Kabab Cafe

Like going to Uncle's house. Yes, it was cramped and not so comfortable, but the food was exquisite and prepared with love. A unique experience altogether.

A unique and interesting experience, with an owner with a big but sometimes overly caustic personality. Ali, the owner, is a big character, very passionate about what he does! Ali loves the cultures of the world, and aims to make his restaurant a monument to authentic Alexandrian cuisine. Stepping into kebab cafe is like stepping into Ali's home where he will prepare you a home cooked meal of your choosing and often will entertain you with conversation of a wide array of topics. I will warn while Ali is often a fun character, sometimes his antics can be too pushy, and I have found him sometimes to get overwhelmed and become grumpy and unnecessarily mean. The food itself is exotic, not particularly masterfully cooked, but will push your comfort zones. I appreciate that he will go out of his way to accommodate dietary restrictions and even, prepared seperate portions of dishes for me from my friends without onions to satisfy my dietary intolerance. However, I will warn that although he did this without us requesting, I felt he went out of his way to (beyond his typical flamboyant colorful reactions) to repeatly scold me for the extra work I caused him. A place worth a try if you are seeking something unique and have some time on your hands, but requires a sense of humor to enjoy, and the willingness to tolerate some moody behavior if you catch him on the wrong day! Dietary restrictions: He will accommodate you, but you will be verbally punished for having them and forcing him to accommodate, so your call!

I never ate inside the facility I've been inside several times. Hence, I have ordered from them and let me tell you, extremely

One of NYC’s gems. Easily worth a trip to Astoria. Dietary restrictions: Ali will take take of any request you have. Parking: Try the municipal lot at 30th Ave and 38th St. Kid-friendliness: Bring them at any age. They’ll have a good time.

One of the best dinners and evenings in my life. Ali greeted my boyfriend like a long lost brother and me the new girlfriend with a gigantic hug. Don’t go expecting to eat asap. Ali takes his time, tells his tales, preps and cooks all by himself. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!!!!!!!!

I find it funny how people come in here expecting something different that what Ali doesn’t pretend to offer. If you walk in here and see what you see, why do you think it will magically be what you want it to be. This one was of the most magical evenings from the warm hearted Ali. A dinner we will never forget and those who come on here giving 0 stars and complain how Ali does his cooking shouldn’t have come in at all. If you know you know … thanks Ali for a lovely evening ✨

Probably my fave restaurant in the city, period. Chef Ali js the man, he will whip up some of the best food you’ve ever had in your life while engaging in funny and thoughtful conversation. Every time I go here there’s some other group here who say they’ve been coming for decades. I got engaged here. Its the best. I see some comments complaining about the service and cleanliness - those people are dumb and have no idea what they are talking about. They should stay in Manhattan where they belong. Kabab Cafe forever!

Don’t waste your money nor time here. As soon as I entered the restaurant, my first instinct was to leave. But decided to give it a chance. The food is mediocre and overpriced. The Kitchen is filthy, the Cook, Ali, is unhygienic. He picked food that fell on my table and ate it. Everyone who has left a negative review here is absolutely on point and accurately depicts what you’ll experience. The reviews by New York magazine and The New Yorker seem to be of times past. Definitely not as described nor depicted. This place is a health hazard and ought to shut down