Malik’s Kabob, 9542 Arlington Boulevard, Fairfax, VA, also accessible from Rt.29, right smack at Fairfax Circle, 703-246-9005 (Metro Trip Planner – opens in new window) [zabihah | Yelp]
This place is a knock out. Ask for it spicy. The Karahi chicken for two is first-rate. The breads are freshly cooked. I like the chapli kabob. The vegetables taste like…vegetables. The service is sometimes a disaster, especially for lunch. There’s amazing people-watching at night when the hookah bar is up and running, though if the smoke bothers you ask for the back room.
For the first time we have a superb Pakistani restaurant in our midst, you just need to bear with the service a bit.
My wife and I tried Malik’s last night. As Tyler says, the food is very flavorful. It isn’t too spicy for the only mildly adventurous like me. The atmosphere, on the other hand, is so poor that I wouldn’t recommend it for a date night out. We ordered at the counter. The food was brought to us, slowly, on styrofoam plates. The front room was smoky; we were the only customers in the spartan back room.
This place is definitely no frills, plastic trays and styrofoam plates, but the food is delicious. The Sunday night I went there, several 20-somethings were smoking hookahs and having a snack. We had the lamb chops, which were wonderfully seasoned and cooked just right. The butter chicken was fantastic, best I have had yet. I also recommend the salty lassi. Worth the trip!
I would beg to differ, I have not visited Malik’s yet but the best Pakistani -hole-in-the-wall-no-frills- restaurant in the area has to be RAVI Kabob in arlington. Having actually lived in Pakistan i can attest to the fact that Ravi is the most authentic Punjabi food i have had outside of Punjab(province in pakistan/india). To even find something equivalent you would have to drive to NJ or NY.
I have been a long time Ravi customer for 10+ years. They had the best chicken karahi in the DC area. Lately, there karahi’s have become a bit bland and inconsistent. The last three visits have not improved. I have instead visited Kabob N Karahi in Silver Spring. One of the owners, Raja, was a cook at Ravi.
just had my walima catered from maliks kabob and it was real good,food was plenty for the 200 ppl we catered for ! must recommand this place