Ariana Kabob House

Had lunch on Memorial Day. Good choices, fair prices, and great food.

My family has been going here for years. We started when my daughter was 3 or 4 and she’s turning 8 now. This is the only restaurant she has consistently liked through the years. The food is fantastic, it comes out fast, and the owner always remembers us and what we order. The dishes are so flavorful, but not at all hot-​spicy unless you add the hot sauce yourself (made in-​house, nothing jarred or bottled here!). The ambiance is calm, warm, and welcoming. I’m not Middle Eastern (my heritage is solidly WASP-​y) so I feel I can say with some authority that you are safe bringing your meat-​and-​potato friends here and they will like what they eat! Seriously, we dragged my cousin’s father-​in-​law from rural Missouri here and he loved it. I can’t recommend this place highly enough.

There is nothing better to me than when the owner comes to your table, doesn’t seem to be in a hurry and works with you on picking the dishes you may like. When the food comes out and tastes as good as it does at Ariana, it’s a win for me every time. Ariana Kabob House was recommended to me by a gentleman at the San Diego Airport I happened to be talking to while waiting for a flight. I asked him where he was from (Afghanistan) and where he loved to eat in San Diego. He made a GREAT call and it’s only 10 minutes from my house! Don’t let the strip mall location turn you away.

I had lunch here recently, had chicken kabob and sambosa. Chicken kabob came with yellow rice and a strip of thick crusty bread. Chicken was delicious, rice was flavorful. An old woman who served my table was kind, the middle aged man, who I assume us the owner was nice and respectful.

I love this place, no body does authentic bukhari (or Afghani food for that matter) better than this place. The owner of the place is always welcoming, very cool guy. Come eat here and thank me later

I myself am middle Eastern, but not Afghani. This food was really good for lunch and not being the typical middle Eastern food I’m used to. We ordered so many things to try I can’t name them all.
Overall the staff was very friendly and very helpful. Kind souled people. The food was pretty good. Some dishes better than others, but I think I am biased because I am expecting it to be like my moms.
Good place for lunch and decently priced.

Awesome food and service! I don’t know why it took me so long to try this place when I live close by. Located in an almost empty place near the 15 this place cranks out some great food that I really did not expect. I’ve only had Afghan food once before and it was great so I had high hopes for this place.
My mom and I ordered the Bolani and fried eggplant appetizer to start off with, the chicken kebab, and the chicken qabli. The bolani was nice a crispy and wrapped in a wonton wrapper. The eggplant was also very crispy and well seasoned and was topped off with a nice yogurt sauce. Both appetizers were only $ 3 each! My chicken qabli was one of the best things I have eaten in a while. First of the portion was huge! the bone in chicken was super tender and juicy. Not sure what it was cooked in but it was excellent. It was covered with rice that was topped with soft stewed carrots and raisins. The rice was a bit sweet which I expected and loved but my mom wasn’t a huge fan of the sweet rice. The chicken kebab was also very good. Super tender and it had great flavor to it without being overly dry.
Service was very attentive and excellent. The waiter was very accommodating and checked up on us often. I hope to come back soon to try more dishes as there were several that caught my eye on the menu. This place is in the same plaza as the Denny’s and Pizza Hut right off the 15 freeway.

First time here… Really great food and service. I tried the mushroom chicken-​good! Next time will try the chicken curry (spicy), which I hear is even better. This is going to be one of my new favorites.

I love the food and the service is phenomenal.
Get the chicken qabli, mantu and sambosas. Very authentic Afghan food. Delicious black tea with green cardamom.
Lunch serves up healthy and affordable plates. Quick and relaxing.
Hidden away in a strip mall… find it and go here!

I ordered the Vegetable Combo. It was a trio of butternut squash, lentils and eggplant. Served with rice and salad, it was delicious and quite satisfying.
My husband ordered chicken with mushrooms. Served with rice and salad, the portion was very filling and quite delicious!

It was a delicious lunch. I tried this place for the first time on a whim. It was pretty nice very quaint, probably family owned establishment. There was quiet music playing and lovely tapestries on the walls. Wahid took amazing care of us he was very attentive and knowledgeable about the food. I enjoyed the experience. I love family owned places.
I had a delicious hot tea it was not sweet which I enjoy and it had amazing body and was fresh brewed loose leaf no bag that is my kind of tea. I tried the dal which was made with red lentils and it had great flavor. My favorite though was my main course the beef was tender with very little fatty pieces and the pieces that were left had that melt in your mouth effect so I still ate them. The peas were not mushy at all and the sauce was rich and smooth. This is a good go to for lunch! Only downfall was parking was tricky but I managed.

This place is a must must must for all you foodies ! It reminds me of Mediterranean and Indian food together. There are Kebabs, sambosas, curries, stew like entrees, and more. This is a great place if you want anything but American.
This establishment is a fine example of excellent pricing, excellent service and excellent food !
Pricing: ⁵⁄₅ — most entrees are $ 8.95! (I went during lunch). And it came with salad and entrée. Dinner pricing for this entrée is $ 11.95. Not bad at all for a home made made from scratch delicious meal!
Service: 5÷5− everyone here works together. They were professional, conversed with us like old friends, and refilled our water without even asking.
Food: ⁵⁄₅ — my goodness ! The korme Cachalo was delicious ! It was tender beef and potatoes in a garlic, onion, coriander, turmeric and tomato sauce. So good ! It reminded me of pot roast. It came with a nice small side salad and a small piece of flat bread which goes great with the green chutney they bring out (it’s spicy by the way!). The basmati rice was light and fluffy. It was delicious ! Our server said the the lady in the kitchen makes everything from scratch !
Yummy yummy yummy !

I came here with a friend for lunch. We ordered chicken curry and beef kabob plates as well as samosa and dal to share. I didn’t try his chicken curry but I was a little disappointed with my beef kabob. They were overcooked and somewhat tasteless. The bread that comes on the side was not my favorite either as it tasted a little stale. The dal was DELICIOUS though! I was really surprised at how large the side was – it was a whole plate of dal. Samosas were nothing to really write home about.
TL;DR: DAL DAL DAL DAL DAL

I come here regularly about once a month for lunch. Food is delicious, prices are good and service is what you would expect.
Only the Persian restaurants can lure me away once in a while from this outstanding Afghan cuisine.

This place is excellent– the amount and quality of the food you get for the price is unbeatable. I got the chicken kabob with rice and my husband got lamb. It is very tasty, and the bread is excellent too. We were the only ones in the restaurant when we went for lunch. I will be very sad if they close down. Definitely give this place a try!

My wife is jealous from the Chief because each time I visit this restaurant, the she prove my words which is the best plate I have ever tried!
And he responds,” I love to hear that.“
The thing is I came from Saudi Arabia, which is popular in lamp and rise; in other words, my wife and my friends always said it impossible for me to like the restaurants’ food since I have a strong believe about restaurants don’t cock any good food. However, this awesome restaurant forced me to change this idea when my brother strongly encouraged me to have only one dinner there, and it was on him, otherwise, I won’t drive for 40 minutes to eat there. Since then, I call the restaurant to tell them what I want to eat, and I find it ready and hot as soon as we arrive. I’m going to this restaurant two or three weeks as I promised my wife, who feels in love with their food too.
I strongly encourage everyone to go and have a plate their in a romantic place.
Notice, the Chief is awesome, and he always came to us saying, «This is you plate» to my wife, and, «This is my Habibi’s plate» habibi means my love, but as a slang he means dude or best friend

I hadn’t been here in a long while but I remembered it while going through the mental list of good places in Mira Mesa. It really does deserves it’s good reputation. Small, family restaurant feel, good service and the lamb shanks are so tender! I also tried the mantu beef dumplings. Not bad, I’m more used to asian style ones but they were pretty good. The parking lot is kinda of tight on a Friday night but you won’t regret coming here!

Great Afghani restaurant! My husband is Afghani and he said the food tasted just like his mom’s cooking. We had the Chicken Qabli and Kofta chalao and both were excellent. The décor and music are authentic as well.
Would definitely recommend it and am looking forward to my next meal here!

I stumbled onto Ariana Kabob House while staying at a Holiday Inn next door. I live in the same town, but I don’t venture onto this side too often. Ariana is located in a mall downhill from Scripps heading towards Mira Mesa. It’s next to a comic book store, a Pizza Hut and a KBBQ joint.
The website says they close at 9, I walked in around 835 and was hesitant because I hate being that last minute a-​hole. The man who was running the check stand who I believe might be one of the owners was super nice about it and led me to a nicely lit table right away. There was only two other tables occupied at this time so service was lightning quick. The lady who took my order and served me was very personable and even some suggestions. Everything is made from scratch at this place, and it shows as soon as you take that first bite.
I started off with some Sambosas (similar to Gyozas but crispier on the outside) and ordered a Sabsi Chalow for the main. Sabsi Chalow basically translates to Lamb Rice. It came with a huge shank of the softest lamb I’ve ever had (seriously), some buttery rice, some greens and bread. That was a good dish to try for my first time here, and I’d love to come back to try out the rest of their extensive menu. They have similar variations of vegetarian, beef, chicken, and lamb dishes with lots of sides to choose from. I’ll definitely be back, and soon! So if you ever find yourself looking to get something more homely and authentic compared to the Kebab Shop down the street, this is your stop.

Not going to lie, I did not have high expectations for this place. It was my first experience with Afghan food and it will not be my last. I walked in the door skeptical and walked out planning my next visit to this amazing family-​owned establishment. Fun fact: the owner’s wife cooks all of the dishes from scratch!
Now let’s get into the food:
Sambosa: This is the appetizer to get. You cannot go wrong with the fried wonton-​like shell filled with juicy ground beef and peas. It comes with a chutney sauce that adds a nice spice to the app.
Quabli Gousfand: I am so glad I took the risk in getting this dish instead of the uncomplicated, yet well-​favored kabob. First of all, this is the national dish of Afghanistan! I think it is so cool how I can say I tried the national dish of Afghanistan– it makes you feel like a true foodie. The portion size is large. At the bottom of the carrot, rice, and raisin mound is a plentiful amount of tender, sweet, and savory lamb. All of the elements of the quabli gousfand compliment each other incredibly well. The raisins add a sweetness to the savoriness of the lamb which rubs off on the rice. You end up with a pile of great flavor.
Firnee: I finished the journey to Afghanistan with another experiment: the firnee. I had no idea what to expect so here is my best go at describing it. The firnee is very similar to flan, but sweeter. It also has a nutty flavor from the pistachio topping. Firnee greater than flan. I really enjoyed it. Warning: if you don’t like really sweet things this isn’t for you.
My friends tried different dishes and they all love them. You simply cannot go wrong. The lamb chops, chicken kabob, Korme Gulpi, and Sabsi Chalow were the items of choice. The lamb, beef, and chicken were described as perfectly seasoned, tender, and complimented well with whatever they were served with.
To sum all of this up including some advice: You cannot go wrong here with any of these mentioned items, but do yourself a favor and explore a little!