Kabuli pulao. Plov. Pelmeni. People search for these by dish, like "kabuli pulao near me", so I sorted what I found by dish.
The short version: kabuli pulao is easy to find in Calgary. The Uzbek and Central Asian dishes are not. Two small, family-run halal kitchens cover plov, pelmeni, manti, chebureki and somsa between them.
Kabuli pulao Calgary: where to go
Also spelled qabili palaw, it's long-grain rice steamed over lamb or beef in its own stock. It's topped with carrot strips and raisins, often almonds. Sweet and savoury at once. It's Afghanistan’s national dish.
Kabul Kitchen, Falconridge: menu and reviews
Kabul Kitchen on Falconridge Blvd NE is the newest name and the one most people search for. It calls its food halal Afghan cooking, and its banquet section is halal throughout.
The menu is short and made for sharing:
- kabuli pulao: basmati with caramelised carrot, raisins and slow-cooked lamb
- manto: beef dumplings under yoghurt and split-pea sauce, its most ordered dish
- a beef chapli kabob with coriander and pomegranate seed
- potato bolani
- naan from the tandoor
Platters for six to twelve start around $120. Reviews praise the fresh lamb, big portions and service. It's 4.9 on Google, but it's new. There's a banquet hall and Afghan catering too.
Kabul Bites, Edmonton Trail
Kabul Bites holds a 5.0 on Google. Reviewers rave about the kabuli lamb shank, falling off the bone over spiced rice, and the owner’s welcome. Add a mint lemonade. Cheap, and worth eating in.
Bahar Kabab, 12 Avenue SW
Bahar Kabab is the downtown option. It's a small room run by a husband and wife who cook to order, so allow twenty minutes. Start with the mantu. Its kabuli pulao gets mixed notes: one reviewer's best ever, another's too light on carrot and raisin (skip dessert, they said).
Also good for it
- Kabul Restaurant | Persian Cuisine, 28 St SE: family-run, with the owner serving tables. Order the pulao first. In Ramadan, a reviewer paid $24.99 for an iftar buffet that included it.
- Kabob City, Cityscape: choose qabuli pulao with the family platter. Large platters are 25% off for dine-in on Tuesdays.
- Mazza, 8 Ave SE: the nicer dining room, with qabuli pulao, mantu and bolani. Google’s listing says it serves wine.
Kabuli Pulao “Afghan Street Food”: menu and reviews
Lots of people look up Kabuli Pulao “Afghan Street Food” on Westwinds Drive NE. It splits people more than any other Afghan kitchen in town.
Fans name the kabuli beef and the tikka: soft, well-seasoned meat. Most of all, they mention the bread, baked on site. Mantu comes up too.
The complaints are just as steady: wrong orders, stale food, and a sharp response when customers raised it. It's 3.7 on Google, the lowest-rated Afghan kitchen in Calgary. My take: go for lunch, order the kabuli beef, and check the bag before you leave. Like most Afghan kitchens in Calgary, it publishes no certifier, so ask if that matters. For a sit-down kabuli pulao in the northeast with fewer footnotes, Kabul Kitchen is the safer first visit.
Taj Kabob “Afghan Street Food” menu
Different business, similar name. Taj Kabob on 14 St NE and Taj Kabob in Christie Park SW are kabob counters, not pulao houses.
Get the Signature Kabob Plate: two kabobs of your choice with rice, salad and naan, about $19.50. Reviewers call the chicken and lamb juicy, and the tomato sauce is a family recipe. The Shawnee ground beef kabob is really spicy.
The catch: a long-time regular says portions have shrunk to about 70% of what they were, and another finds it heavy on rice and light on meat. A 2019 write-up of the 14 St NE spot called it modern halal Afghan food inspired by Kabul street markets, with kabob plates, korma, lamb shank and kabob wraps with chicken, beef or a Beyond Meat option. Menus change, so check.
Afghan Chatkhara restaurant menu
Afghan Chatkhara in Castleridge mixes Afghan, Pakistani and Indian food. Think chapli kabab, karahi, tandoori and fried chicken, daal, and a side menu of Punjabi-style pizzas.
The reason to go is the naan, baked in the tandoor while you watch. One reviewer bought twelve for $12. At 3.7, it's the weakest-rated Afghan kitchen in Calgary. Complaints cover stale pre-ordered naan, dead phone numbers and a slow line, so buy naan fresh at the counter. There's an on-site prayer space.
Afghan bakery and grocery stores in Calgary
Afghan Bakery and Halal Butcher Store at 3545 32 Ave NE is the one to know. It's 4.9 on Google, with warm coarse-grain flatbread, savoury snacks for black tea, and a butcher who cuts to order.
Its site calls the meats premium, ethically sourced halal. It also sells Afghan groceries and dry fruit, and lists a phone number and WhatsApp. It names no certifier, so ask if that matters. Reviewers call it the closest thing to home.
Kabul Halal Meat & Bakery in Westwinds does naan, bolani, dry fruit and halal meat in one stop, and its chapli and naan get praise. Before a big order, know that two recent reviews reported glass in a cookie and a large bolani order gone wrong.
Parsa Kabob on Macleod Trail SE is the south’s answer: an Afghan and Persian kitchen with its own butcher and grocery counter. For more, see halal grocery stores in Calgary.
Plov
Plov is rice cooked in the fat and stock of its meat, with carrot and onion, until every grain is separate and golden. It's the savoury Uzbek cousin of kabuli pulao. It goes by plov, pilav, palov or osh. Two Calgary kitchens serve it.
- Caravan Cafe, Manilla Rd SE: a family-run Uzbek cafe on an industrial stretch, and fully halal. Plov is one of the two things regulars name, and the weekend menu is worth ordering across a table.
- Cheburek House, Heritage Plaza on Macleod Trail SE: Uzbek pilav is on the menu. One first-timer called it the highlight of the meal.
Pelmeni and manti
Pelmeni are small, thin-skinned and boiled. You eat them by the bowl with sour cream or butter. Manti are larger, pleated and steamed, filled with spiced meat and onion. They're the same family as Afghan mantu.
Caravan Cafe makes both, and people rave about them. Cheburek House does pelmeni and Georgian khinkali. For Afghan mantu, go to Kabul Kitchen, Bahar Kabab or Mazza. For dumplings in general, see halal momos in Calgary.
Chebureki, somsa and khachapuri
Chebureki are big half-moon turnovers of thin dough and minced meat, deep-fried until they blister. Cheburek House is named after them, and reviewers call them crispy and juicy. Somsa are the baked, flaky parcels of meat and onion that Caravan Cafe makes.
Khachapuri is Georgian cheese bread. The four-cheese one at Cheburek House comes up again and again in reviews, though one diner found it too cheesy. Both kitchens are known for dessert: try Napoleon cake or honey cake.
The short version
- Kabuli pulao: Kabul Kitchen in the NE, Kabul Bites on Edmonton Trail, Bahar Kabab downtown.
- Afghan bread and meat: Afghan Bakery and Halal Butcher Store on 32 Ave NE.
- Plov, pelmeni and chebureki: Caravan Cafe or Cheburek House, both in the southeast.
For the rest of the cuisine, see halal Afghan food in Calgary.
Common questions
Where can I get kabuli pulao in Calgary?
Start with Kabul Kitchen in Falconridge, Kabul Bites on Edmonton Trail and Bahar Kabab downtown. Kabul Restaurant and Kabob City make it too.
What is on the Kabul Kitchen menu?
A short Afghan menu: kabuli pulao with lamb, manto dumplings, beef chapli kabob, potato bolani, charcoal kabobs and tandoor naan. There are also sharing platters for six to twelve. Kabul Kitchen says on its own site that it is halal throughout.
Is Kabuli Pulao “Afghan Street Food” on Westwinds Drive any good?
It splits people. Regulars praise the kabuli beef, the tikka and the bread baked on site. It opens at 9am for an Afghan breakfast. The complaints are about wrong orders and stale food. It's 3.7 on Google, so check your order before you leave. Or try Kabul Kitchen in Falconridge for kabuli pulao with fewer footnotes.
Is there an Afghan bakery in Calgary?
Yes. Afghan Bakery and Halal Butcher Store on 32 Ave NE bakes Afghan flatbread beside a halal butcher counter. Kabul Halal Meat & Bakery in Westwinds does naan and bolani.
Where can I get Uzbek plov in Calgary?
At Caravan Cafe on Manilla Rd SE and Cheburek House in Heritage Plaza on Macleod Trail SE. They are Calgary's two Central Asian halal kitchens, and both serve plov.
Is there halal pelmeni in Calgary?
Yes. Try Caravan Cafe, where the dumplings are what regulars name first, or Cheburek House. Caravan Cafe is fully halal.
What is the difference between plov and kabuli pulao?
Both are rice cooked with meat and its stock. Uzbek plov is savoury, with carrot and onion cooked into the rice. Afghan kabuli pulao is topped with sweet carrot strips and raisins, often almonds, and is usually served over lamb.
What is the difference between pelmeni and manti?
Pelmeni are small, thin-skinned and boiled, eaten by the bowlful. Manti are larger, pleated and steamed, filled with spiced meat and onion. They're like Afghan mantu. Caravan Cafe makes both.