Kabobeesh

Typical Desi establishment. Nothing extraordinary. Edible food, but nothing crave-worthy.

2 words : Chicken Karahi ! For those that do not want to travel all the way to Ravi in Washington DC for superb Chicken Karahi then this is the place to go. We had a large group of friends and families that went together - we called well in advance and asked that the karahi be made fresh. Be sure to order the Karahi well in advance (i.e. call about half our beforehand to place the order) so that its fresh on arrival. Delicious blend of spice and chicken flavor that simply can not be denied. They have on premises parking and ok seating - granted its not a lavish interior design, but your there for the food not the décor. Service can be improved, but we went on a Sunday and it was pretty packed around lunch time. try to go outside of lunch hours to get prompt service if possible. Its located near the college campuses so the surrounding areas are \"safe\" so to speak. We had naan, chapli kebab, chai, kebabs - everything was fresh and tasted great. Would recommend if your in the area but make sure to call beforehand and order well in advance that way you won\'t end up waiting for a long time.

Don't forget to try "Beef paratha roll" and "chicken paratha roll". The restaurant is famous for it.

Food was great and delivered on time. The guy at the register was very friendly and they also give free pakoras and fruit salad for iftar during Ramadan. The place itself is a super old diner so don't wear your Friday's best.

The portions and prices are good. Really filled me up, and trust me, i eat a lot. The meat was great. Didnt really have to wait too long either. Everything was great except the rice and the naans. They seemed a bit stale although i did see them preparing fresh ones in the back.

I went to this place last week on someone's recommendation. I drove from Camden county to this place and the drive was not at all pleasant. However, the time I sat in there and had the first bite of Beef Seekh Kebab and hot/fresh nan I forgot all the trouble I faced to come to this place. Me and my wife ate the entire Chicken Churgha and the food reminded us of authentic Pakistani food. I have tried a number of Pakistani restaurants along east coast, but this place is bay far the most original taste of Pakistan. I will go there again and I recommend their Churgha and Beef seekh kebab. Location wise this place is OK, interior decor is old and dim and not very well maintained, and Baklava was utterly disappointing.

Their kabobs are solid, but service is painfully slow when there are large crowds. Curries don't appear to be fresh and nothing special. Naan and Kashmiri chai is very good. Good spot if you want no frills Pakistani food.

What I get from here, naan and chai. I am never disappointed.

Average food. The beef seekh kabab was tasty. The tandoori chicken leg was not. Naans are fluffy. I may return next time I drive through Philly.

nice clean place with friendly people. Good food.

This place is our old standby. Everything on the menu is excellent. Love the new paint job and other improvements which hides the dirt and grim that used to be very prominent once you crossed the theshold. Prices went up in the last 15 months or so but the food is still great. The only downside is the vegtables are always somewhat dry. The naan is the best. Pakistani folks I know from the University tell me the food is only okay but judging by the cabbies that flood the place in the evening, I still rate the food as darn good.

Had the tandoori chicken platter, which comes with rice, naan and side of veg/daal. Found their food to be very good. The place is not the best looking or in a great neighborhood, but they do have their own parking lot, which I found is a plus in this area. Their service was kinda slow, I almost thought they lost my order. Maybe I just went at a busy time. The management was however very good and respectful. 4 stars for food 3 stars for the place/area/service.

GOOD heart pakistani food but dining room looks old and dirty the beef korma was excellent and the dal was great

I've been in Philly 1.5 years now and am working at Penn. And this is by far my most frequented restaurant. I'm originally from Pakistan and I love the fact that they have stayed quite true to the pakistani style of cooking (most Desi restaurants taste like a mixture of all south asian countries). I agree with some of the reviews that the buffet items are just above average BUT the strength of the place is their BBQ. It definitely is a bit on the pricy side. My reasons for loving this place: -- PARKING: lots of parking in their own parking lot. -- Nan: Amazing nans, I love eating it hot right out of the tandoor. -- Chicken Karahi: this is to die for. Our favorite.. hands down. -- BBQ: the rest of the BBQ like the resham kebabs and chicken tikka's are quite awesome. -- Doodh Pati Chai: they make tea Driver Hotel style... those from Pakistan will know what I mean. -- Malai Kulfi : they make their own kulfi Exactly like it is on the street carts in Pakistan. Over all, this is definitely one of my favorite places to go to in Philly.

Mediocre food, hole in the wall place. Don't not order goat/mutton karahi you will be sorry. Also the tandoori stuff is just ave and has no real taste. Order a lot of side chutneys to get some taste. This is your regular cabbie joint and is not family friendly at all. On couple of occasions, we ordered food and then had to leave because of all the ruckus the cabbie crowd was making. Very dirty and terribly unorganized. Management is rude and discourteous. They know that they are the only game in town and they milk it for all it's worth. Oh, and the food is overpriced. Be careful what you order as it adds up really fast.

The food is average. The servings are fair for the price. I was however upset when patrons at the table next to me changed their childs diaper on the table in the presence of the staff/owners nothing was said to them. When they were done a man came & wiped off the tablewith a dry paper towel.

The kabobs here are good, though nothing "special". The other dishes are just average. The prices are also average. The staff though is very friendly (especially compared to a lot of similar "sit down" establishments). They honestly come off as being rather good, honest, sincere brothers. Overall, it is a decent spot to eat at if you like Pakistani cuisine but bear in mind that you won't find many "fancier" dishes that come from the Indo-Pak subcontinent and aside from the Kabobs, the other food is just "ok". If you live in West Philly or are in the University City area and need to eat Halal, it is one of the places that I'd recommend.

I think every time I'm in Phili we end up going to this restaurant. I prefer to get takeout since I kind of find it strange that the restaurant is in a 'trailer.' However, the food is excellent. Obviously, go for the kabobs!

BEWARE! They use both Halal and non-halal meat. We ate there recently (08/2010) and I asked them where they get their meat. Chicken is from Tyson (machine cut) though sometimes from As-Salaam. Beef he said he gets from various vendors. However, their Goat is legitimate. When eating out, you have to CONSTANTLY FOLLOW UP with the restaurant as practices and ideologies change with the in/out flow of cash.

Above average food in a "hole in the wall" type of restaurant. Actually, the old-NY diner type of decor is rather interesting. Pretty good naans and BBQ chicken but vegetable dishes were average.

Their food is delicious and the staff is always friendly. I LOVE the Naan.

As a native NYer living in DC, I found the food to be slightly above average. The portions were kind of small for the price, and the food wasn't special, but then again, it wasn't bad. I'd eat there if I was around, but wouldn't go out of my way if I was hungry.

Great pakistani food in area, no need to go to NJ or NY!

Atmosphere is something to be desired, but it is clean. In summer it is always way too hot, that need to have a better air conditioning. All kabobs are good, we love the special order karahis, Nan are the best. We avoid the rice and side dishes as they always cause bad stomach ache

Kababs are very fresh, and breads are delicious. Other dishes are nothing special. Service is decent. Atmosphere is less than perfect.

The food is very tasty and not expensive at all. You can buy couple of Kabobs for 5 bucks. It is not a nice sit down place. A lot of cabbies come here to eat food. Also a lot of University of Penn students come here too. The owner is from Pakistan. There Kabobs were very tasty but there biryani is not good at all.

Stopped going there - Food is overpriced though portions are large. Everyone gets upset stomach from eating there. Also the heating is not very good inside.

Decided to go after hearing about this place from some people at work. This place lived up to the buzz. Food was amazing especially their beef kabobs. Everything was cooked fresh hot and the staff was easy to deal with. Would recommend to anyone. Again the food was AMAZING!

Great food . A must eat !

The food is very good-- authentic tasty pakistani--- service is a little mediocore, and so is the atmosphere of the resteraunt: they have a tv on which shows stupid programs. also its a little bit overpriced.

The place has decent quality food. Platter's are your best bet with one Kebab , one vegetable + rice etc. Although you need to ask them multiple times to grill your meat properly as if they are busy they just serve it medium cooked.

KABOBEESH has the best food ever! The lamb chops are deliciouse and the Lamb Boti is very good! This is the # 1 restraunt in Philadelphia! The service is nice and the people make the atmosphere even better.

I called Kabobeesh to set up a large group reservation, and they were very nice. However, about a week before my event I came all the way from Baltimore just to check it out. It's a good thing I did! Despite their phone assurances, the place was not large enough to accomodate our group. The manager on duty had no idea we were coming, even though I had called in advance. It was too bad I made the 2+ hour trip for nothing! I tried the food while I was there- it was not bad but it was too spicy and they didn't have any non-spicy options for kids. However, I must say that the American diner / Pakistani restaurant makes for an interesting atmosphere. Don't come to Kabobeesh with high expectations!

I do not recommend his place. The service is very poor. I got the lamb kabobs and the meat smelled extremely bad. The rest of the food was very distasteful. There are many other Halal restaurants in Philadelphia you can visit besides this one.

I suffer when I eat their spicy food. It's easy to swallow but hard to pass. I wish they had something mild. They should sell to the non-spicy audience. I have asked them to rinse the spices off their meat, but even that doesn't kill the burning. Thank God for raita.

The food is halal. Chicken and beef kabob are really good and I would highly recommend going to this place, if you are in town.

Good Pakistani food, like from back home.

i visited kabobeesh once, and now i am a regular custome,, food i sfresh and service was good,, the atmosphere was cxlean and food was very tasty..recommended for kabobs,

Visited a couple of times. The food is OK. The Chapali Kabab was floating in oil, the chicken kabab roll was bland, the Nihari tasted decent. The prices are not too high.

the food is perfect,prices are very affordable,staff is very friendly,all the food is halal.Naan from the clay oven, and Bar Bq kabobsare the best.

This gracious estabilishment is conveniently located in a fationable and exquisite antique diner. It has a beautiful atmosphere with an envious theater syestem. The food here is immaculate and perfect for any auspicious occasions, I love the kabob and salan.

I am going there today for iftiari, i don't know yet..i'll let u know.

Heads up! They moved to 42nd and chestnut! They now occupy the old american diner (an old school aluminum structure). Their options have expanded as well. The TV got bigger too! It also seems that they are open whenever a cricket game is on. -jcw

kabobeesh is a great spicy halal food restaurant...specially the bar bq i stoo goods,, strongly recommended for the families,, the staff is clean and friendly,,, ilove it

Wow, really good, authentic Pakistani cuisine that is cheap. The lamb chops are really terrific, but I strongly recommend going on the weekend for the Haleem. Outstanding!

Excellent nan. Nehari was ok. Good service.

Excellent food, perfectly-spiced. Fair prices. Not a fancy decor, but nice and Islamically decorated.

What can I say? I eat there 3x a week! It's fantastic. The crew is great, very friendly. They do free iftars during ramadhan, Ptv is on ALL the time, and they don't "amreekanize" the food. Sunday is Haleem day... mmmmm Haleem -jcw

There are many options to choose from here. Although the food is spicy, you can have dishes custom made to your liking. The owners are very friendly and try their best to please. The restuarant has a "homestyle" Pakistani appearance. Everything is halal and their stone oven baked nan is some of the best in Philly. Some menu items are overpriced but generally good food at a reasonable price.

Good Nihari but bad service. Nice people but did not know how to handle a situation. My husband was not happy with the response.

Great place for Pakistani cuisine in general and especially barbeque/grilled items. A wide variety with great prices. Cleaner and less steamy/greasy than your typical South Asian eatery. Entrees with generous sides. Very courteous service, parking is better than usual but still horrendous. Masjid down the road. Sweetes are available to go. Overall we recommend this place to everyone, quality food and great prices.