Afghan Kabob

Casual storefront restaurant with delicious food. We ordered the vegetarian sampler and an order of sabzi (spinach). The sampler had hummus, aushak (leek dumplings), bourani badmejan (eggplant), and bourani kadu (butternut squash). Everything tasted great, the standout was the aushak, which was well spiced and flavorful. There were quite a few other vegetarian options on the menu, next time I go back I’ll try the bulanee (dumplings). Loved that the food was well spiced and had an authentic central Asian flavor.
One tip — driving by the restaurant was hard to find at night. It’s right on the northeast corner of Montrose and Elston, but the sign is hard to see. And the map on the restaurant’s website is wrong, and will send you a mile west.

Starting the new year off right. Found this place on a cold Wednesday night, it was empty inside but open for business. Usually not a good sign but given the weather I thought not much of it.
The guy behind the counter provided adequate service. The star of the show was the food.
The rice is cooked to a slick perfection. The lamb and chicken were prepared with a wide array of bold flavors and not a single bite was dry or brittle
Priced right for great food.

This place is amazing!
It looks very authentic. It’s a small family own restaurant. Great service. The people here are very friendly and nice.
The food is super exquisite! We ordered the chicken in red sauce, a combination plate with beef, chicken and lamb kabob with rice. All the food had unique and delicious flavor. At the end we had their tea wich we fell in love with it.
Prices are not bad speciallyfor the quality of food you get. Portions are kind of big. I shared with another person and we both where full at the end.
I will be coming here again for sure. It’s so much worth it. Definitely recommend it.

Authentic delicious food. Lots of food ate and brought home half of it.
Try it out. Right by MCC.

I have always wanted to try afghan cuisine and there cud’nt have been a better place to try it. I had the aushak and Afghani sheer chai. It was delicious. The people serving the food were kind and courteous !!! Wud definitely come back !!!

Ordered a lot of food for take out. Man was it all so so good. Will be back many times! As usual with the sampler, the dumplings, you can never get enough. Awesome place.

A cozy restaurant on Montrose /​Elston Avenues. Great décor gives you the feel of Aghanistan. from the Afghani rug on the wall, to the Afghani wall portrait, to the afghani instruments on the wall.
The food is exquisite and tasty authentic Afghani food. The lunch special is super cheap @ only 6 $ per plate!
The service is great too.
All in All, a must try place!

Great service and very flavorful food. My go to is the Kabuli Pulao and Sheer Chai to finish the meal at the end. If I am not looking to get very full, the Mantu and other appetizers are also very good. Everyone here is always very nice and attentive. If you eat in, they usually give you a soup in the beginning as well which completely opens up your appitite.

Small joint + family owned = authentic. If you like eggplant, start off with the bourani bandemjan. If you are in the mood for chicken, I recommend getting the chicken korma chalaw. You get rice and chicken in some type of sauce (ask to make it spicy) and has the right amount of kick. Throw some mast (yogurt) on that and you got yourself a meal. I also tried the beef shish kabob and it was pretty good. Definitely would come back.

Excellent food and excellent hosts. Don’t miss this place!

Very traditional and typical Afghan spot. Great customer service from the point we walked in till the end. Definitely 5 stars for that! Now don’t get me wrong, the food here is quiet authentic and flavorful, however I have been spoiled by some amazing afghani food from NY, so to me it was good, but I’ve had better. We ordered chicken and beef kebab, chicken and lamb, and Mantu for appetizer. They give you complimentary soup as a starter, which I believe is made of lentils, corn and shredded chicken. But we wished they gave us some bread on the side too. At the end we had some leftovers, and the owner offered to give us tahini and red sauce on the side to go, which I thought was a considered gesture. We also got their famous pink chai. Very refreshingI say if you’re in the neighborhood, definitely give this place a try!

Find this place from Unilocal.,
Went with my hubby and son. It was welcoming family oriented atmosphere. Seems like family own business… I ordered qabuli palav, chefs special mixed mushed pumpkin, dumpling filled with different herbs and meat. My son ordered ground lamb Kabab … Food was fresh and delicious, my boy and son loved it. Anyone has a taste for Afgani food this is the right place.

Great place to go for Afghani food. The owners are very friendly and speak Dari/​Farsi.
I would recommend trying the Kabouli palow, which is like Persian shirin polo (sweet rice) with lamb. The rice is sweet with carrots, raisins, and orange peel shreds. My fave!
Their mast (yogurt) is my absolute favorite and is a great accompaniment to the basmati rice. It’s loaded with fresh mint. My friends and I fight over this stuff. It’s that good.
Just a heads up if you order the brown rice — it’s actually white basmati rice that’s soaked in lamb juice. Tastes amazing, but I think most people order brown rice thinking its a healthier option over white rice. Here, the two are one in the same.
The mantu here is also awesome. Filled with lamb, onions, and spices.
Pretty much everything here is good, in my opinion, except the kabob (too spicy. I can’t handle it!).

Family run and it shows! The food is outstanding, always fresh and flavorful. Been going here since they opened and love that they do delivery in the neighborhood.
The chicken shammi kabob is one of my favorites along with the chia tea.

Excellent bulani. Best I have had in the Chicago area. The service is friendly. The space is too small for a large group but the owner made the best of what he had. I overall liked the food a lot.

Popped into Afgan Kabob one night… I really wish I’d done this sooner.
Overall, the service was the best part of the experience. I feel like they want you to feel at home here. The workers/​owners (possibly) were some of the most attentive and nice people that I’ve stumbled across in a long time.
However, the food is delicious, so that’s a bonus too.
Loved the hummus. The Chicken kabob, Shami Kabob, Lamb kabob and Beef Kabobs were all really good.
I’m excited to order from Afgan Kabob again.

This is the kind of place that foodies say they love, but don’t patronize. It is a small storefront family-​owned business. The chairs and tables are the type you see in a school cafeteria. The pictures on the wall are standard tourist shots. There is a small tv high on a wall that shows the equivalent of a test pattern. The food is honest, delicious, and representative of one country. There is no alcohol; in fact, I didn’t even see soft drinks, although they probably are available.
In short, Afghan Kabob is everything you want in an ethnic restaurant. You should go. Now.
I am vegetarian/​vegan, and my friend is an omnivore. There is a decent vegetarian selection which can be easily made vegan, typically by omitting a yogurt sauce. Much of the menu does consist of meat kabobs and other Afghan dishes. Meat lovers should find plenty to satisfy them.
We started with the vegetarian sampler. Really, really good. The hummus and squash were outstanding. I loved loved loved the eggplant. The leek rolls were good, but for me at least, the mint taste was overpowering. My friend liked the rolls a little better than I did.
Friend had a chicken salad, and I ordered a vegan main course of lentils with rice. We both were very happy.
The service was friendly and efficient.
Definitely no alcohol served here. I did not inquire if it was okay to bring in wine, but I assume it is. Maybe oenophiles should call first.
Highly recommended. Good for vegetarians, vegans and carnivores. You should go!

I thought that Kabul House in Skokie was the only Afghani restaurant in the Chicago metropolitan area. I’m glad to have passed by Afghan Kabob and see that it is a part of the Chicago landscape. I was completely wowed.
Chicken vegetable soup. Boranee baunjan. Butternut squash. Mantoo. Chicken korma chalaw.
The soup was homemade, evident from the lack of salt that you get on the tongue when you eat Campbell’s and Progresso soup. The eggplant in the boranee baunjan was addictive. I’m hooked on the butternut squash, for sure. The beef mantoo and the vegetarian mantoo were a hit. And the chicken korma chalaw was spicy without leaving my tongue numb. I was converted to a fan instantly.
The service is outstanding, but bear in mind that the restaurant is not like an American restaurant where you’re rushed through your meal and hinted at to leave so that tables can become available. Take your time. Enjoy the meal. Make plans to return. It’s all good and I don’t mean that as a cliché.

Afghan Kabob is still awesome! I still always order the Kabuli Palaw. I now go for the bulanee with mushroom or squash fillings.

Small place Very good food and the owner/​server is a very nice guy and gracious host. I had the ground chicken entrée which was huge and very tasty. Came with a delicious soup and a bread basket. The yougurt sauce and rice were delicious as well. Only lost a star because of the environment is and look of the restaurant. They could at least play some music to lift the vibe. It’s kind of quiet and akward in there.