SJ Kabob

when it comes to Persian food it’s very difficult with people. it could be a hit or miss. it really depends on how you would like your food cooked, here they cook the food the way I love it. Koobideh is cooked just right & juicy the way I like it but some people prefer it dry which I don’t. the price is extremely reasonable for me. I highly recommend this place, and I always come here and order food when I’m in the neighborhood.

Definitely our favorite take out for kabobs is here. The lady (who I assume is the owner) is nice and sweet, although a little quiet. I think after our 10^th time here in 6 months, she recognized our faces and I swear her face lights up when she sees us lol Maybe it’s just in my head…
It’s always two Koobideh dinners, usually with an extra tomato in both and depending on how we feel, we may add an extra kabob and/​or the masto khiar, which pairs well with the hot meat and the pilaf and adds that cooling and refreshing element.

This place is amazing!
I just moved up from LA, and when I asked a friend about hidden gem restaurants, and he immediately referred me to SJ Kabob.
When I pulled up, it didn’t look special. But once I started eating, I understood why he referred me here.
I got the Koobideh Kabob (beef skewers) with Basmati Rice and oh man was it amazing! I was actually genuinely worried because I didn’t want to finish my food; I wish it was neverending.
But the portion was so grand, that I got full before I could finish. In other words: Leftovers!!!
I totally recommend SJ Kabob to everyone; they also have vegetarian meals too.

Family run, focused on top quality. Specials are good. My standard is chicken kabob plate with a side veg kabob. More than enough food for two big meals. Outstanding Mast-​o Khiar.

Huh.
Sometimes first judgements can be wrong…
Such was the case here, as proven by our second visit to SJ Kabob (aka
.) Our first time, it was «meh» and I probably planned to give it 2 stars and just never bothered. (I hate writing negative reviews for hardworking, honest, small businesses.) This visit to SJ Kabob, however, was TERRIFIC!
First, this place is not really a «restaurant» per se. It looks like their real business is probably catering (I don’t know this for sure, just guessing.) The storefront is likely more of a «why not» undertaking. There are about 5 tables inside and 1 table outside. I live nearby, so am at this shopping center regularly — I doubt I’ve EVER seen more than 2 of the tables occupied at any one time. Clearly, their business is – in order — catering; takeout; dine-​in.
I think the first time we tried this place, we didn’t follow the rules. Let me explain. My wife likes to get falafel — not falafel in a warp, or falafel in a salad, JUST falafel. On our first visit, they said no. (Say whu???) This time, they reluctantly said «OK.» This was odd, but in the end, telling… read on. For me, last time I got the chicken and ate the chicken. Got the steak and ate the steak. That’s not how you eat Persian food…
This visit we ordered: one chicken kabob, one bargh kabob, and some falafel. Took it all home, and then — here is the trick — combined the mains with all the «fixins» in (more or less) the correct fashion… we think… ;) For the falafel, this meant: falafel + rice + lavash + red sauce + white sauce + onion + parsley. Result? FANTASTIC! For the chicken & bargh, this meant: lavash + butter + basil + onion + rice + red sauce + white sauce + meat. (OK, I know the butter is supposed to go on top of the rice, and you are supposed to eat the onion on its own in between as a palate cleanser.) But… HOLY MOLY. I literally had to step away from the food. Those little meat + rice + condiment wraps were disappearing at an alarming clip!
The lesson here: some foods are meant to be eaten certain ways. Pull apart the flavors, and you won’t get the whole picture. Let the dish do it’s thing, and blammo! You are suddenly in flavor heaven. (Just picture Remy teaching Emil about flavor combos in the movie Ratatouille…)
Pros: People are super nice; food is VERY fresh; flavors are GREAT; rice is delish; portions are quite ample; location is convenient… if you are in the foodie wasteland called Almaden Valley… ;)
Cons: A bit pricey (bargh kabob for $ 19? ouch. OK, it’s a very good cut of meat); gotta haggle for falafels at night???
Verdict: If you are local, you DEFINITELY should get takeout and try it out.
We’ll be back. Fer Sure Dude.

The thing I love about kebab are the spices. These were bland. The rice was rubbery. I know it’s an odd description of rice but it’s an accurate description. The texture was so weird. The food isn’t very good, but it also wasn’t repulsive.

This is a small place in an older mall, the sign outside it says
, don’t ask me it’s silly name but its really SJ Kabob. The have a couple of tables inside, but most people carry out the food to go. The people running he place are nice and the food is on pair with most of the other places like this in the valley, sometimes better depending who cooking, but otherwise chowable with a smile on your face :)

Best fast food Persian place there is around. They are always friendly and the food is always perfection. This is a must stop on our way from SoCal every year !!!

I guess small mom and pop kabob houses still exist. Man they run a clean shop. The food was fresh, the two owners were running the shop. I just had to try and quench my kudideh jonesing. Right on Unilocalers, your reviews drew me in. Such nice folks and good tasting food. Tender and delicious kubedeih

Meh. I was excited to try this place since I practically grew up working at the (now dead) coffee shop nearby, plus the reviews seemed good. I wasn’t all that impressed.
The lady working there wasn’t super pleasant… Not rude but just not engaged. To be fair it was probably the end of a long day for her, though. My entrée took 20 minutes to make which seems kind of long for what I thought was a take out type place. The dinner menu is limited — why are there no wrap options for dinner? Not even one?
I got my food to go and was disappointed to find when I got home that they didn’t put any sauces or napkins or anything in the bag — just a bag of some lavash and mint and onions. Would have been nice to at least ask if I wanted tahini or hot sauce. The chicken was a little overdone and the rice was kind of soggy. Bummer.

2.5 stars.
Hella far. I should have looked at the map before I picked this place for dinner. I literally assumed it was off of Meridian/​280 but it so wasn’t. I haven’t seen my friend, Katherine in so long. Years. Because I knew that she would be relocating temporarily, we made plans to see each other to catch up and enjoy a good meal.
The super thin naan-​like plate came out as their starter, complimentary which was nice but I didn’t get the individually wrapped butter next to it. I didn’t use it. I just thought that it was odd, that’s all. This hole-​in-​the-​wall had prices meant for a full service restaurant. I was pretty close to ordering just water but I couldn’t be rude to my friend that went out of her way to see me plus the point was to talk anyway.
I forgot what Katherine ordered but I got the ground beef plate which looked like a fuller plate (I share my entrée w/​Gavin) so I generally pick a dish that gets the most bang for the buck. The grilled tomato was good, the rice was a bit on the oily side, and the meat was tender but bland.
Katherine wouldn’t let me pay for dinner. I will treat her once she gets back to the Bay Area.

Disappointing after reading all the good reviews. The kabobs were decent but the rice was soggy! Is it too much too expect to get decent rice when you are paying $ 13 – 19.00 for each dinner?

Really like this place. Been there several times. It’s a hole-​in-​the-​wall/​mom-​and-​pop operation that serves really good food. The kabobs (koobideh and chicken) were very delicious. Not a lot of seating.

More like the bomb dot com.
Literally a hole in the wall. But the food has great quality in terms of being fast food. However the price for most of the entrees are not so much fast food. It is a little pricey and the food is a hit or miss. Sometimes the meat can be a touch dry.
But it’s practically my backyard and offers great food and great service. What I love is that you will always see the same woman working up front.

Small place; can get hot inside when the sun is on it. The girls at the register were really nice. There is a lunch menu available until about 3 pm, I got the spicy beef wrap, which a koubidde, rice, and cucumber in a wrap. it was tasty, but I did not think the beef was spicy. However, they have chili powder to use. Sauce is good, just not spicy. The cucumbers were finely chopped, rather than sliced. That might be a drawback if you like some vegetation in your sandwich wrap. The Abali yogurt soda is great accompaniment to this kind of food – the meal includes a drink.

This little place is super delicious, super clean and the staff (2 older ladies) were very friendly during our meal here. We came in on a Saturday evening and they were slow at the time, so we were in and out in very little time. We could see them prepping the skewers of kobideh and chicken and cooking them from our seating place, so that kept the kids entertained.
All in all, a great experience and I’ll definitely be coming in for more.

The food tasted awesome. Best food i tasted in a while. Tried chicken kabob and koobideh kabob and both were juicy and tasty. The place is limited in seatings. 2 tables with 4 chairs and 2 tables with 2 chairs and few tables outside. . The place is decent and clean and the service is neat and Satisfying.

This place is very ordinary on the outside; but once inside, you see it’s very clean and orderly. They got some shiz here.
The chicken kabob plate is packed with tender, juicy pieces of seasoned boneless chicken BBQ’d just right and comes with a full plate of basmati rice with a BBQ’d tomato snuggled up against the rice and chicken. Very good quality. $ 10.95
After you sit down, they bring you two small plates: one, of sliced white onion and another of mint leaves and a stack of flat bread with 3 packets of butter. Put them altogether and sprinkle on the Sumac (purple powder) for the lemony taste.
SJ Kabob: thank you for the little touches.
My new favorite quickie Persian place.
Décor: humble and clean.
Customer service: good.
What a find!

I am a believer. At first I was a little confused by the Unilocal one $ rating vs. their menu, but the issue is that dinner is I think more like two $ while lunch is one.
Now for the food. It wad delicious. Had a beef kabob and combo kabob plate along with the hummus and the another salad. My nine year old and I really enjoyed it. Certainly large enough to split two dishes to three people so that makes dinner pretty economical as well.
The gentleman there said they had been there for 7 years while I lived two miles from them for all that time and never was compelled to try them. I thank Unilocal for the introduction. :-)

We got this catered for a work lunch today and it was AWESOME!
No idea what the actual restaurant is like but the girl on the phone was friendly, only issue we had was a tried to call and add some veggie kabobs and no one answered, tried again later and got an answer but the cook said he couldn’t do it. So that was unfortunate, most restaurants are able to accommodate large requests but not so sure about this one.
The chicken was really good as was the beef koobideh. Rice was great as well. We got some type of thick white dipping sauce which was amazing as was the hummus. Lavash bread was ok.
The delivery guy was extremely friendly. Overall we had a good experience and I would call them again if needed