Kabana Restaurant

Came here a second time hoping for improvement. Nope. Food is decent. Waitstaff is rude and terse.

Came for a friend’s birthday with a large group. Very accommodating for us all. Had the mango lessi (highly recommend). The staff is extremely friendly and fielded all of our confusing food questions.
definitely a great spot if you’re looking to try Indian/​Pakistani food for the first time or love going again and again.

First off, the food is pretty good. 3 – 3.5 star Indian food. Nice Tikka Masala and kebabs. The 1 star rating is for the consistently rude service by the waitstaff. I know people in the neighborhood who only order takeout from them because of the behavior. Even if you order takeout, you will still stand confused, at the register trying to get someone to respond to you. I don’t understand how they stay in business. Plenty of other friendly options are available nearby.

Best Pakistani food I’ve ever had, reliably delicious and authentic. And surprisingly inexpensive! The customer service is definitely a little… weird? But who really cares, the food comes out on time and it’s always so tasty! Besides the main dishes being great, the naan bread is amazing, and if you get take away they give you a massive amount of yummy buttery rice.

Ordered chicken tikka masala with garlic naan. Disappointed compared to the many Indian restaurants in Berkeley to choose from. I’ve eaten at almost all of them. The naan was dry and tough. The frozen ones at Trader Joes taste about the same. Wasn’t asked how spicy I want my masala which is a first. It arrived on the sweeter side. Wouldn’t come again.

Pretty typical Indian food (saying this with experience; am Indian, have eaten lots of Indian food), not particularly special. Portions sizes okay. Chicken tikka masala and palak gosht were tasty. Overall it was average, not bad but not memorable.

It is one of my favorite restaurants I have to hit when I visit my family in SF. The food is amazing and the chai tea is fantastic. I highly recommend it!

Decent and CHEAP Indian food! Ambience was definitely lacking (lots of tables were left dirty after people finished eating) and décor was also not great. The TV in the back was also playing Indian music videos that was very distracting (not in the BEST way…). Despite the surroundings, the food was good! We ordered a tandoori fish, chicken tikka masala and paneer tikka masala. I was not a fan of the tandoori fish, but my friend seemed to really like it. I just really hate it when I have to watch out for fish bones, and there were a lot! I got tired of fishing out the bones so I stopped eating the dish lol. The tikka masala dishes were DELICIOUS though, definitely made me overlook the fish bones! The sauce was creamy yet at the same time, felt light! Definitely lighter than most curries I’ve gotten at other Indian places. We all agreed that the tikka masala was on point. Naan was also decent, though I’d recommend against the garlic naan, since it was basically just Costco-​style minced garlic thrown on top of the naan. Not very flavorful and definitely not the garlic naan I’m used to and love. We got a pretty large portion for the cheap prices that we paid, which was a major plus!
tl;dr really really good (and light) tikka masala; large portions. Lacking in ambience and décor, but the food is cheap!

Pretty OK Indian food. Compared to Indian restaurants in Fremont, I would say this place could be better. The price is very tricky though. You may think that the dishes are relatively cheap because they’re mostly under 10. However, the portion is small so I guess that’s why the price would look attractive to someone who is trying to save money. Although portion is small, it will still fill you up. A friend and I ordered the fish tandoori, chicken tikka masala, one garlic naan, and one order of rice. There were only like 4 – 5 medium pieces of chicken and 4 pieces of fish. I think after tip and tax, it came out to be around $ 15 per person.
Food was yummy though! I liked dipping my garlic naan in that chicken tikka sauce. Mm mm. I swear I scraped every last drop of that curry sauce. It felt less oily than most places so that’s good! The fish tandoori was alright for me. My friend liked it. I’m not a big fan of tandoori. I much rather prefer Indian curry!
Fast service though so props for that. They are also generous with napkins. So even more plus! BUT, the water tasted nasty. I usually am not picky with water; I straight up drink tap water. However, that water was just gross :(
The drive is pretty far so I think I’ll just stick to the Indian places nearby when I have them cravings.

The paneer tikka masala is hands down the best paneer dish I’ve ever eaten! You’d think by eating cheese in a creamy sauce will make you feel stuffed or bloated but not this dish. It’s a lighter sauce, not too thick– it’s just right. This dish with garlic naan or rice is perfection!

Went for dinner Saturday night, and it was great!
I got a delicious veggie dish, and my friend got the best chicken tikka masala I’ve ever tasted. Another friend (a chef!) got a goat curry and thought the quality of the meat was fantastic.
Overall, it was very affordable for great quality of food.

First impressions: Man, this place looks hella legit.
We’re talking blaring Pakistani music videos on the small flat screen hanging in the corner. The burning smoke from the clay serving plates. The epic unassuming ceiling that makes you feel like you’ve left the country. Everything screams, «This is the place.»
We went for the Byriani — super tasty flavors although the veggies could’ve been better. So soggy that it had to have been a tad overcooked or possibly frozen.
However, who can say no to a place that actually serves dishes on scathing hot clay plates? Woot tandoori fish! Get used to getting rid of your own bones, though (there’s a lot of them). Definitely no fish filets up in here.
Overall, not a bad spot, definitely leaves you feeling like you’ve been transported into the Pakistani culture with the flavorful food, OG-​vibes, and all.

I’m extremely lucky to have friends who enjoy food as much as I do. My friend Crissy suggested this place and through some crossed wires, she didn’t get to join us as she ended up out of town while we dined here, but I digress.
The men running the place were extremely friendly and they could probably tell my party and I aren’t familiar with Indian cuisine as I would like, but they were more than happy to explain the dishes and how hot it was. I’m also glad they didn’t pull the «let’s tone down the flavors/​heat» because they’re n00bs. Oh boy, they let the heat levels as is and even though I’m not used to it, or more than most of my party, we enjoyed every single, burning, capsaicin laced, endorphin releasing bite.
I thoroughly enjoyed all the dishes we ordered, but the specific one that took it for me was their
Tandoori Fish; I know this isn’t a «regular» dish because I haven’t seen this listed on any other Indian restaurants (in L.A. or S.F.). It was nicely seasoned and worked well and was light. If I ever find out how to make this, I would be eating it almost 3 times a week.
Tandoori Chicken; fresh chicken breast (I believe) spiced just right as well. I enjoyed this as well, but found myself digging for the fish more
Chicken Tikka Masala; the creamy, spiced tomato sauce that accompanied this was smooth like velvet. I loved dunking the garlic naan we ordered between this and the chicken curry.
Chicken Curry; I believe most of the fireball that was in my mouth came from this dish. The curry was nice, but the spice wasn’t aggressive. It slowly crept up, but just like the Masala, dunking my garlic naan here and eating the rice, kept my mouth happy and lips with a nice sting.
I’m already thinking about my next possible visit here and relive that great food experience. For the meantime, I hope something in L.A. somewhat comes close to this place until I do get the chance to come back.

This isn’t the cleanest place in the city… especially considering there was a piece of food on our table and the waiter just brushed it to the floor when he brought our waters. For my drink, I had their mango lassi, which I thought was quite delicious. It was sweet enough from the mangoes but didn’t taste like there was added sweetness.
For entrees we had:
— Chicken tikka masala: This was the worst dish of the bunch because it tasted very tomato-​y and the chicken was a bit dry.
— Aloo Ghobi: This was kind of spicy, but quite tasty.
— Tandoori chicken with bones: This was surprisingly very tasty because I usually don’t like Tandoori. The chicken was juicy and nicely grilled.
— Lamb kebab: This was quite tasty with a lot of spices, but I am not a fan of lamb.
— Garlic Naan: A lot of burnt areas, but overall good. How can you mess up naan?
Overall dinner was good and service was not too bad, prices are even better.

My first experience of Kabana was showing up right as they were closing for lunch :(. I must have not payed attention to the restaurant hours. I walked away sad and hungry to wait a few hours for them to open for dinner, lol
When i came back for dinner they immediately recognized me from earlier and offered me a free drink. I can’t remember what it was called ( Unilocal sin) but it was a fruity, smoothy-​like thick and creamy drink. Thank you to the owner, sorry I can’t remember the drink but I really appreciate the gesture!
I’ve tried the Chana Dall and the Paneer Tikka Masala, the latter being my favorite. The food was delicious, and the staff (and I believe the owner) were very friendly. I’m happy they recognized me from earlier and made it up to me by giving a free drink!
I’ll keep this place in mind next time I am up in Berkeley :)

Ordered take out for dinner the other night. Incredibly every dish (including vegetarian!!!) had bones in it, and the rice in the bryinai was undercooked. Super greasy too, even by northern Indian /​Pakistani standards.
Not sure what happened, the lunches are delicious.

Disclaimer: When I review restaurants I only review the taste of the food. Good/​bad service, décor, or ambiance may be referenced but do not factor into the review unless it effects the experience of the food itself.
Before I start I used to eat here for about 3 years as a regular, at one point this place would have received 4*‘s but it breaks my heart for the changes that have taken place in the quality and taste of food.
First off if you order naan expect it to be dry, mostly scorched/​blackened about 90% of the time. With as much char and as dry and brittle as it is the darn stuff generally explodes the moment you try to pick it up. It has always been a problem and was so frustrating back when I loved going here I would always order the dishes here and walk over to Indus Village and get my naan from them.
Second is that the food here used to be much better. However every dish I’ve had there has really taken three big steps back as far as the flavor is concerned. When the chicken tikka masala, and lamb curry tastes like flavorless slop that brings me back to my days in elementary school eating some chicken and rice blob on my plate it maked me take a long sad sigh as I used to love this place.
So far this is the first review I have to write that the service actually dings the food review (would have been two *‘s rather than one.) It is the fact that any time I wish to make even the most easiest of substitutions to a dish it is going to get completely screwed up. If my friend wants crazy spicy and I just want it to be made the way it normally is that either means that I will now have the most bland Indian food I’ve ever eaten in my life, or it will be just as flaming spicy as my friends. I’ve eaten metallic tasting flavorless Indian food from a squeeze pack in Africa but I was shocked at how bad it was. I don’t care that you don’t smile, and I don’t care that someone doesn’t want to be there… but if this keeps getting screwed up it actually effects my experience with the food. Arg!
Ambiance — Sound carries so if there is a loud party near the back of the restaurant it will make talking to someone next to you difficult, and the noise from the bollywood singers on the T.V. can sometimes be quite distracting if the volume is too high (and it generally is.)
Sorry guys wish I could give you a better review, but nostalgia doesn’t count as a review.

The only flavor I taste here is spicy.
Food arrives fast.
The portions are ample.
Service is ok, without a smile.
Indian music TV playing.
Simple food.
I was hoping for more.

I’ll be honest. This place didn’t exactly blow me away, but it wasn’t bad either. Our original plan was to go to Vik’s Chaat (friends had rave reviews for that place), but it would’ve closed by the time we got there. We picked this one instead because of the high rating to satisfy our Indian craving. This place is listed as as Pakistani cuisine place, but I can’t really say I know the difference between the two.
Seating seven people was definitely not a problem at all; no lines, no wait, just a table right away. The restaurant is still relatively crowded (most of the tables are filled) even close to closing time, and it was a Sunday, so I’m not sure if that changes during the weeknights or other days.
This place is cheap. The bill for all seven people came out to be about $ 71 not including tip. All inclusive was about $ 80+. which is CHEAP. We had two chicken tikka masalas, palak paneer, lamb curry, chicken boti, aloo ghobi, goat curry, 4 sides of garlic naan, and two sides of rice. Amazing, right?
Portions aren’t particularly large, but they were just right for a good meal. We managed to finish all of the dishes without taking any leftovers, and definitely had a bit of rice left at the end. Everyone left pretty stuffed though. I only tried the lamb curry and chicken boti, which was DELICIOUS. They gave us some raw onions and cucumber on the side too. The lamb was perfectly cooked (bones included), but the meat just fell off the bone in the best way possible… with the curry juices squeezing out with every bite. Definitely my favorite of the night. The chicken boti was also quite tender; did not regret ordering it at all. The naan isn’t particularly large, but it comes covered in the garlic sauce (it’s a bit wet), but I didn’t mind it at all.
Everything was definitely quite tasty. Cheap also helps. For the dishes I had, I split the naan, chicken boti, and lamb curry, which came out to $ 10 per person. Friend ordered the hot tea, which is actually chai tea (believe it comes unsweetened). Pretty sure you get free refills for it was well (we weren’t charged anyway).
Service is a little spotty for sure; not entirely positive everyone speaks English. Sometimes is hard to get water refills (although we did eventually get it). Getting our order taken and the food served was pretty fast though. Place is definitely a little on the divey side (not disgusting or anything, but there was a huge moth flying around and reminded me a little of cheap Chinese restaurants). Nothing bad about it if the food is good and cheap though! Kind of out of the way for me, so I probably wouldn’t go back unless I was passing through Berkeley again, but definitely worth trying!

Was here and had their takeout recently. Phone order was bungled and man on receiving end never bothered to ask me whether I wanted light or dark meat when I ordered tandoori chicken.
What resulted was a super long wait for the food, because that qtn was only asked when arrived to pay, instead of the food being baked in the tandoor. Ugh
Naan and roti were very very good. Flavor on the rest of the food — better than average, but still had slight spots of pink near joint.
Not as great as I heard them touted to be. He had tikka masala — ok as well.

Über ein englischsprachiges Bewertungsportal bin ich auf dieses kleine Restaurant in der Nähe unseres Motels aufmerksam geworden. Von außen macht der Laden keinen besonderen Eindruck, die knapp 30 Plätze waren allerdings bis auf einen Tisch alle belegt. Kurz nachdem wir uns diesen Tisch geschnappt hatten, bildete sich draussen auch schon eine Schlange.
Die Karte ist recht übersichtlich, meine Frau hat das Fish Tandoori ausprobiert, ich das Chicken Tikka Masala. Dazu haben wir uns Reis, Knoblauch Nan und Lassi geordert.
Das gesamte Essen wurde frisch vor unserer Nase zubereitet und war einfach lecker. Alles hatte eine angenehme Grundschärfe und war richtig gut gewürzt. Auch der Reis war mit Kräutern gegart worden, so dass er einen leckeren Geschmack bekam.
Ehrlich gesagt, hätte es bei meinem Chicken Tikka Masala ein wenig mehr Fleisch sein können, satt geworden bin ich aber trotzdem.
Vorsicht beim Fish Tandoori: die Fischstücke werden mit Gräten serviert.
Der Service war gut, die Kellner freundlich und auf ein wenig Smalltalk aus, insgesamt haben wir uns im Kabana sehr wohl gefühlt.