Kabul City

Being at Fisherman’s Wharf is one of my earliest memories of San Francisco. I have reveries involving tired Italian restaurants, chain motels, overpriced t-​shirt shops and stretched pennies… savor the memories and the drunken bored tourists. All that has changed. Now, Kabul City is the only reason to go to the Wharf! Yes the pumpkin appetizer, kadu burani, is incredible. The grilled special has skewers of succulent lamb, chicken and beef, the rice is excellent. Don’t miss the chicken korma and definitley go for the dough pockets, plump dumplings served in a tomato and pea sauce, the dish is like no other in town. The Helmand sadly, is closed until the location issues are sorted out, so I have no basis of comparison except for Salang Pass in Fremont. Salang is great, with giant portions. No alcohol there, whereas beer and wine are available at Kabul City. I have to say Kabul City has a more refined touch, but both restaurants are outstanding. Parking is available a block away at the North Point Mall, and if you shop there, you get 1.5 hours free parking.
This is a wonderful place and the only Afghan restaurant in the city until Helmand reopens. A welcome addition to the restaurant scene!

I just stopped by here for the first time with some coworkers for the lunch special. Sadly, we were unimpressed.
For $ 6.99, you can choose one of 5 or 6 dishes (steak kabob, chicken kabob, spiced ground beef kabob, and a couple others). This comes with rice, a small salad, and a piece of flatbread.
We ordered everything to go and it took about 15 minutes for it all to be ready. Even though we’d all ordered and paid separately, they packed everything into 2 bags and the styrofoam containers were unlabeled. He told us we could work it out. We did, but it would have been nice to give us our respective lunches, or at the very least, label what everything was.
Having enjoyed dining at The Helmand numerous times, I was craving a taste of sweet pumpkin. I asked the proprietor if I could have a small side of sweet pumpkin with my lunch special. He said no, you can only order the full dish. I convinced my coworker to share one with me. Getting back to the office, I discovered that the additional $ 6.99 got me about a quarter cup of pumpkin with yogurt sauce. It wasn’t as good as Helman’s by a long shot. The texture was stringy and the flavor was less intense. That was bad, but I was more peeved that I’d doubled the cost of my lunch to get 2 little bites of pumpkin.
For my main course I had the steak kabob, which was delicious and flavorful. It was perfectly cooked, tender, and wonderfully spiced. All 5 bites of it. So yeah, the portions are a little on the small side. My coworkers had the same complaint. Very tasty, but they’re all still hungry. The flavor of that steak is the only thing that saved Kabul City from a 2 star review.
The sides were ok. The rice was delicious, but the bread was really stale, and the salad was just a couple pieces of iceberg lettuce with sliced cucumber and shredded carrot. There’s a small cup of spicy minty sauce that was wonderful.
The décor was nice, but other than the oil lamps on the walls and the raised carpeted seating area, it looks exactly like La Casona, the Mexican restaurant that previously occupied this space.
Overall, this neighborhood severely lacks good lunch choices, and Afghan cuisine is good stuff, so I’ll likely be back again. Unfortunately, Kabul City pales in comparison to the spectacular $ 9.95 all-​you-​can-​eat lunch special at The Helmand. If you’ve never had Afghan food before, try The Helmand. If you’re stuck in Fisherman’s Wharf and want a meal that doesn’t involve fried chicken wings, hamburgers, or clam chowder, this is a decent option.

I wish I could give this one 4.5 stars. the food is quite wonderful. really amazing Afghani food, wonderful service and huge portions. the rice is a beauty of its own. highly recommended (especially if you’ve never had afghani food! not spicy/don’t be afraid). Check this place out for sure. it is the only reason we go to fisherman’s wharf. woo!

Full disclosure: I’ve never had Afghani food before, so I can’t comment on authenticity.
That out of the way, I really enjoyed my meal here. The owner was very friendly and attentive, and helped us select a variety of delicious items. The standout was definitely the bolani, which I now have a daily craving for. I also enjoyed the kadu burani (pumpkin), which we got as an appetizer and the bamia chollow (okra), which I got as a vegetarian dish. I don’t remember the name of the dessert I had, but it was like a honey-​soaked mini funnel cake, and it was really tasty.
Other than being a little too brightly lit and having a limited beer selection, this place was great! The spices were intriguing but not intimidating, and it was a pleasant experience overall. I will be back!

SF definately needs more afghan restaurants. I came here to check it out. Compared to the Afghan Restaurants in Fremont and the South Bay, this place does not stand a chance. Its food is mediocore at best. But since its one of only 2 afghan restaurants in the city, i’m sure it’ll do well.
Just want to tell everyone not to rate afghan food based on what you have here, Afghan food is much better and this place doesn’t come close to good Afghan food.

one of the greatest meals ever! seriously! if you’ve never tried afghani food, i can best describe it as persian meets indian. the owner was very accomodating to my dietary preferences (i’m vegan) and altered some of the dishes to omit dairy. sooooooo yummeeeeee! the bolani was so delicate, non-​greasy, and yummy. they made okra and spinach without the meat and dairy and they were well-spiced…yummy yummy. the pumpkin sans yogurt was yummy yummy yummy. the mint chutney and chili sauce condiments really make the flavors of the dishes come together. i had the rice pudding (non-​dairy!) to go… cardamom is the dominant flavor… mmm, mmm, MMM! afghani is one of my favorite cuisines and i haven’t found any good afghani in l.a. so i’ll have to make a pilgrimage to kabul city every so often to get my fix!!!

Afghan food options in S.F. A reason to visit Fisherman’s Wharf? What?!?
Afghan food is woefully underrepresented in this City. In fact, with the recent opening of Kabul City, it looks like the number of Afghan restaurants in S.F. has officially doubled. I think it has to do with most of the Afghan population choosing to reside in Fremont, including the husband-​wife team that runs this place. Since Salang Pass in Fremont is one of my favorites, I was super excited to try out Kabul City.
While I won’t stop making the occasional trek to Salang, it’s good to know there’s a solid option here in the City for homestyle fare. When you walk in, you’ll notice the floor seating to the right, and regular seating to the left. The décor is pleasant enough.
The menu was smaller than Salang’s, but there’s enough to please. The meal begins with a complimentary yogurt and cucumber appetizer, a few spicy spreads, and some bread. For the mains, they offer chicken, beef, lamb, and ground beef (chapli) kebabs as well aushak, mantu, and other traditional dishes. We went with the chapli kebab and the mantu (afghan dumplings topped with a meat sauce and yogurt). The chapli kebab was good though I would have preferred it a bit juicier. No complaints whatsoever with the mantu. It was spicy as requested and I was tempted to lick the plate clean.
I was pleasantly surprised to see beer and wine served here, but the Merlot served chilled was a faux pas. With a little more experience under their belt, these little quirks are bound to get worked out. I look forward to coming back and exploring the rest of the menu.