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Kabul Afghan Cuisine (Afghan cuisine)  $$

 8.5
JaT Rating

135 El Camino Real, San Carlos, 94070  (Directions)


650.594.2840


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Elegant afghan restaurant hidden in a San Carlos strip mall


Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1005
Reviewed: 7/27/2005
Rating: 8.5
My photo gallery 		Kabul Afghan Cuisine is not a new place for me, Ive been to their Sunnyvale location and had good success each time. The San Carlos location was opened up by a brother and has been in the area for some time now. Id always seen it on my many visits to Jersey Joes and decided it was time to review it.

From the outside, looks are deceiving until you walk through the entrance. The entire restaurant is decorated with many artifacts that you might find in an afghan home; beautiful rugs, drapes, traditional clothes, photos, and artwork. This was a nice restaurant and not the norm with my usual visits. It was a weds night around 8 and a lot of people were inside enjoying dinner.

I gotta knock them for what started off with slow and poor service. It must have taken 15-20 minutes to order and I shouldnt have to flag a waiter to get their attention. The waiter who came to help us seemed like a robot, didnt say good evening, didnt really say anything...it was more like, what do you want? I dont recall talking to the guy after we ordered or have him check on us.

Its a good thing there food is excellent or I would be writing them off right now. Started off the dinner with appetizers. We got the PAKA WRA-E-KA TCHALU which was awesome. It was lightly battered potatoes topped off with yogurt and a meat sauce (ground beef). Its deep fried so prepare for a little grease. Comes in 4 bite size pieces and I think I need to steal the recipe for myself. I have no hesitations on ordering this again.

For the main course, I ordered the Kabul combination kabab, a skewer of beef and shrimp with pallaw and afghan bread.

beef - held together by this giant steel skewer, 3 cubes of beef, separated by green bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and onions. 2 of the 3 beef cubes were cooked at medium while the remaining beef cube was overdone. Beef was tender, juicy, good texture, and great taste. Not too heavy on seasonings.

shrimp - same ingredients above but with seafood. The shrimps (5) were larger than normal and EXCELLENT. This was my favorite of the 2 skewers.

Pallaw is basmeti rice thats cooked in a sauce to make it brown. Respectable serving size, moist, and full of flavor. The afghan bread was a winner too.

Although the service started off extremely slow, Afghan Kabul made up throughout the dinner by delivering the appetizers in a reasonable amount of time, constantly filling our waters, and promptly giving us our check after our meal. Prices will run $15-20 a plate excluding tip and drinks. I think when you add the attention to detail for the decorations and palatable meal, Afghan Kabul Cuisine deserves a visit.
 
8.5
Agent Rating


Reviewer: dalbiratwall
Total Reviews: 2
Reviewed: 3/3/2007
Rating: 8.5
My photo gallery		 Now that I work in Redwood Shores, my co-worker suggested that we go to Kabul for lunch. I haven't been back in 6 years, so it was a great idea for me to revisit the place. At 11:30pm, the 4 ouf us got into my car and drove a few miles to to our restaurant.

The place was about 40% full so there was plenty of parking as well as plenty of seating. The waiter was quick and the service very good. The place is nicely decorated with a casual middle eastern atmosphere.

I ordred chicken kabobs with rice. My co-workers ordered something else. I am not sure what it was, but it looked like ravioli to me with yogurt. It looked quite excellent.

The kabob was moist and delicious. Service was efficient and good. We all enjoyed it very much. I mentioned that I should take my family there one evening, but my friend suggested I avoid that due to the fact that the prices change in the evening (more $$$), so it may not be worth it. Having said that, I think our total bill came to about $12-$13 a person, which included the tip. To keep the cost down, we only had water.

I strongly recommend the place. Great food for lunch, but I am not sure if I want to pay more for dinner. Especially when yo have a family. It adds up pretty fast.
 
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