De Afghanan Kabob House

De Afghanan Kabob House in San Francisco is a hidden gem offering rich, flavorful Afghan cuisine in a cozy setting. We visited as a family and were impressed by the tender kabobs, freshly baked bread, and aromatic rice. The portions were generous, and the food felt truly homemade. The staff were friendly and the service was quick, even during a busy evening. Tip: The place is small with limited seating, so consider arriving early or getting takeout. If you’re looking for authentic Afghan flavors in the city, this spot is definitely worth trying!

Recommended to me by my taxi driver. I went at around 1:30pm on a Thursday. Was immediately greeted by a polite woman behind the counter. I told her my dietary restrictions and she recommended the beef and chicken kabob combo and gave me extra salad instead of rice. The kabobs were tender and the dipping sauce was savory with a hint of spice. Diced cucumber and tomato salad paired well with the meat.

The food is SO delicious!!! The beef and chicken Kabob skewers are so well seasoned, succulent, and juicy. My favorite part about the skewers is that they are charcoal grilled. The smokey scent from the Charcoal is just Chef’s kiss! The rice too! Every grain of them is deliciously soft, fluffy, and buttery. Yum! The salad is refreshing and perfectly balances the rest of the plate. And their baklava (a sweet dessert) is the best I’ve had. My husband and I were in town together last week. We tried their food for the first time, and liked the food so much we ended up going there twice. I went there again today on my own. The food is delicious every time. Jayhoon and Wida, the brother and sister who run this place, are such pleasant, delightful people. I’m honestly baffled why there are reviews saying the service isn’t good. Their service is awesome!

Absolutely Horrible Experience – Avoid This Place at All Costs The moment we walked in, it was obvious that the restaurant didn’t have enough space or seating to accommodate our group. I politely informed the man who introduced himself as the owner that, due to the lack of seating, we wouldn’t be able to dine in. What happened next was beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. Instead of acknowledging our situation or responding respectfully, the owner suddenly began shouting at us. Out of nowhere, he accused us of just wanting to use the bathroom and said, “If you wanted to use the bathroom, just say so — you don’t have to make excuses.” He then launched into an unprovoked tirade, bragging about how he deals with "important people" and that we weren’t “important enough.” He continued by making disgusting generalizations about newly arrived Afghans, calling them stupid — despite the fact that I’ve lived in the U.S. for over a decade. Never in my life have I encountered someone so rude, condescending, and outright vile — especially someone representing a business. His behavior was unprofessional, insulting, and completely uncalled for.

Good portion. Very unique, lamb is succulent and tender.

I visited this place with a group of 10, hoping to support an Afghan-owned business as a proud member of the Afghan community. What we encountered was one of the most appalling dining experiences I’ve ever had. The restaurant lacked enough chairs to accommodate our group, which is understandable, but when I politely informed the owner of this issue, he responded with shocking hostility and disrespect. The owner, who made a point of boasting about his supposed “importance” and connections to “important people,” accused us of making excuses just to use the bathroom—an absurd and baseless claim. He then launched into a tirade, belittling us and making derogatory remarks about “newcoming” Afghans, despite the fact that I’ve lived in the U.S. for over a decade. His behavior was not only unprofessional but deeply offensive, especially to customers trying to support his business. I later learned from others in the community that this owner has a history of treating customers poorly, which makes me question the authenticity of the glowing reviews this place has online. The lack of basic hospitality, combined with the owner’s arrogance and insulting demeanor, makes this restaurant an absolute disgrace to Afghan culture and hospitality. Save your money and dignity—there are plenty of other Afghan restaurants in San Francisco that treat their customers with the respect they deserve. I will never return and strongly urge others to steer clear of this establishment.

We the received the kindest service. This was our first time trying Afghani food and the owner was very helpful and accommodating. He explained the dishes to us and the flavours. The food was mind blowing. So delicious. So fresh and the flavours were a whole new experience!! We are completely in love with this food thanks to this experience!! LOVED IT!!

A bad experience that will not be repeated Since I entered the restaurant until I left, I went through several bad experiences that made me decide not to return to this restaurant again - The first time I entered the restaurant with a friend of mine, the restaurant was empty, there was only a man sitting at one of the tables, I thought he was a customer.. After waiting for about two minutes to see someone to take my order, that man asked me if I needed help, so I realize that he was the chef… Anyway, he took my order and I paid for the food, then sat down. After I finished my food, I went to him and thanked him then headed out, and he called me and asked me for the bill I told him that I had paid and added $12 to the bill as a tip, so he said to me “ ohh I must have made a mistake” then went back, I left the restaurant and when I reached about 100 meters from the restaurant, he was behind me again calling me and saying that I had not paid I took out my phone and showed him the payment receipt on my email , so he was convinced, then he returned to the restaurant without apologizing... I suspected at that time that he was crazy or Drunk

This place is so good. Came by with the husband months ago and tried Afghan food and this place doesn't disappoint. Portions are generous and delicious. The Bolani (an Afghan stuffed flatbread of potatoes) was so yummy and this is from someone who usually doesn't eat a lot of potatoes. Also impressed by the Ferni (Afghan dessert of rice pudding with rose water and pistachio). The ambiance is nice. I remember when this place was a Thai restaurant, but it looks so different now. Service friendly. Located on Kearny and Bush.

Tasty lunch to have during the work week. A bit on the pricier side. Order at the counter and sit down if you'd like to dine in. They have a water jug where you can pour yourself water. I haven't eaten at any location outside of Fremont until now. Cashier/workers were all very nice. It did take around 10 minutes for them to prepare my order, but it came out hot and steaming. Although I had the Fremont location a few years ago, I will say this location tastes very similar but not quite the same. Still - very tasty and I would come back if I was working in the city again. The afghan bread was warm and soft. Chicken and beef were both cooked well and tender (3 pieces each). The shornakhud was tangy and fresh.

D A K House is still one of my favorite take out restaurants after all these years. Consistent flavors that I love! The restaurant's small interior serves you well to grab and go or deliver.

I was having lunch across the street last week when I noticed De Afghanan House. I love a good Kabob plate for lunch! So yesterday, I placed an online order of a Chicken Kabob plate to go. When I arrived, it was packaged up ready to go. There are only a few tables inside if you were to eat indoors but based on the location in outer Chinatown/Financial district, most of their orders are take out orders. The order was not cheap, came to $23 for a plate. The plate came with a bed of rice (a little on the hard side) with 6 pieces of tender boneless chicken breast that was charbroiled. The chicken was not dry at all and very juicy. There were also 2 pieces of bread and side salads. The price was definitely steep for what you get. I would say for a meal like that, $15 would be reasonable. Amongst their other Kabobs, they also serve Chaplee, Tekka Beef, Lamb and combination of all three. They also have veggies, sides and desserts.

The place is a hole in the wall with very few tables and we were very lucky to have snagged one for dining in. The service is super friendly and they did not frown on BYOB. The food was soooo good! I would trek here just for the Bolani alone! They are deep fried and accompanied by yogurt and other sauces. Definitely try the Chaplee Kabob, too! It is delicious!

My husbands been craving Afghan food and we decided to try this place out. Didn't know there were other branches too. It's a small place, looks like mostly for takeout. Me and my husband sat inside to eat, we got the Qabli pulao and the bolani. I've never had afghan food but it was delicious. Service was also great! I'd definitely come again! Food is on the pricer side, but it's a delicacy. In the area, grab and go is coming for folks so it makes sense to have a simple take out place. Although it would blossom with more dining space, especially since it's in SF, people in the city are always looking for new foods to try. Meat is also all halal for anyone who eats halal meat.

A health, fresh meal, the vegetarian sides are really delicious, lamp shank is tender and juice, the price is also really respectable.

What a good way to spend a rare time trying cafés and restaurants whose food came from different countries. Nothing is better than to support businesses that still need more attention, and De Afghanan Kabob House wouldn't fail to please. The same restaurant that was once in Geary Blvd has few separate locations throughout the Bay Area. I never find this atmosphere boring when I set foot into its new location in the Financial District. A couple of kitchen boys were doing a nice job taking my order and cooking good meals. I like how one of the boys pan fried the potato stuffings on the gridiron, making it crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The slices of potato stuffing wouldn't be delicious alone without three separate dips ranging from sour to spicy. Back at the Crocker Galleria a couple years ago, a young Afghan woman at the Farmer's Market had been giving us samples of potato stuffing with several dips to lather on each bite size. She's such a bold superstar when it comes to Afghan traditions. So this time, I did the same thing, and that blows me away with different herbs and spices altogether. The piece of milk pudding was enticing, but very same as the one the Lebanese confectioners made. De Afghanan Kabob House, to me, wasn't the best in my playbook, but at least I got to find out how good Afghan food was. I once had lamb shank over seasoned basmati rice 5 years ago, and it had never disappoint. Hopefully one day, La Cocina shall welcome a strong entrepreneur who specializes in Afghan cuisine.

Wow. What can I say. The food was mouth watering. I cannot explain how great it is. I highly recommend it and will bring my co-workers next time. 1000% recommend. I got the tekka beef kabob and my friend got the combination kabob. Service was perfect. Food looked so good I forgot to take a photo before eating lol.

There wasn't anywhere to sit because the tables were all taken which kinda sucked but I got takeout and the food was GREAT. It was so nicely seasoned and delicious.

Amazing food! Great service! Love this place I would definitely recommend to my friends and family! Beautiful restaurant.

It's been a long time since last I've had GREAT chapli kabob. It was in 2017 when I was still living in Washington DC at the time, Me and my friends would go to Kabob Palace in Arlington VA that is open 24 hours and just get so many different things from the menu. One thing that I really love the most was their chapli kabob (Peshawari style). Thick, juicy, spicy and tasty. This evening I went to De Afghanan and decided to take a chance to try their chapli kabob and see if it was good enough for me to get regularly being it's so close from work. Actually it was pretty good! The whole package was decently put with the side of diced tomatoes and onions, green sauce, cucumber chick peas, and the excellent bread. The chapli patty was pretty thin but it was enough to satisfy my craving. I will be content with this for now as this is the best in San Francisco I've had so far.

Excited to see them open a fast casual / counter service joint in the FiDi. Limited seating and you'll have to eat out of a plastic container with plastic utensils, same as when you get it to go. But the food is delicious (albeit a tad pricey for a FiDi lunch). Bolani: This was huge! So huge it came in a pizza box. Reminds me a bit of an Indian paratha, with potato and spices inside lightly pan fried dough. Amazing with their herbal and spicy green sauce dip. They had a tub of yogurt with it, which was nice too, but I would have preferred spiced yogurt sauce. Shornakhod: Amazing for a free side dish with the kabobs. Simple chickpeas and boiled potatoes made delicious by swimming in a tangy and herbal green chutney. Like seriously, so much personality and pairs great against the rich kabobs. Tomato-Cucumber-Cilantro Salad: I'm not a salad guy normally, but this was a refreshing mix of little veggie cubes paired very well with the smoky kabobs. Chaplee Kabob: This was the real standout here. It was like a crispy beefy smashburger, but loaded with delicious kabob spices. Break off a piece and it goes so nicely with the fluffy rice. Tekka Beef Kabob: Whole beef chunks, but oddly disappointing compared to the ground beef chaplee kabob. The flavors in the marinade didn't penetrate very deep into the meat. And the beef was a bit tough. I think the menu said they used tri-tip, which is great in a slow cooked BBQ, but not as good when cooked quickly as a kabob. Chicken Kabob: This is how do a whole meat chunk kabob. Heavily marinated, so flavor in every bite even as you hit the middle. Also, extremely moist and tender. Can't believe the chicken was so much nicer than the beef. Qabili Palow: A huge shank of lamb, cooked super tender for probably a very long time. Served on a giant mound of the lovely fluffy long grain rice. The soft carrot strands and plump raisins really made the rice wonderful. And that green chutney sauce is heavenly against the lamb, giving it such a fun personality.

Got delivery from here while on a biz trip and it was SO DELICIOUS! I can't explain how different the kebabs are from standard Persian but they are. The Shornakhod (potato and garbanzo salad) and the tangy spicy cilantro dressing it came in was ambrosia! I'm so sad this place isn't near my house

I ordered Lamb kabob plate which was tender, juicy perfection bursting with flavor. Enjoyed with fresh naan, the Afghan flatbread, and a tangy chutney for a touch of acidity. One of the best afghani food let your taste buds embark on a journey of good food.

Can't praise this place enough! It's an unassuming little shop, but the food and the service is an absolute gem, definitely a must try if you ever visit SF! This is definitely the type of hole in the wall type of place to add to your list of reliable and delicious food at a good price point, the type that locals would hold steadfastly close to their hearts. We ordered a variety of plates - combos, desserts, rice plates, etc. and ALL of them were abundant with flavors. Must try!!

Excellent kabobs. Recommended by my Uber driver. Love it. Fresh meats I come from Pleasanton

Ordered the triple kabob platter for dinner takeout. I particularly liked the chaplee kabob in the platter and the afghan bread. This was one of my first times trying afghan food and I really enjoyed it. Great portion size as well.

Absolutely delicious! Used to dine with them when they were on Geary and Van Ness. So happy they moved to safer location on Kearney. I find myself getting food here every week :)

Doordash delivery. Food was so tasty! Combo kebab so yummy!!!Love the herb sauces! We will order again!

Had a hearty lunch today at their location here in San Francisco. I had lamb kebabs with 2 sides of cucumber salad and beans. I ordered a side of eggplant as I was really hungry but I realized soon enough that the portions were generous so I ended up taking some of my lunch meal to-go. The meat is tender, juicy, and well-seasoned. They're always consistent with their meat quality and grilling. The side salads provide an excellent counterpoint to the kebabs. The eggplant has that melt-in-your-mouth goodness! I was given a complimentary dessert: baklava! Just the right sweet to end today's lunch.

Portions just don't match the price. I ordered the chicken kabob and at $22, I had high expectations. Usually a 'kabob' is an entire skewer of meat. Not the case here. My $22 got 6 moderately sized cubes of meat over rice with two small sides. For $22, the meal needs a lot more meat (no this was not side down, this is lunch takeout)

Best chicken kebab I've ever bit into. If you want to eat good food, this is where you wanna go. It's not fancy but it's amazing.

The store was clean. They prepared our food to go in very good packaging. They were polite and treated us nicely and friendly. Best Kabab in the city. The ingredients, especially the salad was really fresh. Qabili Palow and ferni are highly recommended.

Best lamb and beef kabobs. Very delicious and good quality food. Service is very good too.

Food is delicious! I need to try more items. So far their beef kabob is very juicy and tender, the chicken kabob is also delicious. Parking can be challenging. The service is always amazing.

Got the chicken kebab as it seems to be their specialty. Very underwhelmed, especially for the price... there's a fairly popular chain restaurant in my home of San Diego that does it much better. Based on the reviews here I expected it to the heights of the best I've had and its far, far off the mark. It had decent flavor but really was not all that moist at all. On top of that when purchasing the automatic tip selection started at 18%, which I selected as I chose to eat inside. Was surprised to be brought it in a to-go container with plastic silverware. Why encourage your customers to pay a full-service rate when all you do it walk over to them with a bag?

Great Food! Absolutely 100% recommend this restaurant to anyone would like to try Afghan Food.

Used to go to this place on Geary St long time ago but they closed that location during the pandemic. I was running some errands in the area and saw the new location and decided to give them a try. Will update soon.

I'm giving one extra star because we were given extra dessert for free, which was a nice gesture. However, I am dumbfounded by the overwhelmingly positive reviews after trying the food here. I have had Afghani food from many restaurants in other cities, and this was the least impressive of anything I have ever had. The flavor was lacking across multiple dishes in our group (Qabili Palow, Triple Kabob, Bolani, the Dogh drink) and the prices were egregious. The ambience is that of a standard take-out type place with a few tables for seating, nothing special but not terrible either. Overall, I was disappointed by the experience and wouldn't recommend coming here if you have other options.

I kept hearing how great and perfect the chicken kabob here was, so I came by to try it last week and the hype is no joke. The chicken kabob plate comes with ~5 pieces of chicken, a bed of rice, a cucumber salad, and some bread on the side. The chicken is definitely the star - each piece was so juicy and moist. The chicken is really well seasoned on the outside, and the juices inside are also super flavorful. This is honestly probably one of my favorite chicken dishes and favorite kabob I've ever had. The rice and bread are also really good after they soak up the delicious chicken juice leftover on your plate. Service was also really great - the only thing holding back that extra star was the price to portion size ratio. For $16, I was expecting more food than what I got (at least a couple more pieces of chicken). Other than that though, this place is perfect and definitely worth a visit. I'll definitely be coming back again - already dreaming about my next chicken kabob here.

Really cozy and quaint restaurant on Geary near Van Ness, there are only about 10 tables and 1 waiter. They don't have alcohol here but you can bring in your own wine and there is a liquor store 2 blocks away on Geary. The menu has a mix of Persian/Middle Eastern and Ethnic Afghan options. I've gotten the Mantoo Dumplings a couple of times which seem to be the most authentic Afghan dish. The Chaplee Kabob with ground beef and 2 types of rice is good if you are hungry because it's very filling. If you like spicy I'd recommend the Borani Bademjan for an appetizer which comes with bread and a couple of sauces. Parking is tricky but if you come right at or after 6pm there is ample parking outside since it's tow away until 6pm.

Tasty food and huge portions. I got the ground meat kabob plate and the owner through in a free desert. Nice folks running the place.

Mashallah. I got the triple kebab - what a wonderful choice that was. The chicken kabab comes so juicy and a little bit citrusy. The lamb is tender as if my brothers in the back were massaging the sheep. No gamey taste at all. By golly the chaplee is fantastic. I grew up sampling the cuisine of my afghani brothers throughout northern california, and this one ranks among the best. Inshallah will come back and try the ferni and the bolani too. May our brothers be rewarded for their good deeds and good kebabs.

Big NO to this place. Went here today and ordered: Chapli kabob, shor nakhood and badenjaan. Everything was disgusting, chapli kabob was hard and not juicy at all, shornakhood had big hard pieces of potatoes mixed with cane garbenzo beans and badenjan tasted aweful and was served in PAPER BOX. I respectfully told the lady on the counter that being a Femont Deh Afghanan's regular customer, I found their food not to be the same level. An angry and disrespectful man how seemed to be the owner/manager heard us and came from inside the kitchen and started his first statement with insulting: "when was the last time you've been to Fremont brunch? How many years? You know, just go there and don't come back here..." I told him that all I said was a customer feedback and theat he shouldn't be fighting or misbehaving but he went on and on and on and on.

This place is amazing! I got the combo plate and both chicken and beef kabob are so flavorful. The rice is delicious and so are the two sides. Definitely would recommend. Great deal for the price.

Ever since I moved to SF, I've found that the ratings were not as reliable in the city. However, this restaurant is everything that the reviewers raved about. We ordered the egg plant dish as appetizer, mantoo (dumplings), and chicken kebabs for lunch after a movie right around the corner. And everything we tried was so delicious. Even the sauces, pepper flakes - literally EVERYTHING. They are also very friendly. They took us despite their almost kitchen closing. We chatted up our waiter, and he said all their ingredients- meats, everything is fresh (nothing from the freezer). I am so happy that they do delivery, I will be back and delivering everything on their menu at least once!

My work ordered for catering and I could not resist the delicious smell -- taste was as delicious. Brought some home and my husband absolutely loved the food. Chicken kebob is our favorite but we also had the chickpeas, eggplant and ground beef patty. Definitely will be back for more.

highly recommend if y0u like middle eastern food. thanks very much. delicious. 5 stars.

This spot is legit for Afghani food! It's definitely a neighborhood gem. The menu has most of the traditional and popular items and the prices are just right especially for the big portion. Me and my friend started off with Mantoo which are dumplings stuffed with seasoned ground beef and topped with yogurt. This is worth it for $15 and is meant to share with another person. Next, our second appetizer was this pumpkin cubed jelly-type dish which was delicious and refreshing to the palate. It's a bit sweet too, so it adds on some sweetness. For our main dish, we both had the triple kabob plate ($21) which is probably the most popular item on the menu. It's a big plate with tekka beef kabob, grilled chicken kabob which are big pieces of cubed slices, and of course one of my favorites, the chaplee. Each item is grilled to perfection. I recommend ordering a side of yogurt to add onto the rice for more texture and a basket of their bread for more taste. I love this place and I'll be definitely coming back for more!

I had a wonderful experience at this Afghani halal food restaurant! The Mantu, authentic style Qabalee pillow, and kofta kabob were all delicious. The green tea was a refreshing touch, and the Afghan naan was incredibly fresh. I highly recommend this place for its authentic flavors and excellent service.

New location same great food. Best Chapli Kabob I've ever had. Great service and convenient location. So glad they're back.

Woweeeee! Very tasty, high quality ingredients. Went here on a whim after seeing strong reviews and it did not disappoint. There was no line at around 11:30am on a Monday, and order took about 10 minutes to make. I got the triple combo so I could try out the different kabobs. They were all delicious, moist and flavorful. Not heavy. A teeny bit expensive for a quick lunch, but worth it for an occasional splurge.

Great food! Highly recommend Chaplee Kabob with brown rice. Qabili palau is also great!

Great food good location nice workers there friendly not expensive good amount food food for the price

Phenomenal! Fresh,, juicy and flavourful. Some of the best kebob I have ever had! Sides are packed with taste and the portions are generous! Don't miss this gem on Kearny!

Worked late, no time to cook. Still have to feed minor child thanks to pesky laws that require me to keep her alive until age 18. *shakes fist* Went on Yelp and looked for Middle-Eastern/Mediterranean delivery options, because those are usually on the healthy side. Found De Afghanan Kabob House and ordered a lamb kabob plate, a beef kabob plate, a potato and garbanzo side order, and some plain yogurt. Also upgraded all the rice from plain to seasoned for a couple of dollars more. Food comes. I tell the minor child to divide the meat so that we both get some of each. A few minutes later I notice minor child Hoovering up rice and meat. I become alarmed...will there be anything left for ME?! I attempt to stall her by urging her to try the potato and garbanzo side. To appear legitimate, I try it myself. Holy mother-trucking heck...it's DELICIOUS! Spicy, tangy, and herby, with great textural variety between the soft potato and the firm garbanzos. While I'm doing my own Hoovering on that side dish, my tax deduction takes advantage of the distraction by opening the second dinner container and digging into MY portion of meat and rice. I remind myself that she's a growing human in a GOOD way (vertically), while I'm a growing human in a BAD way (horizontally), so I beg her to at least leave me half of the second plate. She takes mercy on me and finally backs away from the table. With what's left, I'm able to cobble together a somewhat decent dinner. While I wasn't able to amortize this delivery into a second day of meals, I'm still very pleased. The meat chunks were tender and smoky and nicely grilled, and both meats were of good quality. The potato and garbanzo salad was out of this world...I am so in love with it! Very glad that I ordered that extra side of it for tomorrow. Four stars = Yay! I'm a fan.

De Afghanan serves up some pretty good Kabobs. They are juicy, flavorful, and healthy. The rice is well cooked - you can taste every grain. The meat has tons of flavor and the cucumber salad is a good refresher. I would give this place a 4 star review for pretty good food, small-ish portions and sorta high prices. I think what made this a 5 star review was the fact that the staff was very nice and accommodating. They even sent out a complimentary dish from the chef.

Best food in the city. Afghan food is nothing you will ever have, be glad we have this amazing restaurant here in Sf.