Kabul House is the only authentic Afghan restaurant in Chicago

Kabul House offers a taste of appetizing Afghan dishes that have existed in the history of Afghanistan for thousands of years. Our restaurant emphasizes high quality authentic Afghan food, as if prepared from the fingers of any Afghan mother. Our extensive full course menu includes lamb, seafood, beef and chicken dishes as well as pumpkin, eggplant, spinach and other fresh vegetable options. Our menu hosts a large variety of selections fit for anyone, from vegetarians to meat lovers alike. In most of our recipes, a limited amount of fresh spices and seasonings are used to season the dish in order to create a sensational taste that is not too overwhelming. This makes our Afghan cuisine very enjoyable for anyone and everyone. The atmosphere we provide for our patrons is one of which would be produced in our homes, relaxing, invitingly warm and unforgettable. We could go on and on claiming how exquisite our foods are, but we invite you to come to our Skokie, Illinois location and taste our vibrant combinations for yourself. Nosh-e jaan, or bon apetit in Dari.


Abdul Qazi (right) of Kabul House accepts their GNR Award                                                                                                  
Photo: ronniesuburban

Here is another version of our story through the eyes (and tastebuds) of ryanwc, one of the veteran members on the respected LTHForum

The recent flurry of posts [ got me reminiscing. Kabul House actually opened as the side-room of a pizza joint on Main St., Evanston. And I hope Abdul Qazi won't hold it against me when I on LTHForumsay the pizza wasn't anything special. After all, he clearly had other, more important ideas that were distracting him from any effort to master the New York slice. At some point, I realized the side-room had been rehabbed, and there was, of all things, an Afghan menu being served in this odd, well-kept offshoot of the somewhat dingy Pizzeria La Rosa. I went in dubiously, entering through the pizzeria as one had to, tried the kadu, and I've been devoted ever since.

Aside from home, there have only been two places I ever ate dinner more than once a week. The college cafeteria wasn't great, but it was pre-paid and I couldn't afford anything else. Kabul House I gladly paid for over and over. Week after week, my New Yorker would come, and I'd go sit at Kabul House and read it over Qabuli Palau, not really caring whether anyone considered me a geek for dining alone. Regularly, I'd watch as passers-by looked in at me through the locked front door of the portion of the building that Kabul House occupied, then scanned the menu, and finally wandered over to the Pizzeria entrance, which remained the only entrance right up till the move to Skokie. The potential diners would often look askance at the pizzeria and then head to the Lucky Platter after all. A fine place, the L. P., but these people were passing up a taste of actual heaven for a little bite of West Virginia.

The move to Dempster had horribly unlucky timing - they actually closed down the Evanston location the week of 9/11, initially without a sign saying what had happened, and I spent a few worried days wondering whether some misguided anti-Afghan incident had driven them out. i was tremendously relieved when I realized they were simply moving. In fact, I think sympathy for Afghans in the wake of 9/11 may have actually helped them gain a following in Skokie, because many of us wanted to show that we didn't share whatever anger at Afghans some people were expressing at the time.

But anyway, I hadn't thought about that pizzeria side-room in a while. One of the more unlikely locations for such a great restaurant to start out. I can't really think of another restaurant that began as an exotic, luscious afterthought to such banal fare. From tiny acorns, mighty oak trees grow.