Kababbq Grille & Cafe

Excellent, fresh and flavorful — friendly service and the price was right!

The food was fresh service was good and I will come back it’s hard to find good customer service now a days but the people here made me feel very welcome.

If you are looking for a more authentic Mediterranean place, please don’t even try this. I went here for a shawarma/​wrap. I wanted a traditional wrap with hummus, tahini and veggies/​meat. Ordered it to-​go, was super disappointed while eating it. Who puts a bunch of basil leaves in a Mediterranean wrap? It literally had a whole basil plant, I had to remove all the leaves since it was too overwhelming. To top it, there was barely any hummus or tahini despite asking for extra portions of them. The only hummus I saw was a rather runny liquid that messed up the to-​go box. Enough said.

The Best Persian Food in the Bay Area, especially after eating in most of the eastern countries.
Management is very courteous and humble.
It takes some time to get the food, however the food is worth the wait, any day.
Prices are reasonable.

Came in around 6pm on a Sunday and the place was decently crowded, considering how secluded the place is. Use Google maps to navigate your way here, as we had slight issues using Waze to do the job. No need to worry about parking as the plaza boasts plentiful spots.
I ordered the ground sirloin kebab plate while my boyfriend had the boneless chicken kebab plate. Both of our meat were really flavorful and juicy. I was really surprised by my boyfriend’s chicken, as the chicken breast was not dry at all. We both greatly enjoyed the hummus as well. I do recommend having the shirazi as your second side, as it is nice and refreshing to offset the heavier meat kebab and hummus.
Service was pretty standard. The only thing that bothered me were the 3 flies I saw flying around the restaurant. They did not hover over me during this visit, but it was gross to see. However, the boyfriend reassured me it was due to the fact that we were by the water and that the restaurant doors were open to let in a breeze. Definitely recommend for yummy kabab if you are in San Rafael!

Bad service. Waiter forgot some of our order and took our food to a different table. No refills on water, instead, he sat by the register playing on his phone. We had to eventually ask for the check.

Ok I had been to this place twice before when the owner was in the restaurant. I guess the manager needs supervising.
I had ordered garlic fries and when they finally arrived to the table they looked like they had sat in grease all night. That was not the least bit appetizing.
The manager wanted to charge me for that! Really? They were so greasy that we could not eat them. The manager said to me,” You ordered them didn’t you?” What!
This is how you treat a costumer? I didn’t cook the fries.
I will never go back and advise all my friends and co-​worker to not go to this poorly run restaurant.
Shame on you.

Came here for a quick take-​out. Very nice service. Lamb Kebabs with grilled tomatos and chunky onions were very good… just a bit too much garlic, and the rice perfect. Not cheap, but I had a satisfying meal. The Harbour center location is convenient for me, but it’s strange with so-​so parking and sketchy characters and occasional meth heads. I can deal with that as it keeps the tourists away and preserves this corner’s local authenticity. My favorite Vietnamese restaurant is also located here (Phở Viet).

Shared a family A plate with my buddy. It was alot of food for two… I think better for 3 people but we are good eaters.
Family A — includes two ground sirloin kababs, very juicy and well seasoned. The other two we chose lamb (plus $ 5) and cornish hen. Never seen cornish hen on a persian, afghan, iranian menu. It was good, basically a whole hen broken down into parts with bones in tack. Lamb was on point too. Although it wasn’t rare as requested for all meats, it was still flavorful and delicious.
Mast-​o-​khiar — refreshing good to balance out with the meats.
Lavash bread with feta, onions, basil, mint and butter, clean and refreshing again.
Rice was wonderfully fluffy leading to eating all of it.
Persian tea was strong and floral, could use a lot more ice.
Overall, lucky to have another great restaurant in San Rafael of only a handful I currently prefer.

I went there for an early lunch, around 11:15. There was only one other customer.
The food was good– I had a lamb wrap and salad.
There were 2 employees standing around talking They never came to see if I needed anything or water refilled.
Would hate to be eating there when there’s more than 3 customers.
I had to ask the guy if I could pay since they never brought the check out.
FOOD WAS GOOD. SERVICE WAS NONEXISTENT!
I think I will go somewhere else next time.

My partner and I have now been here for lunch/​dinner on two occasions and both were wonderful experiences. It’s in a pocket near the water, so it can be overlooked easily– if you wind up at Kababbq Grille you did so on purpose. And good on you for that, because it’s delicious and fresh. We wanted to make a healthy lunch choice before heading out to Berkeley for a shopping day. This was after coming for dinner a while back and having a wonderful veggie kabob for dinner. It’s some of the best hummus around, and their seasonings are perfect. The prices is great for a quality dish, and the service is perfect.
What some might find offputting about this place is the bread they use for their wraps and hummus. It’s a much thinner bread than a traditional pita bread; you wont hear them calling their «wraps» a gyro but that is essentially what they are. The bread is the only difference. It makes for a lighter feeling meal (as in calories) and it does the trick! The taste is just as good, however you’ll likely wind up looking like a less attractive version of an early 2000’s Carls Junior commercial (If it doesn’t get all over the place, it doesn’t belong in your face). This delicious wrap could make even the most prim and proper patron look like the Tasmanian devil. Make use of your utensils. Their prawn wrap was worth the mess and I would indeed order it again, along with the veggie kabob and the mouthwatering hummus. Carnivore, herbivore; they have something to offer everyone.

I had the Steak Kabob which had wonderfully rare meat, slightly spicy onions and bell peppers. Quite delicious but slightly under-​spiced… had to add salt :(
As my 2 sides I ordered the Mast-​O Khiar (yogurt with some cucumbers in it) and the hummus (which was OK if you like olive oil… very heavy on the olive oil flavor). If I come again it will most likely not order these sides. I will try the other options.
The iced tea was strong & delicious.
At 1:30 pm the place was practically empty. I could sit any where. They also have a nice outside seating area.

While in San Rafael, some colleagues found this restaurant on Unilocal.Upon arriving, the gentleman who greeted us at the door was very pleasant. There were 7 of us that were dining together. The restaurant was small and there were many locals dining there and watching the basketball game, so he apologized for the wait. They put two tables together and we were seated.
To start I ordered Mast-​O Khiar. This is a yogurt mixed with Persian cucumber with a touch of fresh mint and salt and pepper. It came as a large serving and boy did it taste lovely! So good, I wanted to save it for later! =o)
For dinner I ordered the Kababbq’s salad with chicken. This salad came with mixed greens, tomato, cucumber, peppers, feta cheese, Mediterranean olives, and pepperoncini. I asked for the house dressing on the side. This too was incredible! The chicken was tender and juicy which went well with the combined flavors of the feta, cucumber and olives!
The one reason why Kababbq lost a star was because of the check out at the end of our meal. They were very kind and allowed us to each pay our tab separately, but when my friend went to pay her bill, the gentleman who was doing the register could not get the card to run through the machine. He quickly ran the card through the manual (old school) machine. This normally would have been no problem, but he tried to have her provide her signature with NO total. He informed her that he would put the total in later. She told him she was not conformable providing a signature with no total. The man walked away from the counter without saying a word and got on the phone. We were not sure what was happening and my friend even offered to now pay in cash to make it easier, but he ignored us and continued talking on the phone. This went on for about 5 minutes until our waiter came up and asked what was happening. He apologized profusely and told the other man to ring us up so that we could use the cash. He informed us that they had a machine and were having a hard time with the training and use of it.
Overall the food was amazing and the prices decent. I certainly would return for the food. Hopefully, they will work on their check-​out system to make the experience a full five stars!

I dined here with a group of friends while out of town for work. As the last dinner of three for the group, we all agreed this was the best meal we had while we were in town. We tried the chicken, koobideh, falafel salads, falafel wraps, and a couple of appetizers (I forgot to order the baklava!!). The food was great, and the waiter was friendly and knowledgeable.
I used a Unilocal deal, getting $ 30 for $ 15 — although the prices are already quite good! We had a table of 7 and the waiter graciously allowed us to split the check, although that turned out to be quite a chore as they were using a new point of sale system.
Definitely check this place out. The food is authentic and not expensive. I would return if I’m ever back in town.

great service! great food! always satisfied every time I visit. My brother and I always come here for the lamb and koobideh skewer with saffron rice and roasted tomato on the side.
The owner is very friendly.

We came here after a long hike in Marin since this place has really good ratings, we were super hungry, and they had a Unilocal deal. It was a no brainer.
I had the beef kebab plate which was delicious! The kebab was super moist and juicy. It comes with 2 sides — I picked the yogurt dip (can’t remember what it’s called) and rice.
We also ordered some appetizers, hummus and fries. The hummus was really authentic and you can taste that it was home made. The fries were thick cut and crispy, just how I like it :)
Definitely really good value for the money, especially with the Unilocal deal. We paid $ 25 for 2 people including tax and tip after subtracting $ 15 for the Unilocal deal.

Just as Katie W, I’ve had good experiences and bad experiences with Mediterranean food. Curiously, I had both at Kababbq. Our first trip to the restaurant was fantastic. I was blown away by how good and fresh the food was. Koobideh was great, as was the lamb. My wife’s platter was juicy and tasty, and my lamb wrap to die for.
A five star rating was ready to go, but then went back for take out. With a new baby in the house we were in no position to cook, and remembering the koobideh and lamb we snagged a Family Meal to go. I was waiting at the restaurant when it came out, and was unpacking it at the house 10 minutes later, and was dry and cold, and 80% rice. Still tasty, but certainly underwhelming.
Will definitely be back for more, and if it’s up to its original standards, will definitely be updating the review.

Koobideh all day, every day please… well, I guess that wouldn’t be good for my stomach, but it’d be good for my emotional well-​being. Kababbq is my go-​to spot to get my Koobideh fix. The lamb kabob is also delicious here. The Joojeh (chicken kabob) is probably my least favorite (it can get dry). The service here is friendly and the restaurant isn’t usually busy, which helps keep the ambiance very low-​key.
Purchase the Unilocal!deal ($ 15 for $ 30), a very good deal if you’re going to Kababbq with two or more people.

This place is fantastic!
The food is absolutely amazing. We had the family style meal + dessert so we really had a full experience of the food they have to offer. I’m definitely going to bring people here, though it’s out of the way for me. Their beef and chicken was delicious!!! My mouth waters just thinking about it. 5 stars for sure!

The first thing one has to come to grips with is that strictly or not this is not just a Persian restaurant. It’s a grill that also has a sampling of Persian cookery on its menu–
a couple of stews and a few varieties of succulent kabob, along with a number of salads and appetizers (the yogurt and shallot dip is great). Dispersed within the Persian food is a smattering of Eastern Med cuisine and hamburgers with fries. Yes, you can have kabob with fries and a hamburger to go if you so choose. It’s a good combo actually. Have that fizzy sour yogurt drink (doogh/​dough) to wash it all down.
It’s important to note that hummus is not native to Iran (Persia). You would be hard pressed to find it at all and if you do it would be at a Lebanese restaurant (which is a rare species in and of itself there). The same goes for falafel. It’s way more prevalent in Amsterdam and New York. Virtually impossible to find in most of Iran. But I digress. You get the picture. This is an all encompassing smörgåsbord of cherry picked delights from Eurasia. The following awaits you:
Mountains of fluffy Basmati rice prepared in the singular Persian style, non-​Persian hummus, a delightful fenugreek stew (no relation to Greece), a Greek salad, and of course hamburger and fries. All prepared by some Latino gentlemen who are highly able chefs and also very friendly servers.
The restaurant is in an old strip mall by the San Rafael canal. There’s always a few gnarled characters walking about the parking lot but don’t be scared. They typically do not bite and it’s worth taking your chances with them just so you can experience dining at Kabobbq.