Village Kabob

It is with a heavy heart that I inform everyone that despite the amazing food, Village Kabob is closed.
The food was delightful, delicious, & authentic. I’m hoping the owner is able to open a new location!

After passing this place just about every day for work, I decided to stop by to pick up my dinner. I’m so glad I did. I’m not an expert on kabob, but I know how I like it, and it was well seasoned and tender. It’s a bit pricey, but you get a lot of food. I got the combination chicken and lamb kabob with salad, soup, and naan for about $ 14. Everything was good, but I wasn’t too fond of the yogurt sauce, which is usually my favorite part.
Upon first glance, this place leaves a lot to be desired, but the food is great, as is the customer service (the owner is so nice).

This is a really good place to eat that I don’t think enough people give a chance. The kabobs are yummy, and the portions are huge. You will be full for a really really long time after eating here. I haven’t tried the stuffed pasta options yet, but based on the things that I’ve tried, I have high expectations. The people there are very nice, and the service is really good.

Best food from that region of the world I have ever had anywhere in the US!

I feel sort of bad giving this place four stars. I feel like it would be five stars if I actually had a strong fondness for Afghani food, but as it is I’ll just have to be honest to my own preferences. As people said, plenty of veggie options, although everyone I’ve gone with says the kabobs are really the point of the whole experience. I would tell vegetarians to go for the chickpeas, cauliflower and eggplant dip, and the rice is amaaaaazing. Brown is probably more flavorful, but they also put cardamom in the white rice, so it’s certainly not bland. I love the yogurt sauce that comes on the side, but it can be a wee bit spicy, which is generally not my thing. Most importantly, the food you get here is fresh fresh fresh — my number four (folded potato triangular thing I can’t remember the name of) comes piping hot out of the oil. The gentleman who runs the place is very sweet, and always remembers his customers. In fact, I don’t have a single bad thing to say about this place. Definitely a family favorite!

This is a great vegetarian option in Raleigh. The folks behind the counter are very nice and friendly, and the food is simply amazing. I did the vegetarian combo with chickpeas, cauliflower, and pumpkin with brown rice. (I posted a photo!) It also came with yogurt sauce drizzled on top, naan bread (no nigella seeds though), and a fresh salad with diced cucumber, tomato, onion, and cilantro. A huge amount of food for only $ 8, and it was delicious.

I think you’d be surprised by this place. Kinda looks like one of those «why would I go in there» places.
The guy at the counter was kinda sketchy. I showed up with a $ 2 off coupon and he told me it was expired. Which it was, I didn’t realize that. Then he smiled and said «but I’ll give it to you anyway.» then I watched as he typed -$ 1 on the cash register like the thing doesn’t have a screen that faces me. Of course my coupon was expired anyway so I guess that’s cool.
But my food was great and I’ll for sure come back. Chicken kabob platter with hummus and something else that i cannot remember. Pretty safe bet. Next time I’ll try something a little more dangerous. And I am looking forward to it.

The mantu is incredible. It seems every ethnic culture has some kind of stuffed pasta and for Afghan food the mantu must be it. And «wow» it was way beyond expectations. I thought it was very good, but my co-​worker said it could have used more of the yogurt sauce. I would go again just for mantu although with so many other trad’l Afghan food menu options, it would be a difficult choice. During one of my visits, I opted for the chicken kabobs. The kabobs were a huge portion of very spicy chicken that for me, were a bit dry, but the pumpkin stew made up for it.
The Village Kabob is nothing spectacular for setting, but the food will make up for it. I’ll definitely be adding this to the rotation.

Got there at 12.45pm and were the only customers. Pretty soon the place was bustling with people and most of them were regulars. I picked this place based on recommendations and have to compliment the place on its food! Fabulously mouth watering and absolutely delicious. Portions are more than generous and the price is perfect. The staff are friendly, courteous and warm.
I tried the Mantu and the village special! The Mantu (meat dumplings & creamy yogurt) just melted in my mouth… very filling. The village special has chicken/​meat kabobs which are more than a person can handle and absolutely delicious. So ggod that I ordered a Mantu and chicken kabob takeout!!! Overall price is right, food is stunning and service is great. Highly recommended!!!

Village Kabob was a pleasant surprise when my husband and I dined in last month. I don’t have a very sophisticated palate, but I know what I like. The food here is amazing. The chicken kabobs were juicy and spicy with a large portion. Their bread is fantastic and I suggest paying extra to get a side. I also got the «pumpkin stew» which was delicious with the bread. The rice was the perfect aromatic companion to the whole dish. I didn’t give the place a full five stars because the ambiance is lacking. The food is served on styrofoam plates and the fluorescent lights reminded me too much of where I work (a hospital). But, despite the décor, I would definitely go back. Great find for dinner and I hear they have good lunch specials as well.

Driving past in the middle of a school field trip to various state prisons, I was initially joking when I said, «Who wants to get some kebabs?» The more we thought about it the better kebabs sounded so a group of about 15 of us trouped over.
Plus, I mean, who wouldn’t want to have lunch at a random kebab place in the middle of Raleigh?
I’d comment first on the extremely nice and friendly staff (owner?) but for the sake of keeping this review in non-​Tarentino chronological order, I’ll start off by saying that the smells were amazing. Before we even got to the door, the spicy smells had me thinking we were onto something special.
The guy who took our orders was, as I mentioned before, really nice and helpful in terms of suggesting what to order based on your preferences and appetite. I got the lamb kebab with eggplant stew and nan. The lamb was delicious and I heard people commenting that the chicken was even better.
The service was fast and even though there were a ton of us, we were all eating within a pretty short space of time. They even gave us free baklava which was out of this world.
Prices? Reasonable*.
Staff? Awesome.
Food? Incredible.
Returning? You bet.
*I’d actually give it a dollar sign and a half, if it were an option. Most meals were just under 10 bucks but if you got a side or a drink, it’d put you at around $ 11 or $ 12

Good food, and great service. It’s such an unassuming place, seems like it’s at its own pace… very quiet and ‘home’ like. Good tasty vegetarian options. If you have just started your diet, or going easy on the fat, then avoid this place. The food is tasty, but little greasy! … and may seem a little pricey, as they use ‘halal’ meats. My husband loves their meat selections too. and they are nice people… so, give it a try!

They cook their meat on swords. ’nuff said.

Oh man, I REALLY REALLY loved this place. It’s no frills, to be certain, but the food and service and attention to detail is outstanding. The man you have in your picture there with the hat is clearly the owner, and he is very friendly. He enjoyed telling us about all of the dishes and all about the kinds of quality ingredients and methods he uses. «There is nothing here from a can. It’s all fresh and made by hand.» I ordered the Mantu (one of the items listed as an «Afghan National Dish»). This is little dumplings filled with ground beef, onion, and lentils. On top is yogurt and meat sauce with dried mint. It was ridiculously good. My boyfriend ordered the Lamb Kabob platter, which had a really unusual, amazing flavor to it (I correctly identified it as including Cardamom). It came with rice and his choice of a stew. Turns out this means a side of cooked vegetables, which are very similar to vegetarian Indian dishes (cauliflower, pumpkin, eggplan, or chickpea). I am lucky that I’d had Afghan food before, but the last time I had it, the food was much more expensive. It isn’t dirt cheap here, but it’s worth every penny. Entrees are priced between $ 8 and $ 15. Most are about $ 10. I hope this place catches on, because I hope to go there regularly for years to come. DEFINITELY worth checking out. Not fancy, but when the food is this good, who really cares?!

This is a cool family-​run joint that just opened up across from the Peace St Market. I had never been to an Afghani restaurant before so I was eager to try it. As soon as you walk in you’re greeted by the friendly staff (owner?), and welcomed with colorful pictures and descriptions of various combo platters. Most are different skewers of meat combinations with rice and your choice of stew (potato or chick pea). I couldn’t make up my mind at first, but I eventually decided to pick one of the non-​kabob dishes billed as a «national Afghan dish» — the name escapes me but it consisted of meat and onion filled dumplings covered in a yogurt sauce with dried mint on top. It was delicious, and I was told the dumplings were hand-​made the day prior. It’s similar to the Arabic shushbarak in some ways, with bigger dumplings and a spicier sauce. You get about 10 at a cost of about $ 10, along with some naan. Not too bad for this type of cuisine. The kabobs seemed similar to those you might find at a place like Café Parvaneh in Chapel Hill, and Village Kabob’s prices are much better. What you sacrifice is ambience — the dining area is a bit small, and you eat on paper plates with plastic utensils. No complaints from me on that, as I’d rather save the money. In sum, Village Kabob is a unique Raleigh offering that you should check out. I’ll definitely be back to try several of the other entrees.

With the arrival of Village Kabob on Peace Street, you’ve now got a new, exotic dining option on S. Glenwood! Located right across from the Peace Street Market and down the street from the Mellow Mushroom, Village Kabob is the second Afghani restaurant I’ve been to in the area (there’s also Unaabi in Cary). Not quite Mediterranean food and not quite Indian food, Afghani food borrows a bit from both cuisines but has its own unique twist and spices!
Village Kabob is a quick casual place, order at the counter and the food gets brought out to you at one of the eight little tables. You’ve got some choices like qabuli (lamb, rice, carrots, raisins), dumplings, kabobs, several stews (chickpea, spinach, pumpkin) and a side of fresh Afghani bread. Meals will run you about $ 10 — $ 12 with a drink, not bad but not cheap either. The food seems to me to be a bit of home-​cooking and very fresh. I had a tender lamb qabuli which was lightly seasoned with aromatic spices and sweetness. A nice side of cucumber, peppers, onions and herbs was tasty and the fresh flatbread was great.
Village Kabob is definitely the real, ethnic deal. Certainly cheaper and more casual than Unaabi, the food is quite good. The one concern I do have is the prices. Since it’s in the higher end of the lunch price range, it puts itself in direct competition with many upscale and delicious choices out there. And are the people of Raleigh ready for Afghani food as a dining option? Only time will tell but I can reassure you that you won’t go away hungry from Village Kabob. A nice alternative and addition to the S. Glenwood food scene!