Friends Kabob

by Evan L.

Visited here a year ago during the winter.While the volume of food was impressive, the kabobs were poor for the money (as affordable as they were!).And, of all things, the owners kept the place bitter cold in the winter. If I'd had a thermometer handy at the time, I would have been shocked to see it read over 50 degrees F.Go to Rose Kabob in Vienna instead.  Please.  Really.Avoid this place.  Do yourself a favor.

by Usman S.

Its no Reston Kabob,Its more of a Moby Dick's as far as food is concerned.small bread with lentil soup, tiny salad, decent kabobs (chicken), and rice with butter on top.Its virtually identical to Moby dicks in taste. That leaves more to be desired from a true Lebanese place.The only thing they have holding them is the $10 Hookahs.If you want real good kabobs go to Ravi in Arlington, or Reston Kabob. I would eat here again, but like I said.. its mediocre at best.

by Vishal S.

Ohh my! Sometimes a change of owner can be such a blessing! Case in point is Friends Kabob. I had decided never to come back to this place after a couple of terrible experiences under the previous owners. But this place has had a second coming! We were in the mood for some kababs and wanted to do something new. And my friends pulled rank and suggested Friends kabob. Good choice I must say!We had the following:appetizers:Baba Ghannouge - could have been better - 3 of 5 starsFelafel - excellent and fresh! 4.5/ 5 starsmain course:we ordered 2 kabab combo platters1 with beef kabab and lamb kabab1 with ground beef kabab and chicken kababthe lamb, ground beef and chicken kababs were excellent - in that order!Will definitely come back again - hopefully the experience will be the same!The place was over 80% full inspite of rains and the howling winds!

by lu d.

Friends Kabob is so-so, not on par with Moby Dicks, yet enough to satiate the cravings. The kabobs, as some reviewers noted were dry. I'm not a big fan of chickpeas, either.

by Dave S.

Nice environment. Food is good. Hummus is AWSEOME!The location is a little hard to get to. If you're driving South on 123, from Tysons you'll need to do a U to get there...of course you can't make U turns along 123 in this area so you'll need to be creative. They are sharing a building with a very large dry cleaners. Parking was good when I was there but I imagine some times of the day it's a little nuts.There's also hookah available. I've never partaken of it before but a few people did while I was there. An outside area is set up for such things which is semi-enclosed during the colder months.

by Robert R.

I'm kind of surprised at the ratings for this place.  I've not had an experience nearly as bad as what has been described.  The food isn't wonderful, but its hot, plentiful, and tasty enough.  The chicken and beef has always been of fine quality and the kubideh I've had melts in the mouth.  The chickpea soup is under seasoned however and the salad dressing is way too bitter. It is also a bit expensive.  I've been in a few times and the staff knows me now.  They seem polite enough and I've never experienced a problem with the drinks machine.There is no alcohol available, which is unfortunately common for middle eastern food.  They do offer a non-alcoholic beer which I've never seen before.  I've not tried it, so I can't say more.The outdoor seating area is very nice, and I've not tried the shisha yet, but it seems to be very popular and looks like a good place to waste some time.Give this place a chance if you are in the area.  Though why you are in the area, I have no idea, since there's not much near by.

by Andrea U.

Friends Kabob, why do you exist?  The meat for the kebabs was very tough and low quality.  I've never found such a high concentration of grizzle and hard chunks in a kubideh kebab.   The bread was also tough. The hummus tasted like straight tahini and garbanzo flour with a thick layer of canola oil on the top.  I can understand a layer of olive oil, but canola oil??  There was also WAY too much tahini, to the point of extreme bitterness-in the hummus and in my soul.  The chick pea soup was edible compared with the other "food", but it was mud compared to the chickpeas at Charcoal Kebab and..um, pretty much anywhere else.The best thing about dinner here is that now I have a little joke.  I say "let's go eat at Friends Kebab, ha ha ha!"Lee says, "Friends don' t let friends go to Friends Kebab"

by Maureen K.

What I love about this place is that you get a side of chickpea soup and salad on the side with your kabobs and rice. Great deal. It's family owned with the young son working and mom at the grill, younger son watching cartoons and dad outside with a visit from a friend. Located right by world market on 123 (old chain bridge rd) and accross from the toliet bowl building

by Ka-Loon T.

I wasn't all that impressed with this place, except for the quantity of food which was quite good.  The extra soup is a nice perk, minus the fact that I don't like chickpeas.  Well, it's the thought that counts right?I think the decor is what really threw me off with this place.  The building looks quite unappetizing, and the seating is sparse.  I came in the winter, and there was a lack of good insulation.  My meal got cold quite quickly with the amount of foot traffic going in and out of the restaurant.

by shieva r.

This place doesn't have the best kabob, but they're open really really late annnd best of all they have hooka's for only $10!!!!The kabob was served with a side of american style salad, a hot dipping sauce, a little bread and a bizarre chickpea soup thing that was tasty but something I've never had before friend's.