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    Grill Kabob Express

    3.8 (218 reviews)
    ModerateAfghan, Salad, Soup
    Open 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Order Grill Kabob Express Takeout or Delivery

    Grill Kabob Express Photos

    Business Info

    GRILL KABOB EXPRESS ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Grill Kabob Express

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    Lamb kabob

    This is my go-to spot for Afghan food! Their dumplings (mantu and awshak) are the best I've ever had at a restaurant. They also cook their lamb very well! Their food tastes home made, and their service is great, making you feel right at home! Overall, I highly recommend trying Grill Kabob Express if you're craving authentic Afghan food!

    Xiaohong S.

    It's a gem. They have the BEST kabobs! We tried lots of Kabob restaurants in the area. This place is our favorite! Food is automatically ( in our humble opinion) fresh and delicious! Portion, price, service and quality is very great! Their bread is super good! Can't say enough about their food!

    Mantoo insta @ SpicyAivy
    Aivy H.

    @grillkabobexpressva Great and tasty food served up by a lovely family in Fairfax that's been operating for over 10 years! I don't know how I've never had Mantoo's before because they were phenomenal. Mantoo: STAR of the show, these dumplings were not only so pretty but SO tasty and probably my new obsession. Chicken tikka kabob: Cooked well, a classic and my usual go-to. Chicken & beef koobidah combo: Another classic but the seasoning on these were SO flavourful. The sides: bread, rice, chickpeas, chanti & white sauce were all sooooo good and paired perfectly with the entrées. Definitely worth a visit and I know I'll be going back next time I'm in that area! - insta @ SpicyAivy

    three containers of sauce on a table
    Israt J.

    Came here today for my lunch. It's good place to eat lunch. Taste was great and service was okay. This is my favorite kebab place.

    try Lamb & Chicken combo

    If you looking for great authentic Afghan kabob spot look no further. I highly recommend this place if you want to enjoy delicious dishes. Amazing customer service and atmosphere with great prices for quality of their food.

    Lamb and chicken kabob
    AJ A.

    My regular kabob joint. They have a bunch of delicious options and also fresh daily sides. I ordered the super deluxe meal $21.95, which has a skewer if each meat, lamb, chicken, steak and kobidah. It also comes with salad and side of choice of veges and we chose the chickpeas. The amount on Deluxe is definitely enough for 2-3 people. I also ordered kids chicken meal with fries for the little one. They are super friendly and provide quality Afghan and halal kabobs.

    Salad
    Rebecca A.

    I ordered 4 platters for an event on a Sunday. The restaurant doesn't officially cater on Sundays so they combined the platters into a family style format. The lamb and chicken were excellent. The beef kubideh was a bit dry, which is unfortunate because it is usually my favorite. The Afghan bread was half delicious and half tough and overly chewy. This shop has really well done green and white sauces (which can be hard to find).

    Order in person or online
    Thuy V.

    I've done delivery several times here and came in once in person for carry out. You really like the kubideh chicken and beef (minced meat with spices). The rice is good and so is the flatbread. We usually have leftovers. the place itself is a little bit of a hole in the wall. There are a few people eating in and it's more of a order at the front and self-serve.

    Beef kubideh

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    13 days ago

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    1 month ago

    Food is amazing. Very unique. Young man was very friendly. Will come back again.

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    2 years ago

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    9 months ago

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    9 months ago

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    9 months ago

    Amazing Afghan food, friendly staff, and clean place. I tried it once and had to come back again, and again, and again.

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    10 months ago

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    7 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Best kabob spot in nova. They have chicken kubbideh which no one else really has. Great owner.

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    5 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Love the food. We always cater for here. Consistent and high quality. Highly recommended.

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    3 years ago

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    18 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Must visit! Authentic Afghan food at it's best! Family-run business and they make you feel so welcome.

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    8 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    5 years ago

    The food was very dry but also lacked any flavor whatsoever. I live close by to here but will travel further to get better kabobs.

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    9 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Rice and kabob was great. Side of bread and chatni sauce were the cherry on top. Hit the spot. Would recommend.

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    Page 1 of 6

    Ask the Community - Grill Kabob Express

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    Aracosia McLean - Qabuli Combination Platter - this was ok. The channa and eggplant were good.

    Aracosia McLean

    4.8(476 reviews)
    10.1 mi
    $$$

    Aracosia has been a stellar Afghani food staple for Northern VA since they opened. Their tender…read moreLamb shanks--both Sabzi and Moghuli are hit with family and out of state visitors. So is the Vegetarian platter and tasting menu, aushak, quroti, and turnovers. You cant go wrong with saffron rice or the rice with carrots and raisins. Enough reviews already mention the four dips and soft bread, a cross between middle eastern bread and focaccia. Non alcoholic drinks are not an after thought, the sour cherry rose lemonade is liked by kids, adults, and seniors. Service is warm and welcoming, the Rumi quotes on the walls and turkish lamps add to the ambience, parking is easy and aplenty. A few tips: 1. Go for the lunch menu if you are feeding a large group. It is cheaper. Or consider making the trek to where it all started, Afghan Bistro in Springfield. 2. Ask for the daily selection of cakes. The pistachio and cardamom are the best, not too sweet, light, moist, and fragrant. Of course we devoured the food before taking pictures but a couple attached.

    Overall it was a good experience! We absolutely loved the bread and the difference sauces that…read morewent with it. The pumpkin dumplings and pan fried veggie filled dumplings were great as well. I thought my salmon wrap and the chickpea side was ok. Interesting flavors for sure. As for the service, there was always someone filling up our waters and our waiter was very nice checking in every now and then. The only downside of the experience is at the end when the waiter was boxing up all the food for us. Very sweet that they do this but when boxing up my partners food, they only boxed up the rice and they got rid of the lamb that he was looking forward to eating more of later. So that was kind of a disappointment for us. I think if we go again, we would request to box our food ourselves since I'm not sure why they decided to get rid of all of his lamb.

    Photos
    Aracosia McLean
    Aracosia McLean
    Aracosia McLean - Bread - good.

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    Bread - good.

    Afghan Restaurant  - Lamb kabob

    Afghan Restaurant

    4.4(54 reviews)
    10.5 mi

    Came for the Sheeryakh, but had such delicious, authentic Afghan food! I'd give 4.5 stars for some…read moreconstructive modifications to make in the future related to service, but overall amazing food! I left with a full belly and a happy heart. Got a combo of chicken kabob and shami kabob along with a side of their borani banjan/eggplant dish. The eggplant was honestly one of my favorite things- it's a must get in my opinion. Homey dish with incredible flavors! Their naan is fresh and pairs well with it. The chicken was good, but I've had better honestly. The shami was a little disappointing as I expected more flavor and it was slightly dry, but good. Their rice was so tasty and I loved the sweetness coming from the carrots an raisins. Of course, the sheeryakh was great- quite a big portion for one person, but I loved the texture. It tastes very similar to the Indian/South Asian/Pakistani ice cream, "Kulfi." CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK: Service needs improvement. The whole time I was there I had to keep looking for waiters to make eye contact with to ask for menu, water, paying, etc. It took about 10 min or more for me to have to call a busy waiter over just to look at the menu- no one came over on their own. Things just took time for a Saturday night- plus they were hosting an event on top of this. Needless to say, I've never had service like this, but the vibe and food made me be not as harsh. Despite the service, this place is a must try for authentic Afghan cuisine. Can't wait to try more of their menu (and the borani banjan again) in the future!

    The chicken bowl was amazing. Friend loved the spinach and we got the chickpea. The star of the…read morenight was the eggplant dish! We have had it at other restaurants but this place topped it!! Way too stuffed to get dessert but the ice cream looked phenomenal!

    Photos
    Afghan Restaurant
    Afghan Restaurant
    Afghan Restaurant  - Tea party set with Afghan cream roll and cake

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    Tea party set with Afghan cream roll and cake

    Afghan Bistro - Chocolate cake

    Afghan Bistro

    4.7(1.1k reviews)
    10.9 mi
    $$

    Craving lamb. Submitted my order via their website. Arrived at the restaurant and we were greeted…read moreas we walked in. The restaurant's decor is culturally appropriate. We arrived early evening and they had a candle and tablecloth on each table. I ordered Baadenjaan Bouranee, luscious eggplant dish; Frenched Rack Of Lamb, perfectly cooked, tender and flavorful; and Pumpkin Dumpling Entree, perfectly sweet, smooth interior and perfectly steamed dumpling wrapper. I will continue to support this establishment.

    We were able to get reservations to this restaurant earlier in the day, but I would highly suggest…read moregetting reservations ahead of time because we saw people get denied when they just walked in. When we walked in, we were greeted very nicely and sat quickly. Our server was new and it was her first day so she couldn't really give any recommendations which wasn't the best, but the manager came out and was able to help with describing some of the dishes and giving great recommendations. Most of the people that we ate with ended up with some type of lamb dish and the lamb was phenomenal. The rice was delicious. The eggplant was delicious. We got a bunch of appetizers. Everything was on point. Everything tasted super fresh and overall we had a very nice experience. The food also came out very quickly. The overall ambience was very nice very home type vibe and it is a smaller restaurant for limited tables One of our friends that we went with since we haven't seen each other for a long time was really craving a beer and kebabs which sometimes a little bit harder than one would anticipate but they served alcohol as well as delicious food so win-win here. So overall, I would highly recommend this place if you want delicious Afghan food, but of course remember to book in advance .

    Photos
    Afghan Bistro - Inside. Quaint and cozy

    Inside. Quaint and cozy

    Afghan Bistro
    Afghan Bistro - Peach martini

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    Peach martini

    Kabobi By The Helmand - Banjan borani (eggplant)

    Kabobi By The Helmand

    4.6(289 reviews)
    8.6 mi
    $$

    Every time I come, I order the same thing: the Seekh Kabob wrap. It's perfect. Just the right…read moreamount of food. Comes with this really fresh sauce. Filled with salad. I've also had the chicken samosas, which were excellent and I would order in a heartbeat. I especially like this as a safe stop during travel. It's rarely too busy, the food is always good, and you can grab a drink if that's your thing. The mint lemonade is also good if you want an NA option.

    I don't usually leave negative reviews, but this was my second poor experience with the same…read moreserver, so I felt it was worth sharing. I'm a local customer and live just a minute away, so I've visited more than once. I came in for lunch today with my wife and our 1.5-year-old son. After placing our order and sitting down, the server loudly yelled from behind the counter for us to come get our water. It felt uncomfortable and unprofessional, especially with a young child. When I placed my order, I asked for extra white sauce, and I asked again when the food came out. Both times, the request was ignored. I also mentioned that we hadn't received our drinks, but instead of addressing it, the server again yelled for us to get the drinks ourselves from the cooler. The food itself was okay, but the bread was very poor--hard and barely edible. I even called the restaurant later in the evening to share my concerns, but was told the server was off at that time. Overall, very disappointing experience, mainly due to the customer service. I hope this feedback is taken seriously and leads to improvement.

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    Kabobi By The Helmand - Inside POV~

    Inside POV~

    Kabobi By The Helmand - Chicken lawand

    Chicken lawand

    Kabobi By The Helmand - Kabuli Pallow Bowl

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    Kabuli Pallow Bowl

    Grill Kabob Express - afghani - Updated May 2026

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