Kabob House

Amazing meal last night. First time there. The seasoning on the meats was beyond flavorful. Service was on point. Will return for sure.

I just moved to Boise from Seattle and have been desperately looking for a good Middle Eastern restaurant, as Middle Eastern food is my favorite. Well, after reading the reviews and looking at the website I was excited to find a place I thought would be somewhat reminiscent of the good quality food I had back in Seattle. That is not to say Seattle is great for Middle Eastern food, but it is miles ahead of Boise.
Anyway, after going to the restaurant I sat down at the traditional booth. The ambiance of the little restaurant was pleasant and the owner seemed friendly. I did like the décor and the traditional booths, which many of those Seattle hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurants lacked. However, things started to go downhill when we got to the menu.
The first red flag was the fact the owner was not Arabic, but rather Afghani. From my experience, when people from totally different regions try to become cross cultural with cuisine, there can be lack of authenticity. However, I was desperate and wanting to give the place a try and the guy seem to have a nice section of Egyptian/​Arabic/​Middle Eastern style food in addition to the Afghani and Indian style foods he was also serving.
Anyway, I was a bit aggravated the pricing and lack of sides. The owner also seem to want to nickel and dime his customers for everything. For example, unlike many other Middle Eastern places that will give you salad, bread, even a soup with your meal, he gives you just a tiny side of bland, unflavored rice, OR (yes OR), a piece of Naan bread OR a salad. I was confused by the menu and thought you get bread and rice. Also, he does not give you any sauces with the kabob so you have to spend like $ 6.00 to get a side of hummus which is also very small in size and he gives you a small amount of bread. The guy had the nerve to charge me like $ 4.00 for a single piece of bread when I asked for a little more bread. He is a real cheapskate and does not seem to give a crap about pleasing his customers. Considering I was the only guy there at 7PM on Wednesday, he seems not to be exactly booming in business. You would have thought he could have been a bit courteous and not charged me such an exorbitant fee for just a tiny piece of bread! What a ripoff!
Well, despite being overpriced and skimpy on the portions, the ultimate reason I am giving the place a bad review is that the food was not good at all. The kofta (ground beef kabob, he uses an Afghani name) was overcooked, tough as rubber, dry and the seasoning was too mild and flavor bland. The rice was nothing special and had very little spices and he was too cheap to add any saffron so it had a very white, Uncle Ben rice color. It was also dry and lacking in flavor. I ask if he had a garlic or tahini sauce for the kabob, which is standard at all Middle Eastern restaurants and instead I got some type of tzatziki sauce that was not spectacular and did not go good at all with the kabob, so I used it with the extra piece of bread I received. Overall, the meal was really bad and I am very picky and a stickler for good quality meat and Middle Eastern food. Even the worst Shawarma place on the University District strip in Seattle blows this place away by miles for half the price.
This business is typical example of a business owner who wants to nickel and dime his customers thinking if he gives them less food or makes them order more he will make more money. Sadly, when you give customers small portions and try to manipulate them into buying more stuff to raise the price of the meals, the customers feel cheated and do not feel satsfied with their meal. So, even though the business owner feels they made an extra $ 5 – 6 on the meal, in the end they lose, as the customer will find a place that gives them plentiful portions and lots of sides and will save them that $ 5 – 6 and they will come more often and indulge more. The most successful food businesses I see that are not gourmet restaurants, not only have good food, but don’t skimp on the portions and sides.
The only reason I am giving this place two stars is that his hummus was decent, not amazing, but good enough. It was slightly too sour, with a little too much lemon juice, but the consistency and texture was good and had a nice balance of tahini with garbanzo. However, for $ 6 or so, you get a pretty small portion. Also, another reason for 2 stars instead of 1 is that the ambiance was nice. I like the persian/​afghani rugs and the traditional booth seating.

This is perhaps one of the most looked over gems in the Boise area for dining. There are already so many great reviews, I’m not going to add anything new other than to reiterate the effort behind making the place authentic is really great, but the ceiling of the building destroys it… so just don’t look up when visiting ;)

Finding Kabob House was such a pleasant surprise. The food is so delicious. They have the best Sambosas! The meat in the Kabobs is moist and tender. This is my new favorite place to eat.

I moved to Boise on August 2014 and since then I went to kabob house at least 4 times a month. I’d give them more than 5 stars if I could. The servant is nice, food is delicious, and I like the floor coaches they have. The restaurant is high in price, but it deserve the money for what you get. I can compare the food here with the food from my country in Middle East. Meaning that in my country the original kabobs are there, but kabob house made it to the top. I’d prefer their rips with the best rips we have in my country.
Food suggestions
–Qabuli pillow (rice with lamp chunk)
–lamp rips (it’s the best of the grill)
–tikka lamp kabob
–Tikka chicken kabob
I prefer (mantoo) as the side order.

«Kabab House» Words cannot describe the highest level of outstanding service and delicious, tasty, mouth watering foods.

A friend and I wanted to try something different. After driving around for a while seeing nothing but chain restaurants and burger joints, I Googled restaurants near me and Kabob House was first on the list. I am so glad that it was! The food was amazing and the atmosphere and service were great. I will definitely be returning.

I was in Boise this week from Seattle. I was looking for Middle Eastern food and came across Kabob house which was recommended by a friend. I must say I am very pleased with the delicious flavors of the food and the awesome service Mr Fraidon (the owner) gave us. I loved the food so much I went back again yesterday for a late lunch before flying back home to Seattle. I will definitly be back when I am in Boise.
I would like to thank the cooks in the kitchen as well because they are the ones putting the love into the food.
Thanks you guys!

I found the food to be reasonably tasty, but not memorable. And it was rather expensive for what you get. If I find myself really wanting Mediterranean or middle eastern food, I’d eat here again.

Excellent food. Lamb and chicken we’re fantastic. Tender and juicy with loads of flavor! Hummus was delicious and tasty pita. Excellent service and great place for lunch. Definitely will go back!

I have no idea why I haven’t come here sooner. We followed a woman in who was holding huge catering pans. She stopped right then and there in the door and explained they’d catered her huge family gathering and repeated like 9 times how much she loved this place.
Had kabobs. They were good. The lamb is exceptional. Fresh green salads. Some can’t-find-anywhere-else cardamom tea.
We’ll return. BTW — for largish parties, they have very nice coach/​cushion seating. Makes you want to bring a group!

What a great kabob food restaurant! Clean, the staff is friendly and the food is great. Location might be hard to find due to being in a strip mall, west of blimpie in the same complex north west corner on maple grove and emerald. Lunch is the best value try the lamb kabobs, portions are good and the taste is soooo good. I would recommend The beef and chicken curry. Wife and I come for lunch often so we might see you there.

The food here was delicious. We came in with few expectations, and plenty of curiosity. The food served was unique, delicious, and filling. We’ll definitely be back for more.
Beyond that, our host was efficient and his ideology behind his cooking were fantastic. When we asked why they closed the buffet, he informed us the food should be served fresh, and between throwing out too much food, and not being able to serve it very fresh, we were more than content with the answer.

The lamb kebab lunch special was just right! Cilantro sauce and rice and salad tasted fresh, not too spicy but not too boring. The service was great, I always drink a lot of water and rarely have it refilled enough, but these guys were very on top of checking in and refills, even when the place was near full during lunch hours. I spent less money here then I would have at Blimpies next door, but got to eat lamb for lunch!

A delightful and delicious lunch! After reading a few other reviews, my friend and I were very skeptical. High stars, but low reviews — something didn’t add up.
Well, it’s true, the booths for more than two would be uncomfortable and the buffet is a thing of the past, but I can say that the food was awesome and having the place to ourselves was not a problem. I already want to go back so I hope the review forecast is wrong and they are not going out of business anytime soon!
We both enjoyed the chicken kabob lunch special — the perfect amount of food although I could have kept eating because the flavor was phenomenal. I also tried the Turkish coffee and was glad I did — it too was delish. Two thumbs up from me

I decided to try this place out because of the great reviews that I read on Unilocal and I was in the mood for some good Mediterranean food but I ended up completely disappointed!!! I came at about 1pm to try out the lunch buffet that I had read about and seen advertised as well. I immediately got a bad vibe when I walked in the door and the was only two customers sitting at a table during the busy part of lunch hour. The sign said «seat yourself» and the host sitting behind it didn’t even acknowledge our existence, say hello, nothing. So we went ahead and decide to sit at a booth against a wall. When we sat down it felt like the booth cushion was going to explode and have springs pop out. It was the most uncomfortable booth I have ever sat in. WTH???
I saw a lunch menu at the table but no mention of the $ 8.95 buffet that is advertised. I suggest to the two other people I came with to go take a look at the buffet set up they had to see if it was worth it because I was really skeptical by now. They both came back and said there were no items there which I thought was weird. During this all this time we decided that the booth was just too uncomfortable so we moved to a table and began to look at the menu.
I was nervous because one of the persons in my party is vegetarian and notice only a couple of menu items suitable. She said she would pass because nothing sounded appetizing to her. Finally the server who was also the apathetic host came by to ask us if we wanted anything to drink. I asked about the buffet and he said they no longer do the buffet. I said we would drink water and think about what to order. He walked away looking semi bothered.
Interestingly enough the 2 gentlemen at the other table were observing us the whole time and one of them started to talk to me. He said that their booth (a fancy low table with pillows for seats) were also very uncomfortable. He said the food tasted dry and horrible and was too expensive. I don’t mind paying higher prices but the food better be good. He said it was the first and the last time he would be eating there. His friend just looked embarrassed to be there. I thanked him from letting us know. I notice by this time that our server was just sitting down reading a paper and not even getting us water. Our party mutually agreed to get the heck out of there rather than drag on a bad experience. The server/​host actually looked relieved when we left. Upon leaving it also dawned on me that the place looked like it was just practically going out of business.
So glad we left and went to Bombay Grill instead for lunch buffet and fresh food and nice owners who were happy to see us.
If I could give zero stars to this place I would do it. If you are one of those people who really like this place you should go soon because it will be out of business at the rate that they are going and rightfully so. This experience was like something bizarre out of the twilight zone. Strange and disappointed.

Recently went for lunch. There were four options for lunch, ranging from $ 6 – 8. The buffet apparently does not run during the summer months.
I ordered the chicken kabob. The meat was tender and flavorful, the dipping sauce was delicious, and the rice was very good, no need for extra sauce.

There really wasn’t anything terribly bad about this place, but nothing that made me jump for joy. Off the bat, I thought there was a buffet option (which I choose so I get some variety0. There wasn’t. I opted for the lamb tekka kabob lunch special (roasted lamb bits, rice, salad…). I’ve had arab /​indian /​mediterranean salads like this before, so nothing too special. The lamb was nicely done, but kind of boring. Rice is rice.
As for service, I had a young guy who was pretty attentive at first, but sort of didn’t care to give me any more water. In the end, a nice, polite older gentleman did refill my water, but it was as I was leaving.
If you’re staring at this restaurant, just look around for Maru Sushi or Saladman, which are mind-​blowingly awesome by comparison.

We are overjoyed to find such a delicious restaurant in Boise. Thanks Unilocal for steering us to such a great find!
We went to The Kabob House early in the evening on a Saturday. It was empty, but they were happy to seat us. We were unsure of what to expect from the outside – it’s located in a strip mall – but the restaurant’s interior was a pleasant surprise. It’s tastefully decorated and in addition to the expected tables and a few booths, they have two authentic-​looking seating cushion areas. They are done in ornate red silk and really add to the ambiance, and though we did not sit there on this visit, I’m looking forward to trying it in the future.
To begin our meal, we ordered an appetizer of pitas and hummus. It was spectacular. The hummus had delicate notes of lemon and garlic and was topped with a wonderful olive oil that tasted pleasantly herbal and green. Several people in our party of 9 called it the best hummus they’d ever eaten. We could have used more pita bread, though, and that left the dish a little out of balance. In the end we scooped up the extra hummus with spoons and ate it that way (as it was tasty enough that we didn’t want to waste it).
We ordered several entrees and without exception, they were superb. The chicken kabob was tender and juicy and full of flavor. The lamb was even better – mild, succulent, and not at all «gamey» as bad lamb can be. One diner at our table had the rib kabobs (small lamb chops) and declared it to be the best lamb he’d ever eaten. The beef curry was fantastic, as was the chicken tikka masala. We also loved the lentil soup and wish we could identify the spices they used to make the dish at home.
The service was good, the price is great, especially for the quality of the food. We think our meal was on par with food we’ve had at Barbacoa, Chandler’s, Epi’s or Berryhill, but at a quarter the price.
We look forward to trying their lunch buffet, which has many of these same dishes available, but for even less money.
This is our new favorite. We give it our highest recommendation.

Pretty fly!
I’ve eaten a ton of afghan food throughout the US. This is good, especially for boise. I’m not going to wax on about how delicious the scrumtious sultry meat pieces tasted after they had been fully masticated… and stuff.
It’s good. It’s tasty. They can cook lamb medium rare. 7 day a week buffet with many vegetarian options for $ 10. Done/​over. Go and eat.