Iqbal Kebab

Kind of expensive if I consider other similar options I can have. I had the ground chicken kebob combo which comes with rice, salad, naan, and some sauce. I’d rather go to an Iranian/​Turkish/​Afghan place for a similar kebob combo.
It took 15 mins to cook my ground chicken kebob which imo is a little long for a place with almost no customers.
As for the food itself, it was ok. I definitely prefer the afghan/​Iranian flavors over this. There are lots of spices though and the taste is alright. The salad is a little disappointing. The naan was excellent.
The location is a bit awkward for me. I’m probably not going to have a chance again.

Great transformation in terms of service been here after a long time. Previously I had a bad experience .But today the service was really good. The lady at the front desk was very friendly. Takeout package was really good. I am impressed great job guys at iqbal. I guess my only concern now is the washrooms. Would rate you guys 5 on 5 if that was taken care of. Otherwise the lamb biryani is really good.

Have lived beside the plaza where this restaurant is, so me and my boyfriend decided to check it out. They have a deal for two, that’s 20 $ plus tax. It includes 2 naans, 2 beef kebabs, a meat of your choice (we chose butter chicken) and 2 pops. Our total came up to 24 $ as we got garlic naan. Quite pricey for all of that, but their garlic naan is 3 $ a piece, so no surprise there. The naan was big and filling. The kebabs were very good. The butter chicken came in a small container and the meat had a lot of fatty pieces. I’m very picky when it comes to meat, so this threw me off. The butter chicken sauce was delicious but the meat ruined it for me. Overall, it’s a good option to have but its not the cheapest.

Though I’m not Pakistani, many of my friends are and I have had the privilege and good fortune of eating home made, restaurant and banquet hall Pakistani food so for a «gori», I consider myself to be a bit of an expert.
After living in North York for a year, I was excited to see the sign for Iqbal’s from the highway. I usually drive to Brampton when I want Pakistani food.
Vegetable biryani– I was most happy with this dish. It had lots of veggies and it was well spiced. The raita that came with it was very watered down, too much so, so the point that it was like pouring water on the rice. The salad that came with it was a container of iceberg lettuce and raw onion. Ha ha
Qeema Naan (naan stuffed at ground beef) — this was hot and tasty. The ground beef kept falling in myself as I ate it though bc it wasn’t as carefully made as I have had when homemade but overall, it was delicious. My only qualm was that the beef was a bit low quality and had some tough, sinewy pieces in it.
Beef Haleem– I love Haleem. Haleem is always served with raw ginger slices, onions, cilantro and lime to squeeze on. Because Pakistani restos always seem to «forget» to give me my lime when I order the dish (which is disappointing when you live a 15 min drive from from the location and only got take out in the first place because you had no food at home (including limes)). I double checked with both the guy who took my order and the girl who gave me my order and both repeatedly stated that there was lime in my bag of takeout containers. I got home and there was no lime of course (when do I learn?!). The Haleem was about a ³⁄₅ with points removed for small portion with regards to price and lack of lime.
Bhindi (lady finger) curry– this was a bit disappointing. I got a nasty stalky/​cardboard piece in my mouth the first bite I took. Overall the flavor was just okay. They were generous with the oil (I poured off at least 2 tbls) which is considered a good thing to Pakistanis but not for my waist line.
My bill for these 4 items was $ 35.
The staff were very polite. The food came relatively quickly. The food is of course halal. There was a small assortment of mithai (sweets). If I was desperate for South Asian food, I’d go back but overall, I’ve had much, much better (though not in North York).

Not believing in the reviews I’ve read, and knowing that the Thorncliffe location is owned by the same people. I gave this a try. It’s a hidden location near Fairview Mall, but across the street buried in a small Plaza near the Subway.
I ordered a Lamb Biryani and a Karahi Gohst (I’m a lamb fan), my orders came with a small Salad with Raita & Tamarand dressing and as well as a fresh naan of my choice.
Utterly delicious! There’s a fair bit of heat with the dishes (I’m very tolerant), the biryani is rich with flavours with plenty of herbs and spices. The karahi gohst had fall off the bone lamb with tomatoes and other herbs in the sauce which had a rich texture and a a flavour that wil keep you eating until there is nothing left.
This is my new indian place, as a matter of fact, I wouldn’t mind a Lamb Biryani right now.

I should have followed my gut and just gone to subway next door instead… or sushi. There was a group of 5 – 6 young guys outside who screamed NOOO DON’T GO THERE — IT’S NOT GOOD! as I was walking into Iqbal Kebab.
Went here for lunch — around 12:10pm. I ordered the lunch special which was chicken, rice, desert, naan and salad. It cost me $ 7.95. You would think that lunch special would be ready to go at… lunch time, right? NOPE! The girl who worked there said, in a not-​so-​nice tone, that it will be 15min like I was inconveniencing her by ordering the lunch special. I said fine. I WAS IN THERE UNTIL 1:09PM. It took almost an hour to prepare my food. That’s where the first two stars went — service and wait time.
Third star is knocked off for the fact that my rice tasted like nothing (not even like rice, more like paper), there were 3 pieces of chickens in my whole order and my salad was actually just chopped up onions.
Fourth star, and this is a big one ladies and gents, goes bye bye because the same rude girl DROPPED a cup on the floor, PICKED it up and then put it on the table she was serving after checking whether the guys eating noticed :) Amazing. I’m not picky. I usually eat things I drop actually… but cooommmeeeee on! This is a restaurant. I thought it was so gross, the cup was styrofoam and she could have easily just thrown it out.
Bad experience, bad food… not to mention the fact that what looked like a half eaten kebab made it into my take-​out container… after what happened with the cup I wouldn’t be surprised to know that someone dropped it and snuck it into the wrong container.