Balkh Shish Kabab House
“The pictures of Afghanistan and the map of the country with its provinces outlined also make for interesting decor.”
“However, the best item on the menu is the bolanee kadu, the "fried turnovers filled with mashed pumpkins, herbs and spice."”
“My favorite is Kabli Palow – lamb & basmati rice with a side of lamb curry – but I am a big fan of all their lamb and rice dishes.”
Balkh Shish Kabab House
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
6 reviews
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I was psyched to try Afghan cuisine so when I had some time on my hands I made the walk here. There was a table of four men and just me. I thought this would be a fortunate circumstance since from previous reviews the service was so so. The service was so so and but the food was terrific. The waiter was literally just dour and whenever he came by it was just to take away stuff. At no point did he ask me if everything was all right, or if I needed anything more. I had to tell him that I wanted dessert.
A lot of my Afghan friends told me I should try Manto which is beef dumplings in a tomato gravy and sour cream. There were six little dumplings with a little bit of crunch left from the onions and while having tomato gravy and sour cream didn't sound good to me at first. I was wrong, because it was a good combination, a little bit of sweetness to the savoriness of the beef and onion.
I got the Quelli-I asked what that was and he said it was a small bird in a tomato gravy which didn't exactly give me a lot of confidence about what exactly I was ordering. I thought it was all right, and it came in the same tomato gravy the manto came in and it was hard to eat since it was such a small bird. I should have gone with a kebab which were cooked up front and smelled so good. I got a heaping plate of rice which didn't have raisins or carrots in it and I thought, well maybe they don't do this here and then a carry out order came in and they asked if he wanted carrots and raisins on the rice. Come on!
The dessert I had was a milk pudding with pistachios and honey. Phenomenal. The only thing keeping this place from 4 or even 5 stars would be the weird, iffy, flip flop service.
"Did you hear that? I can't believe he just did that", commented my dining partner at the response of the server ("Phsst" and a shake of the head) after hearing that we would like tap water instead of the bottled water he had automatically placed in front of us.
It took us a while to figure out that the server makes that annoying sound unconsciously any time he's hovering around the table and doesn't intend to be rude. But, it's extremely disconcerting to anyone paying attention. And, that's the problem with this Afghan restaurant: your 4 star worthy experience can decline at a moment's notice. During one of my visits, the place went from empty to full (50 plus people) within 20 minutes and the lone server got so stretched that he wouldn't come to the table for long periods of time – to the extent that couples started leaving. No one could blame them for they hadn't even received the menu after being seated for 15 minutes!
The appetizers have been the highlight of my meal, every time. The Manto (beef dumplings with curry sauce and yogurt), Bolanee Gandana (fried turnovers with scallions, herbs, and spices) and Bolanee Kadu (fried turnover with pumpkin) have been consistently excellent. They remind one of their Central Asian heritage, for similar versions (called Manti and Cheburecki, respectively) are served at Uzbeki restaurants. However, I preferred the better spiced Afghan interpretation.
There's no point going to an Afghan restaurant if you're not going to eat Kebabs, common across Central Asian cuisines. However, Balkh's Kebabs are marinated in a different spice mixture, and also tend to be more well done (less juicy) in comparison to those in nearby countries. I would recommend Chabli Kebab, popular in the Pakhtun beltway spanning Afghanistan and Pakistan.
They do have obvious flaws: I am not a big fan of the re-heated Palow (brown basmati rice), or the bread (which needs to be warmer and softer). Though called Naan, it doesn't resemble either the Indian or Uzebeki version. The Firni (pistachio milk pudding) would be my recommendation for dessert, though I would like that it be refrigerated and served cold as opposed to at room temperature. And: the "salad"? Don't. even. think. about. it.
It's amusing to note that the TV screen is either playing Indian soaps or Pakistani TV dramas that have been dubbed into Pushto, but the staff can understand Urdu/Hindi well. The pre-dominantly non-Afghan clientele can entertain themselves by staring at a map of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan (population: 30 million) that reinforces the challenges of nation building. (Rating: 3.5 stars)
Atmosphere: place is very lowkey. Verryyyyy casual but still has a charm too. The decor and paintings are all very afghan and cute. The cleanliness could use some work and the seating could use some updating but hey you get what you pay for.
Price: totally affordable and awesome! It's only like $10 for a massive side salad and huge portion of rice and chicken kabob. The water bottles are an additional charge so just be aware. And if you need a split check, make sure to tell them in the beginning because it's a little disorganized.
Good: awesome and on point. The food is super authentic and there were a lot of middle easterners there and they seemed to be regulars so you know it's good! The rice was a bit oily but still not the worst I've seen. The kabobs were perfectly juicy and moist. The salad was yum. I tended to douse everything in the delicious white sauce!
Will I be back? HECK YES. On a student budget, this place is awesome. Nice to the pockets and decent size. It held me over for lunch and dinner.
Go go go!
I wanted to love this restaurant, but alas I cannot. The food is generally overcooked to varying degrees and the meat to rice ratio is low for the price.
Many reviewers say the service is rude and unprofessional. I have not witnessed this. I found the man with the beard doing the cooking up front to be friendly.
Many reviewers say the restaurant is authentic. I think authentic is the most abused term in English culinary vernacular. They don't mean "authentic". They mean "it is in sync with their expectations". The vast majority of people would not want to eat "authentic". Trust me. The best international food is right here in cities like NYC and SF.
Two reviewers penned that the flavors are deceptively complex. They must truly be deceptive, because I can't detect them. Another reviewer said the food was Greek like. I'd say more like Turkish. But grilled meat is grilled meat, right?
They accept credit cards, but only for dining in or take out, not delivery. Despite the TV, the restaurant is very quiet, dark, and muted, which is a little disconcerting when you first walk in. However, the people who work here are extremely friendly. The cooks in the kitchen are Hispanic. There are vegetarian options, this is essentially a meat lover's restaurant.
Appetizers
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Aushack: C-
Like Manto without meat. As a result, the cooking leaves this mostly dough and scallion dumpling overcooked. Unlike meat, over-boiled dumplings mean soggy dumplings. No me gusta. Not much flavor.
Bolanee Kadu: C+
Like a flat fried wonton (a "turnover") but fried so that it remains soft and pliable. The inside is soft and moist. It sounds good, but ultimately it's like fried bread. The inside is very sparsely filled with pumpkin which lends an unwelcome sweetness to the entire thing. I don't like sweet with my meal, and it's disharmonious with the entrees you'll eat here.
Manto: B
Afghan dumplings. Very unlike Chinese dumplings, which have a very doughy exterior. These appear to be 4" x 4" flat dough squares wrapped around an exterior of lightly spiced ground meat and tossed with a delicious spiced yogurt sauce. My wife didn't care for them. A bit overcooked and bland.
Samosa: B
More akin to fried wontons rather than the samosas you're probably used to. They are deep fried triangles stuffed with chopped beef. Without the spiced yogurt sauce, they would be plain.
Entrees
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Chicken Kabob: B-
Great flavor, but dry and overcooked.
Chabli Kabob: B+
One of my favorite kabobs here. Reminds of of Kofte Kabobs. Chopped meat patty infused with spices and some kind of cohesive agent.
Chicken Tandoori: B-
Not the chicken tandoori you're used to. Most of us would call this "Roast Curry Chicken". Perhaps it's called Tandoori Chicken in Afghanistan, but I don't know what would differentiate it from "normal" roast curry chicken. I thought it was a bit over-cooked and dry.
Fish Kabab: B-
I was looking forward to this, but was deeply disappointed. It didn't taste like salmon. It just tasted like … grilled. No detectable salmon flavor. The problem is that it was waaaaay overcooked. No salmon juices, no fish fat. It could've been tuna or swordfish or bass, and you'd never know the difference.
Kabli Palow: B-
A big lamb shank on top of brown rice and covered in carrots and lamb curry. It was good, but didn't knock my socks off. The consistency of the shank was a little off and it didn't taste extremely "lamby". It was good, but not great. Same with the curry. I wish it tasted a little more like lamb.
Keema Kabab: A+
The best kabab I've had here. It's ground meat with chopped parsley, which gives it the lionshare of its flavor. Like the chabli kabab, it wasn't overcooked. The meat was very soft (it's essentially a hamburger-kabab!) and juicy. Fantastic beefy flavor and the parsley really enhances the meat.
Korma Chicken Palow: C
My wife liked it, but I didn't. The chicken was mealy and the rice didn't have much flavor. The dish was served lukewarm. Would've been nicer served hot.
Ribs Kabab: B+
Grilled lamb chops. More spiced / flavorful than the tikka kabob and less overdone. Very nice charbroiled lamb flavor, but slightly overdone.
Tikka Kabob: B
I wouldn't characterized this marinated lamb as "very" marinated. More like lightly marinated, which was a little disappointing. Furthermore it was overcooked. If you had this on the street rather than in an "authentic" restaurant, you'd be disappointed. Nice flavor, but a bit dry.
Beverages
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Dough: A-
Identical to an Indian lassi. They offer sweet or salted, in small and large size. The sweet dough was delicious. Unless they got our order wrong, the small was enough for 2 people.
Dessert
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Firny: C+
A bland pudding. We didn't finish it; not worth the calories.
Delicious no frills Afghan food. The portions are huge and I love their rice. It's kind of off the subway stop but a bit easy to miss if you aren't looking for it. Up front is a low refrigerated counter with salads and sweets that opens up to a spacious dining room. Once you sit down, you get a bottle of complementary water.
The food is really good. If you get any of their stewed meats, they are tender and falling off the bone. I like my kebabs the way they make it which is pretty charred on the outside with a nice tear to the meat. Like another reviewer mentioned, if you want it less done, ask for it "juicy." I do that with the chicken but not with the lamb. On the table, you will notice two sauces; a green and a red sauce. The red hot sauce is heavily spiced with cumin and the green hot sauce had a cilantro kick to it. Both very good although I prefer the green sauce mixed into my rice.
It's nothing fancy but feels like good ol' home cooking. The service was quick, attentive, and efficient.
I love this place! Very authentic Food, never disappoints. The lamb shank is too good for words. The place isn't very attractive inside and service is decent but best provided when you ask for something, so don't be shy. But the Food here is incredible! Down to the chai.