I visited Kafi BBQ on a Friday afternoon around 3 PM with three friends, specifically to try the brisket. This place came highly recommended, and since I was visiting on vacation, I made a point to fit it into the trip. We got in line, looked over the menu, and ordered brisket (both lean and fatty), along with mac and cheese, oxtails, Iraqi sausage, and drinks.
The gentleman who cut our brisket was friendly and personable -- unfortunately, that was the high point. As he sliced, the charred bark (the most flavorful part of the brisket) was falling right off the meat.
When I asked for a half pound, he cut extra and told me he was "going to take care of me," which I took to mean he'd give me a little more without charging for it. Instead, he charged me for every bit of the extra.
We spent over $260 on this meal, so expectations were high. After grabbing my drink, barbecue sauce, and utensils, I headed to our table -- only to be hit with a stench so foul I had to relocate to a different part of the restaurant just to eat.
Then I cut into the brisket: cold. The sausage: cold. The mac and cheese: you guessed it -- cold. A complete letdown. Food should never be served cold, especially when it's sitting in warming trays meant to keep it hot.
I decided to say something, and I was glad when the owner, came by to ask how everything was. I shared that the food was cold. He immediately bristled and sharply insisted it wasn't cold -- that's just "the temperature it's supposed to be."
Before I could respond, the table right next to me chimed in to agree that their food was cold too. He began arguing with them, completely abandoning the conversation he'd started with me, and moved on to ask other tables about their experience. He then walked right past me, on his phone, as if nothing had happened.
When I said, "Excuse me, we were having a conversation and you just walked away," he looked at me, confused, and replied, "Oh, what's up?" I explained my experience again, hoping for some accountability or at least an explanation-- instead I got defensiveness and hostility.
Every single person in my party had the same experience: cold food and overall disappointment. When the whole table agrees, that's not a fluke -- it's a pattern worth addressing.
Overall: 0/10. I would never recommend this place, and I'd suggest the owner learn to listen to his paying customers instead of arguing with them and walking away mid-conversation. The owner needs to be better, much better. read more