At The Modern East, theres nothing we love more than supporting our local and homegrown food concepts – and trust us when we say, there are tons of super cool spots opening up on the weekly! This weekend, we went over to Kishmish – a gourmet Afghani street & Soul Food restaurant – with four friends and completely indulged in trying out some of their most popular dishes. You know how it is around here, its all about over-ordering and sharing everything on the menu, which is exactly what we did.

The restaurant is located in Dar Al Was Mall (next to Box Park) which is home to a lot of super cool food concepts (She Burger, Sugar Moo, Melt Room, Maiz Tacos, Rice Creamery, Roti Rollers – the list goes on..). It was a Friday night and the mall was packed with diners, and it seemed that almost all of the restaurants were full – which is always a good sign.

Kishmish had a great vibe – the epitome of casual dining – with an open kitchen concept, where we could see the chefs busy at work under a super cool Rumi quote; “ The heart is a cooking pot of food for you. Be patient until it is cooked!”  emblazoned in a bright neon light (perfect HUJI photo-op)! The staff were extremely friendly! My friends and I were presented with an iPad menu (which the geek in me still thinks is so cool!) and we proceeded to order up a feast. Here’s what we ordered:

Bolani

Flat bread stuffed with leek or potato (40 AED)

These were delish – we had one each but I could have easily eaten more had I not known that there was so much more to come. I dipped mine in the red sauce, which was super spicy, but oh so yummy!

Mantu

Afghan dumplings stuffed with lamb topped with lentil, vegetables & yoghurt (60 AED) 

This was a big winner with all of us – and was probably the group favorite. Extremely flavorful, piping hot, and fresh out of the kitchen – we loved it! Kishmish describes it as: “tortellini-like pasta parcels filled with onions and minced beef and topped with a tomato-based sauce, yogurt, and fresh coriander.” It tasted like an exotic lasagna.

Kitchree Kourout

Risotto like rice topped with minced lamb & yogurt (70 AED)

Another hit, this meal was delicious. The texture of the rice was very risotto like, and the mince and crunchy onions that topped it along with the yogurt was a really interesting combo.

Straight From the Charcoal Mixed Grill 

Yogurt marinated chicken. Kofta skewer, and lamb skewer with a side of fries (90 AED)

This meal was the only one that tasted and looked familiar. As a huge fan of grilled meat, there’s nothing that I love more than a good mixed grill. My favorite meat on offer was the yogurt-marinated chicken. This meal was more underwhelming than everything else we tried but only because the others were so vastly different than what we’re generally used to and were packed with so many new flavors.

We also had some of their sides: Masala fries, the Afghani salad, naan, and of course the cucumber yogurt which were all must-haves to complete the meal and to make whole the entire experience.

All in all, we had a great evening. Casual, friendly, yummy and easy going – Kishmish is defs somewhere I would visit again and recommend to friends with only one caveat; “make sure you have no plans after your meal, and go straight to bed – because you will be leaving very full (and, more likely than not, with a food baby)”.

Info:

@kishmishdubai

Sat – Wed : 1 pm – 11 pm

Thur + Fri: 1 pm – 12 am

Dar Al Wasl Mall

Dubai Mall (Todd Enlglish, Fashion Avenue)

+ 04 349 6665

Don’t miss our review of  SLAB and COYA in Dubai!

Photo Cred: Instagram