Kababesh Grill

The food here is not good. Also, poor Indian food with very little Pakistani fare. Not planning on returning as there is really no point. So many better options close by.

Been for the lunch buffet … Quality of the food is good. But the number of items are very less and disappointed with the number… !!

DO NOT GO TO THIS PLACE. EVER…
I went for buffet dinner in this place. Food was pathetic. It was nowhere near to authentic Indian or Pakistani food. Chicken tandoori was tasteless and had color on it. I never had worse chicken biryani in my life. It was just some kind of rice and that also not basmati. Saag Paneer was oily and again had no taste. Do not ever go to this place. Plus buffet was expensive.

Tried chicken haleem it has a weird kind of taste. I suggest them to stop cooking those kind of dishes. Please

I did not order anything except haleem. Worst haleem i ever had! We ordered chicken haleem (harees) and it was very bad. I like the mutton version and it tastes real good in other places. Go and try at a different place. Do not waste ur money for this dish at this place.

3÷16÷2014: WORST FOOD EVER! If you wanna waste your $$ then eat their buffet. We went there on a Thursday night for buffet and the entire menu was STALE except bread! I can’t believe they charge this much money for crappy food! They don’t even deserve a star.
2÷20÷2015: I have to share this with all of you. So, one day I called there and asked if they cooked the fresh food today. The girl on the phone kept saying oh everything is fresh daily. I told her that is a lie because I have eaten here before and my husband went there twice aswell with his colleagues to give it a chance but no luck. Then she admitted that yeah we actually DO NOT COOK EVERYDAY except naan (the bread). I told her that I appreciated her honesty.
I have asked many people in my circle about this place and all have the same concerns and feedback. We will never ever go to this place again!

I first went to this restaurant quite some time ago and it was very good and competitive with other Indian restaurants in the are, but it has apparently fallen on bad times. Indeed, if you see a good review on here, check the date, I’m betting it dates back some time.
Today I went in around 12:30 after it had already been open for at least an hour and i was clearly the first person to come in. The buffet had fewer items than any other Indian buffet I’ve visited. The items were also simply not up to the standards that I’ve come to expect from this cuisine. The food wasn’t bad and I got enough to eat, but wished I had gone elsewhere.
The real shock came when I went to pay the tab. I got the buffet and water to drink and the bill was $ 3 – 4 higher than any of the other Indian restaurants I’ve eaten at. Ruchi’s just a short distance away is vastly superior and also much cheaper.
While I was there a family of four came in. they were the only other people who came in while I was there and while they did go through the buffet, they barely touched their food and left quickly.
Bottom line is that once this was a pretty decent place to eat, but it has apparently fallen on hard times and is trying to sqeeze every dime out of the business they can before they go under by charging high prices, fewer dishes and lower quality ingredients. My recommendation is to go to any of the other Indian restaurants in the area and skip by this unless you’re doing it as a personal charity contribution to the owners. I won’r be back again.

My husband and I came here on our «actual» anniversary just because we hated to eat at home on the date. We spent a week in Kauai earlier to actually celebrate. Anyway, we had a coupon, so we decided to try it out.
We walked in and were greeted immediately and seated right away. There were only 3 other tables occupied in the place. It was a week night, so not super surprising.
The most annoying thing about the whole night was the woman who was talking in a VERY loud voice to her poor teenage son, and going through every photo on her camera in arduous detail, about the trip she and her husband had recently taken. The husband and son never got a word in edgewise. Now, I tend to be loud, but this woman actually made my husband appreciate me and my voice and thankful that he has been married to ME for the last 20 years. So I guess she didn’t completely ruin the night. But I digress…
While we were immediately seated, that ended the good service. Even though it was very slow, the waitress/​hostess/​cook? was very slow to bring drinks, take our order, provide refills, bring the check, etc. Not sure what she was doing, but she was not serving.
The food was good. I had the butter chicken and my husband, against my recommendation, ordered the Tandoori Grill. I always think it is too dry. It was sort of dry, but I think that is just how it is cooked, because I’ve eaten it in several restaurants. The Naan was good also.
I’d come back here, but would probably just get carry out. The food is good but I do not want to deal with the poor service or the weird patrons. They do not serve alcohol but do allow you to bring in your own, Not sure what the specific rules are on that.

Ok, this place has good and bad qualities, but I keep going back. Why? NIHARI. I don’t know if it’s the best example of the genre, I have no reference, but I discovered it here. It’s a Pakistani stew, more about the sauce than the meat. Beef, made with marrow bones and shin, luscious and oniony and garlicky and gingery. A pale-​ish sauce, thickened with flour, the eating experience is creamy and rich. Really good stuff. There is no predominant spice flavor that I notice, but it’s a complex spice taste with mace, coriander, cumin, pepper. Not particularly hot (chile hot) as they make it here. I loved this dish so much that I started making it at home. They also serve another stew called paya, which I think is goat, and seems to maybe have tomatoes in it. Very collegeny, rich and also good. There is a salad bar kinda thing with condiments like cucumber/​tomato/​cilantro salad and mint salsa and a yoghurt preparation, plus lettuce salad etc. Niihari is traditionally accompanied by slivered fresh ginger and cilantro (I learned this on the internet, btw) and these are also on the salad bar. Worth using. The salads always have seemed fresh. There’s chicken things on the buffet as well but I never bother with that.
It seems to be buffet only, the one time I tried to order from the menu they wouldn’t let me. The service ranges from indifferent to actively hostile. I am not sure what’s up with that. Actually once this wasn’t the case, I was there about a month ago and the person who seems to be the owner was friendly and refilled my water even, a first. I don’t expect this to happen again, but who knows, maybe they have a new policy. Usually groups of (apparently) Pakistani families dining there, seems to be pretty kid friendly. The pricing is variable. Sometimes it’s $ 13, sometimes, ack, it’s $ 26. Possibly they hate me more than usual on the $ 26 days. I just don’t know. But the Nihari, it’s so tasty. So I will go back again.

I’ve only been to the lunch buffet of this place, which is IMHOP pretty lame. If you’ve eaten off the menu then you have a better idea of what the food is like that me, because what I had on the buffett was crap. dried up, tasteless crap.
i won’t give this place 1 star simply because i haven’t eaten off the menu. i don’t think i’ve even seen their menu. they should ditch the buffett and just have menus.

My fiancé and I stopped in here to grab a bit of lunch after storming the 888 Asian Market (LOVE that place!) and were shown to our table by a tall grumpy fellow who was not at all welcoming. Apparently this place only offers a buffet, because no menus were offered. The buffet was just ok. Some items weren’t hot or very fresh. The mango chutney was really tasty. There sure were a lot of chicken items on the buffet which seemed odd and caused us two semi-​vegetarians to struggle to find options. The women’s restroom was pretty gross. It always scares me when the restrooms are foul. For a so-​so Indian/​Pakistani lunch buffet in this area, I might expect to pay in the mid-​20s for two people including beverages and tip, but it ended up being $ 32 bucks pre-​tip with no beverages. There really isn’t any compelling reason in my mind to return to this place when there are so many better alternatives.

I have never had Indian food before so my wife and I decided to try the Kababesh Grill for the brunch buffet. Now I am not going to attempt to name any of the items that I tried because I couldn’t tell you what any of them were. Checked in here and got very good mango smoothies for it. I decided to try everything that I could and see how it would go. First thing I noticed is the flavor jumping put in everything that I tasted. Not to spicy not to sweet, very well balanced. Everything tasted fresh and very good. The servers were very attentive in clearing plates and refilling drinks. Overall very good. So glad that we tried it. We will defiantly try it again in the future.

I am really torn writing this review. After having a fantastic lunch experience at Kababesh Grill, my bf and I returned to eat here on Friday evening. Our experience this time was completely different and a huge disappointment. We walked in and immediately smelled the delicious aromas of Indian cuisine. We waited to be seated and noticed that they were serving an evening buffet. I was excited about that prospect, as most places don’t seem to serve a buffet during the evening. Anyway, a taller man who appeared to be a server approached us, we indicated that there were just the two of us, and he led us to a table. He did not speak to us, nor did he provide us with menus. We thought that was strange and not very welcoming. There were a couple of larger parties and a 2 other couples dining, the restaurant was not full and did not seem busy. We sat for a while, waiting for menus as we were uncertain if we would be eating off of the buffet. My BF finally got up to get menus, though we still had not been greeted by our server, nor had we been asked our drink order. Finally a woman came out and asked us to eat off of the buffet, she actually stated that she did not want to cook «extra» that evening, and that I could find everything I wanted on the buffet. I asked her if chicken korma was on the buffet and her response was «no, but we do have chicken biryani». Well, that’s great, but it’s not what I wanted. I asked her if I could order chicken korma off of the menu, and she responded that it would be better if I could just eat off the buffet. This woman, who apparently was cooking that evening, turned and walked away from our table. We didn’t stay any longer. The energy was so negative; I don’t think I have ever been more uncomfortable. It’s disappointing to say the least, and I’m not sure I will be back. It’s sad when terrible, unacceptable service trumps really good food.

We walked in on a Saturday evening, prior to going to the symphony, and they were offering a buffet. Usually I’m not into the buffets because the food can be tired and blah, but we didn’t have time to go look for another place to eat. I’m glad we stayed, because the food at Kababesh Grill was very good! There was a very nice assortment of dishes and accompaniments, and it all looked and tasted fresh and good. The choices were «meatier» than at many South Asian restaurants, probably reflecting that this is owned by Pakistanis who, as Muslims, eat more meat than the Hindus. There were lots of chicken dishes, plus some interesting fried fish and a goat dish. There was a bright orange and very tasty mango custard for dessert, along with a rice pudding I liked very much. The food was all nicely spiced but not extremely hot, which I prefer — too much chili tends to mask all the other interesting flavors.
The service was fine — very friendly young women who cleared away the used plates and kept our drinks refilled. My symphony partner also liked the food and we’d both go back. I’d like to try another night when it’s possible to order off the menu.
This restaurant is located in the same small shopping center on 119^th just west of U.S. 69 as 888 International Market, the China Palace restaurant (right next door) and an Indian market. If you get inspired by the food you ate at Kababesh Grill, you can buy all the ingredients at the two markets!

its actually more a Meh, but i’ll upgrade because the mango lassi that i paid extra for, and the chicken tikka masala and rice from the buffet were actually fairly good, just not really worth $ 17.20. i went to the Sunday buffet, and it was still around 12pm, my first bad because generally i dont like buffets, i know i am persnickety about food but i was HOPING they’d have korma on it. so dashed hopes and a crowd of people butting in front of me to deal with, i go back to my table with the chicken tikka masala rice and three tiny pieces two of which where steamed for hours in the dregs and tossed aside by the herd, great, mediocre naan. you see. there was NO fresh naan in the buffet steamer. nor was there any of the poori i think it was. that looked worse than the naan. i waited, nothing.
then i saw a guy bringing baskets of fresh looking naan to other peoples tables. not mine.
hey who do i bribe here to GET fresh naan? hello?
oh fine. they can stuff themselves on fresh bread.
i’ve been to this place before once before i started getting into Indian food i was looking for a what i now know is a turkish dish, and they HAVE naan and it IS good. just todays naan wasnt. at all. it was terrible, i have reheated day old naan and had freezer section from whole foods naan that tasted better than this. plus the whole foods naan was cheaper. so was thier frozen tikka masala
then to add insult to injury. $ 17.20! am i being punked? i knew this wasnt a good idea. and now. $ 17.20 how much was that lassi anyway? oh here, i’ll just pay it and leave, i should have just went elsewhere. so since others seemed to enjoy thier food, lets just put it as, unless you like a variety of meats and dishes that you know what they are, and i guess have more of a in with the kitchen staff to get the good naan, not to mention lineback your way to the steam dishes, its a waste of money for a simple 3 dish in my likes, to go to the weekend buffet, oh and hello no free chai.
i’d go back and order off the menu and give them another try since the food was okay. but the naan, it is why i go get indian food. and to have it so bad. well, it will be awhile, i have to get that metallic steam taste off my mind.

My boyfriend says this place reminds him of his mom’s home cooking (he’s Bangladeshi). He says the Paya (goes straight for), Nihari, and Chicken Biryani are amazing/​his favorite. If he had his way, we would eat there everyday… or at least every Sunday, (we typically go for the buffet at least once a month on a Sunday).
I personally like the lamb korma, but generally find several dishes to enjoy. One thing we could agree on is that we would like to see even more dishes on the buffet (though they have a large variety) just because we are greedy. Guess we will have to go back at dinner time to get those dishes… We also like having the Chai available with the buffet. :)

Hands down my favorite Indo-​Pak restaurant in North America. So far. Don’t worry, it’s a never-​ending search, and I’m not afraid to keep on researching.
Kababesh has *the best Daal ever, ever, ever.* Any time I go out for Indian I find myself wishing they had Daal Kababesh on the menu. And their Chana Masala’s spicy heat will kick you where the sun don’t shine. The proprietors are super nice and very accommodating — suffice to say my father’s high-​maintenance, and they smile and nod their heads when he, I, and the rest of the fam stride in for grub. They are also awesome about food sensitivities/​allergies/​restrictions, and will make sure you get fed tasty food that leaves you feeling good no matter what!
So, then, why only 4 stars? Well, one — I hafta travel to see them, which makes me sad; and two, it’s true that their décor and seating is not the most inspiring or comfortable, as one other reviewer mentioned. For the class of establishment this is, though, it passes with flying colors.

This place gets a four simply because the food is great. Service however is very very sad and depressing. The owner and his co-​manager are not the friendliest of people and unless you speak Urdu or some of their languages, they are not very engaging. He is adamant about defending his food and I will have to agree with him, It is the best Pakistani owned place, and their kabob meat is second to none. I won’t argue with him there.
the ambiance is a bit tacky and the seats are not sturdy. This makes for a difficult setting. I have yet to go on a Sunday brunch, but working in an office with over 50+ folks that are either Indian/​Pak or of the descendence, they totally rave about it.
In short, I do eat from this place occasionally, however it’s always take out. I would definitely reccomend it to friends.

This is one of my favorite indo/​pak places to eat! Its rather new, and I know they have weird hours sometimes– but its posted on their website along with the menu.
Food is all really great (that I’ve had) and the service is friendly. However, one of the servers had this really strange habit of checking on us every 50 seconds. It was funny at first, but then just annoying. The others on their staff are really friendly and charming– and if you’ve never eaten Indian food before, they are more than happy to help you choose something that might suit you.
Highly recommend this restaurant; its hard to find anything but the typical crap from Applebees, TGI Fridays, Chilies, Ruby Tuesdays… blah blah blah. I hate those generic and boring restaurants with a passion. If you’ve never eaten Indian food and you’re a little worried about it, I would get something basic like their Chicken Tikka Masala, and order their Naan. Naan is a type of bread that you will love– and the chicken is served with a spicy (not HOT spicy, its rather mild) creamy, tomato based sauce. It’s a UK favorite, and most people really love it.
If you get scared from bad food experiences– just one warning: the rice has cloves in it, take those out when you see them, they will be large black pods, not hard to miss– but you’ll sure know when you bite into one ;)
**Visit their website for the menu, they also do catering.