry and the food tasted well but it was just cold. A group that came a bit after us got their food piping hot. There was steam coming out of it. I was envious as I ate my wrap in disappointment.
Plenty of meter parking outside. Depending on the time of day you might have to park a block or two away.

Good lunch spot, with friendly staff. I wish the décor in this place had a warmer feel. The atmosphere was monotone and cold. That is not to say I wouldn’t go back, because food trumps all. With good portions, good food, and a good price point that in itself is a killer combination. The host also mentioned that they would deliver anywhere in a 1.5 mile radius, so keep that in mind if your on a time crunch or it’s a rainy day.

Had the best meal ever. The staff was amazing the food was big portion size I took extra home. Brought out extra sauce for me and gave me tips about what to do because I am visting. Great price too.

Good place for cheap lunch. Lunch buffet costs about $ 10. Otherwise, everything else on the menu was relatively low priced. I had the lamb rice plate for $ 7 and it was very delicious. The lamb was moist and soft which was much better than many of the other lamb gyros I’ve had with hard, chewy meat. Based on this, I feel that the food seems pretty good here. The service was somewhat mediocre. They messed up my order, brought out the wrong one and I was just one of the 3 people first to arrive during lunch. How is that even possible??? And then when I did get my correct order 15 minutes later, the food was already cold. On top of that, their water tasted of hard metals. Defintely cold tap water. Finally, this place is tiny too but popular, so be sure to come early to get a seat.
Overall, I like the food but I think they can be a bit more organized with serving. The food portion from the menu itself will keep the hunger away but it won’t fill you up completely. I might stop by this restaurant if I’m in the area again but it won’t be the top choice on my list though.

Zara is delicious. I got the lunch special, lamb gyro with fries for $ 5!!! The staff is super friendly and very accomodating.

This. Place. Is. Incredible.
I was in town visiting my friends and they suggested that we go to this Afghan place because, and I quote, «Leslie. LESLIE. It will blow your freaking mind.» We went for lunch and opted not to do the buffet which, after declining, seemed like a whomp whomp idea. But, we got our menus and were met with the NICEST– and I mean NICEST– waiter. He introduced himself as the owner’s son and was so friendly and so helpful with our ordering.
He suggested we ordered the eggplant appetizer and so, naturally, we did. AND THANK GOODNESS because it was out of control. We were brought a basket of afghan bread which was… can you guess? OUT OF CONTROL. We were sopping up the tomato and the yogurt with it… just… outstanding.
For our entrees, I got the chicken rice plate which was fresh and spicy and filling and so delicious. I ate until I was overfull and there was still enough to take home. AND IT WAS SEVEN DOLLARS. My friends tell me that the lamb was some of the best they’ve ever had (I don’t eat lamb, so I can’t corroborate, whomp) and as it was the end of the lunch rush, the owner-​who was SO NICE and SO ACCOMMODATING and SO SWEET and SUCH A GREAT COOK!-offered us some of the dessert which was described (by the waiter/​son) as the berry version of Captain Crunch and he… was not wrong.
Anyhow, the point of this review is basically me saying this is ridiculous that this place is in Sacramento and I am in Boston and even though I ate this yesterday I am dreaming about it right this moment.

I’m not usually a meat eater, but I’ll happily make an exception for Zara Afghan Cuisine on a Tuesday with the gang. A fantastic deal and delicious wings, it’s always fun watching the guys try to finish 20 hot wings while I love my 10 honey garlic. Unlimited carrots and celery with dip are a great complement. The staff are not always as quick as you’d want, but it’s also super busy on deal night so I can’t blame them. A real experience.

Amazing deal: lamb gyro and fries for $ 6. Seems a bit small at first, but it filled me up. Only saw two workers (both very kind), so it got a bit slow as more people came for lunch.

Amazing customer service. The owner was very nice and friendly. I’d highly recommend this establishment to anyone looking for good food.

Horrible kababs!!!
For Afghani food lovers, I’d suggest you drive a little further and go to Chopan kabob instead for authentic Afghani cuisine and wonderful service

Came in on my lunch break. Was a little hesitant, but glad I did. I ordered the chicken gyro with salad and brown rice! Excellent choice, I like spicy and this was not to bad. Nice touch with the sirracha. Would definitely come back :)

Came across this place when a supervisor took the students to a staff lunch.
This place is a hole in the wall, it’s pretty hard to see it if you’re not paying attention to the street signs.
I ordered a Lamb Gyro and it was pretty damn good! came with a side of french fries. I definitely want to try their lamb over rice combo next time.
Service was decent. I came after the lunch rush so there was only one other table. Cheap and quality food, not to shabby on a college budget.

On a recent visit to Sacramento we wanted to try authentic family owned restaurants. We found this little gem & visited it twice it was so wonderfully delicious! Omar & Zee welcomed us like family and made this experience the BEST! The gyros were perfect and had fresh cukes, tomatoes, onions & homemade sauce. The fries were awesome & the cardamon tea a real treat.
Friendly faces + luscious food = MUST TRY

You really cannot beat the $ 5 lunch special. It gets you a Gyro, fries and a drink. The fries are your run of the mill frozen bag fries but the Gyro is delicious. It’s definitely one of the best in the area, especially when you factor the price.

I’m surprised that I’m giving a negative review after seeing all these positive ones. Maybe it was a fluke I don’t know. But this was my experience, and it will be my last.
This is going to be a long rant. So I’ll do the gist, and if your curious for the full story read on.
Condensed version.
Called in order at 11:40
Was told it’s be ready in 15mins
Went in to pick up 12:00
Ignored by staff for 5 mins
Said they never got my order
Then said it was in the back, the chickens was being cut will be out shortly.
Waited 20 mins.
It doesn’t take freaking 20 mins to cut chicken
While I was waiting a people came in after and were ignored as well.
When I got back to my office, I saw that the chicken wasn’t cut and beyond dryAnd my ice tea was nothing but crushed ice packed in tightly with water and ginger…
I’m can’t help but question how this place is still running and all of these 5 star reviews on here.
The detailed version
This was my first time at Zara. I called in a order to go at 11:40am, the man on the phone told me it would be ready in 15 minutes. I showed up at 12:00pm to pick it up.
Upon entering no one was at the register. Not a big deal it’s a small place. I’m sure they’ll be out soon.
Guy comes out from the kitchen with a tray of food for a table, makes eye contact but ignore me. That’s a huge pet peeve of mine. When you work in the food industry customer service is huge. I’m not asking him to drop everything to help me. All he had to do was say, ‘Hi I’ll be right with you.’ It takes a second and he wouldn’t of even needed to stop what he was doing.
He gets them their food and run back to the kitchen. So I thought okay maybe he doesn’t speak English or he’s getting the server.
Nope
He comes back out with more food and continues to ignore me… And I’m just here like wtf. He gets them the rest of their food and he hangs out for a bit to chat with them… And now I’m getting irritated.
When he’s finally done talking to them he comes up to me and asked me in perfect English what I want. I told him I was picking up my order. He disappears into the back for a few minutes. Then I see him through the double doors sending a younger man out to talk to me. He asked me what I ordered. And he said they didn’t get a order for that. Then he goes back into the back to check again.
He comes out and tells their cutting my chicken and it’ll be right out. And he rings me up. And I’m waiting again.
A pair of women come in after me and get their food before me. Soon after a handful of people trickle in and they’re all gathered at the door waiting and they’re being ignored as well. They weren’t even very busy. 20 mins later I’m fed up and get ready to get up and ask for my money back they see me get up from the chair and bust out the kitchen with my food…
It doesn’t take 20 minutes to cut up some chicken…
I take the food and leave. After I get back to my office I open my lunch and what do I see my chicken is whole and uncut… So I was lied to. They forgot my order and was scrambling to get it done.
In terms of the food. I don’t understand why people rave about how good it is. My food okay at best. The dish had little flavor. The chicken was very dry, my salad had little to no dressing, and my rice had no sauce. As for my ice tea. I was given a small cup packed tight with crushed ice all the way to the top and it wasn’t filled with tea. It was water with a hint of ginger.
I can’t fathom why my experience was so poor, and how this place is so raved about for its amazing food and service. From what I saw everyone gets ignored and the food is nothing to write home about. Maybe the other Unilocalers just haven’t gone to a good afghan restaurant, who knows.
Needless to say I won’t be coming back.

When I enter Zara, I feel like a treasured guest and not just a customer. Z, the owner, and Omar, her son, make me feel like I’m an old friend who is there to enjoy a family meal with them. Omar makes suggestions for new things to try. Z tells me how she prepares the food and even brought me some home made saffron ice cream on a hot, blistery day. It was a perfect ending to a satisfying and fulfilling meal.

Appetizer: fried pumpkin.
Not sweet but it’s very tasty. The texture is slightly addictive. I would order it again. Oh! And the flat bread is delish!

Hole in the wall kind of place; you might walk right pass it if you’re not paying attention! It looks kind of shabby inside, there is a good amount of seating, but it seems that patrons usually do take-​out. They serve authentic Afghan food here that will not disappoint, and for CHEAP too!
I ordered the lamb gyro with a side salad and their iced green tea — the mixed green salad was normal, the green tea was good, and the lamb gyro was pretty tasty with the sauce. if you’re looking for a cheap yet tasty lunch, try this place out!

I ordered the chapli kabob wrap. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that my $ 5 wrap also came with fries. The food here is definitely affordable!
As far as the wrap goes, it was decent. The meat patty did not taste like a genuine chapli kabob. Overall, good for the price, but not genuine afghan taste.

I came here for lunch with a friend, and I am SO SO happy we choose to eat here!
When I got there, it wasn’t very busy, so we were seated immediately. Our waiter was super nice and our food came out fast! I think they are very accommodating with adding on to dishes or taking things out!
I ordered chicken and lamb mixed over rice. When it came I was over the moon as how great it tasted. I hadn’t had this for a really long time, so you can imagine how happy I was when i finally got to eat it again and it was this good!!! It definitely satisfied my cravings, but at the same time made me want to order another plate so I could eat it at home later (something I seldom do).
This place has great food, great service, and all for a good price! I definitely got my money’s worth and I left super happy. I honestly can’t wait to make a trip back here! It’s really worth trying!