San Ramon, California is a Bay Area town full of many ethnic and high-end restaurants. From sushi joints with fresh fish and rolls, to Indian restaurants with lots of menu options, San Ramon has a diverse selection of foods. Originally established in Danville, Zallah Kebab House is a renowned Afghan restaurant that recently relocated to San Ramon. They currently are along San Ramon Valley Boulevard, a part of San Ramon Square with lots of other various eateries.
I purchased 2 takeout orders, around $20 apiece. Every order is boxed in a bento-styled package, with 3 food selections in each. Unfortunately, the wait time for my pick-up order was a bit longer than I would have preferred. Typically, it usually takes around 15-20 minutes for the restaurant to cook up the orders. But today, the wait time was around 45 minutes. However, the kitchen staff were friendly and kind, which makes up for it.
My first order consisted of a Koobideh Beef Kebab plate over seasoned rice. The second dish was a Chicken Tikka Kebab plate over white rice. The sides on each order were a mixed Afghan salad, a mint chutney, and a slice of warm Afghan bread.
The Koobideh Beef Kebab plate was my favorite dish. Koobideh is a ground meat kebab mixed with vegetables and herbs, and Zallah prepares it very well. The first bite into the kebab released lots of flavors into my mouth. I thoroughly enjoyed the flavor that was marinated into the kebab. Lots of spices, along with diced onions and chopped peppers were incorporated into the mix. Every bite I could taste the aroma of the chives, parsley, sumac, and other wonderful seasonings. The marinade pressed around the skewer was seared on the grill to perfection, leaving the Koobideh to be well-cooked, but still juicy with flavor. The seasoned rice, which was served with my Koobideh, was more oily than seasoned. I tasted hints of spice here and there, but it was mainly doused with oil. However, it was still tasty.
The Chicken Tikka Kebab was also delicious. It certainly wasn’t as spicy as the Koobideh, but it contained a lot of flavor. The kebab, which was finely cut chicken breast seasoned with flavorful herbs, was grilled excellently. The chicken was very tender and crisp, allowing every bite to be chewed without any difficulty. The white rice was only satisfactory as it was oily, but at least they tried to enhance the flavor to make it better than any boring white rice.
The sides on each order were the same: A mixed Afghan salad, a mint chutney, and a slice of warm Afghan bread. The salad was pleasant. It was a simple garden salad that consisted of cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, and ribbons of red lettuce. The dressing was a strong, sour and tangy vinaigrette, but I enjoyed it very much. It strengthened the flavor a lot. The only disappointment was that most of the dressing sank to the bottom of the salad, leaving the top with little to no flavor. The mint chutney was exceptional. It was also sour and a bit bitter. But similar to the vinaigrette, I relished the taste. Lastly, the Afghan bread was warmed and soft, which was a nice touch. The bread was moist and pleasant, making it easy to tear apart and chew.
Overall, the Koobideh Beef Kebab plate was still my favorite, so I would advocate for this dish. Along with your kebabs, I would endorse the seasoned rice over the white rice. Zallah gives you a choice in which rice you would like to choose, and although the seasoned rice isn’t entirely “seasoned”, I would prefer it over the white rice.
My experience with Zallah Kebab House was more enjoyable than unpleasant. They specialize in their flavor with their dishes, whether it’s in the kebabs or in their salad dressing. However, I do recommend dine-in instead of take-out since their take-out times are not particularly delightful. Their prices are a bit higher than preferred, but it’s worth the pay since I appreciated the flavor that was incorporated. I’m looking forward to returning to this restaurant, as I am hungry for more.
