Kabul

Noted to be a great place for North West Frontier food, the service in recent times, especially during weekends, when they run full, leaves much to be desired. For example you might find that something you ordered might not be served at all, but worse, claimed that it was definitely served. We did bring it to the notice of the manager, but how would you complain about waiters not assigned to your table conveniently ‘not looking’ at you, rather than excusing themselves and asking ‘your’ waiter to come over? So you have to wait till ‘your’ waiter sees you waving your hand.

But that said, the food at Kabul is still one of the best in its cuisine. Do not let a plain menu fool you, the food being served is definitely worth more than the simple printed 2 page menu and the prices. Both vegetarian and non vegetarian are equally good and close to authentic. You have a choice of fruit drinks served in decent sizes, my favourite however is the jal jeera-a great appetizer.

The signature dishes are probably the biriyani varieties- they have 5 different varieties and they are not just different names or the same tomato rice served in different colours. They are actually different biriyanis. The chicken zafarani biriyani is the less spicier version with a tinge of sweetness to it and if made well, will blow your mind. The murgh mutton biriyani is quite as nice and there is one version that has potatoes in it, the name of which I cannot recall, however the description on the menu will tell you that you hit the right dish. I must say that all the 5 varieties are decent, one better than the other, next to a well made muslim marriage biriyani!

The Thanghdi kabab was decent, though the flavouring could have been richer, while the Raan (which by the way is a whole lamb leg cooked to your choice) is way tastier. Their paneer dishes are very very good and will also tempt a hard core non veg guy. The gravies are of decent portions and most of them give out the aura of being made somewhere in the North West region itself. Naans, kulchas and stuffed parathas are a standard and are not anything extraordinary (and you don’t expect it to be).

The choice of desserts are very minimal and more often than not ,you will be offered a choice between strawberry ice cream and kulfi. The kulfi is served in the earthen pot and is probably the same as any good road side kulfi (which is by no means inferior), so I suggest you have your desserts elsewhere.

All in all, a nice place for the specific cuisine. Its expensive for a couple but will work out to be very comfortable on the pocket for a large group of people and will make you feel you got what you paid for (if the service is not pathetic on that particular day). The ambience is unassuming and very northy and the waiters are dressed in kurthas to give you that feel, not a bad job overall.

Food- 7/10

Service- 2/10

Ambience- 5/10

Kabul is located on TTK Salai right after the adidas showroom.