Great food and friendly service, but unfortunately the experience ended on a bitter note. When we received the check, an 18% gratuity had already been added. That's fine--I assumed the tip was included. However, when we handed over our credit card, we were told that the 18% charge was not actually a tip. We were informed that it was used to support the kitchen and cover operating expenses, such as keeping the lights on. I found this explanation confusing and misleading. If an 18% service charge is added to the bill, most customers will reasonably assume it is gratuity. I ended up leaving an additional $5 for the staff, but I couldn't help feeling that the restaurant should simply pay its employees appropriately rather than putting customers in this awkward position. The food was excellent, but the billing practice left a bad impression. Unfortunately, I won't be returning. read more

As someone who enjoys trying new cuisines, as soon as I heard about this place serving authentic Tajik cuisine, I knew I had to come and try (even if it's all the way out in Sheepshead Bay). There were some clear great parts of my dining experience and then some less good parts... let me start with the good... The food was delicious and super authentic. I ordered the Tajik Pilaf, which was $14.95 for a huge plate of rice, carrots, and beef, so great value. The rice had some kind of delicious sauce which added a really nice savory flavor and the carrots were cooked well too. The meat was actually my least favorite part of this place, as it was slightly chewy as opposed to tender (but not bad). I also tried the chicken kebab, which I was impressed by - the meat was very juicy, tender, and seasoned nicely. The interior of the restaurant is nicely decorated in a Tajik / central Asian style with a relaxed environment. There were just a couple other groups dining there, so finding a table was not an issue at all. The owner was constantly roaming around the restaurant (in a good, attentive way), frequently checking in on us and being super friendly, helpful, and welcoming. He made us feel at home and gave our experience a home-cooked meal kind of vibe. Now for the not so good part of our experience... the rest of the service... Right off the bat, after we were seated, we just sat there for what felt like a very long time without anyone coming by to check in or even offer water or anything. Finally, the waitress came over, which is when we also found out that somehow they don't offer regular tap water, only bottled water... like how is that even possible? Anyways, we proceeded to order our dishes and then waited for over 30 minutes only to find out at the dishes we ordered (fried lagman) was not available that day! And they only told us this after having already waited half an hour! You would think they would've known this before... so there we were, trying to order again... finally our food came and as mentioned, thankfully, it was actually very tasty. So all in all, while the service definitely could've used some improvement, the food redeemed the experience in a big way and coupled with the unique cuisine and friendliness of the owner, I am giving Karavan Kebab a solid 4 stars. I think risking the service speed to experience this unique and delicious cuisine is well worth it. read more

Karavan Kebab - Mixed kebabs - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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Service always great , friendly service , friendly chef once even brought out plov for us to try for free. The kuratab the national Tajik dish is a must get here everytime !!! I'd comeback here again and recommend read more

Short review- Order the qurutob or shashlik. I went to this spot in Sheepshead Bay, specifically in Homecrest, a couple of weeks ago. They serve the rare Tajik food, similar to that of other Central Asian countries, except for their additional national dish, qurutob. The restaurant was unfortunately out of many dishes as they apparently had a big party on Saturday, but I would still recommend this place at least for most of the dishes we ordered. The main reason to go here is the Qurutob for $21.90, with fatir, sour yogurt, fresh vegetables, herbs, and linseed oil. The only other place to find this dish is Registan in Gravesend, which isn't good (and replaced Vernissage, which was excellent.) Anyway, I'm happy to say that the version here, while not as good as Vernissage, was fantastic. There were plenty of tomatoes and cucumbers, the yogurt and fatir added some sourness and richness, and the fresh jalapenos added heat. There's also a version with meat for an extra $6, which we would have ordered, but it wasn't available. The other main reason to try this place is their excellent kabobs/shashlik. You can either order a Karavan Mix Kabob for four ($69) or eight ($140,) or instead order individual kabobs. We went with the latter because we were ordering many other dishes and chose two sets of three kabobs. The best of the bunch was the Lamb Luleh for $9 each, which had very tender and flavorful ground lamb. The Jigar or Veal Liver Kabob for $14 each was also very tasty. The liver was cooked perfectly, not too rare, still tender, and had only a mild iron flavor. The Karavan Lamb Kabob for $12.90 was more standard but tasty. Compared to other Central Asian spots, I preferred the liver over most others, but found the lulya, for instance, better nearby at Baku Nights. For the salads, our preference was the Karavan for $13.90, with beef, cucumber, pickles, tomato, lemon juice, spices, grated potato fries, salad oil, and white dressing. This reminded me of a lighter version of Tashkent salad with beef instead of tongue, pickles, a lighter dressing, and no grilled onions. It was tasty, and we were tempted to order another later, since many dishes were out. The portion was also large, and I would recommend this. There was also the Sogdiana for the same price with veal tongue, tomato, scallions, and spices. This was a smaller portion, but it tasted heavier as the sauce was, I believe, mostly mayo. There was plenty of sliced tongue and a lot of tomatoes. This was nice, but we preferred the various textures and flavors from the other side. For hot appetizers, we were initially going to order the Meat or Pumpkin Manti, but since they were out, we got the Sambusa Pumpkin for $3.50 each, with the same butternut pumpkin (or rather squash,) onion, and spice filling. The outside pastry was flaky and buttery, while the inside was mildly sweet. I would have liked to compare the meat version to Tashkent or other spots, but at least for the vegetarian variety, this was better than Farida's. They also make an excellent Tajik (or Tandyr) Non, for $3.40. The bread was warm and softer than in most places, which I appreciated as some non are a bit doughy. I would recommend one or two of these for a table, and we eventually ordered more later. The Fried Tushbera (or Chuchvara/Dushbara) at $10.90 is one of the few items on the menu not translated from Russian. This consisted of dough, beef, onion, spices, and butter served with sauce or sour cream. The menu lists the price for 20 of them, though we counted a bit fewer, and there was still plenty for everyone to have one or two. The fried dumplings were alright with a nice texture, though I found them a bit doughy. Two of us decided to try their take on Qutabi, which was also okay. Said qutabi ($3.50 each here) refers to a half-moon-shaped fatir bread, stuffed with either lamb and onion or mixed herbs (in this case, spinach, scallions, and cilantro,) and both are topped with a bit of sumac. This version was alright, with the lamb one being slightly better. It was a bit doughy for my liking, and I would recommend some other spots for this dish. The (Turkish Style) Liver Cubes for $11.90 were alright. There were plenty of pieces, but I found the texture a bit off here. If you're going to get liver here, I would recommend the excellent kababs/shashlik instead (more on that later.) We also all disliked the Herring With Potato for $10.90. The other alright dish was the Homestyle Potato With Mushrooms for $13.90. The portion was decent, but I disliked the potatoes being a bit oily and under-fried for my liking. The same description can be said for their desserts, but this is a caveat, as they were out of their signature honey cake. I am pretty sure the only ones remaining, because they are Italian, were not by them, but at least the chocolate cake and tiramisu (both $7.50) were decent. A bit inconsistent, but good. Out of room. Upper 3. read more

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This is a little Tajik gem by Ave U in Brooklyn. Pretty much all the menu items were on the expensive side so we ordered these Karavan Special Platter. It had all the lamb, beef and chicken sewers on the menu plus the French fries absolutely juicy and salad was fresh. The customer service was amazing also, they did not let our drinks get half was always pouring more. It was very delicious and satisfying , definitely check this place out. read more

Karavan Kebab - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Had a great lunch here. Very friendly staff and the place looked spotless. Everything that we ordered was delicious- deep fried dumplings tasted amazing, fresh salad with beef was so fresh, Tajik non was amazingly crispy, meat kutabi were really juicy, chicken and beef kabobs were cooked to perfection; the herring was a bit too salty for me though. The prices are very decent and the flavors are there. I'll definitely be back. read more

Karavan Kebab - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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I recently came and ordered from Karavan. The order did take a while, over 30 mins, but it did taste amazing! I got their samsa (a pastry filled with meat), beef skewers, lamb skewers, and fried lagman. The fried lagman is a dish of beef served with stir fried noodles with tomato sauce. read more

Visited this place a few weeks ago--alright food for the price value. I've traveled across Central Asia and the food (pilaf and qurutob) did not taste as good as expected at all, which is understandable and usual for ethnic food. The staff were friendly and polite. read more

So delicious. I ordered to Qutabi with meat to go order for a quick bite to eat, and it was so good I wished I ordered more. The service was quick and efficient and the space inside looked big and clean. Would eat there next time. read more

From the moment me and my family walked in we where greated by a friendly Owner and smiling he said welcome, please sit He then explained the entire menu, this is great nice people great food I was really blown away at the quality of the meats . All I can say is if you want to really have as nice dinner Every one was great . Ok fantastic experience I hope who ever goes Really sees how other cultures are something that We all need to experience I wish the chef waiters n waitress the best regards From me and my friends Sonny , Vinny , sal ,Johnny , and everyone that came last week . See you again this week!!! Sr. And I read more

Good atmosphere. Food is great. Big portion size and great customer service. My favorite is the karavan salad read more

Delicious food and service! The ambiance is also very pleasant! My wife and I will definitely visit again!

Every time I stop in New York, I always stop by for some delicious Tajik, Pamiri, Uzbek food with a mix of American and European meals. I love the staff, the service is always great and people are so nice over there. I feel like I am back at home again. Make sure to stop by and visit. The prices are amazing too. read more

I went to Karavan on a sunny afternoon with a friend. The place was empty and very clean! We started with the meat and pumpkin samsa, Samarkand salad and the fried dumplings as appetizers. My favorite was the Samarkand salad because it had a nice balance of fresh veggies, meat, and fried potato strings at the top. I liked the samsa and dumplings as well, but they had that fried, heavy feel to them. The meat in all these dishes was tender and soft. The mild red sauce that comes with the the dishes was good also. The issue was the main dishes at this restaurant. My friend and I ordered the kebab entrees since it was a bit hot that day. My friends lamb kebab was medium cooked, which she liked although kebab is not usually raw and that wasn't mentioned in the menu. Customers be aware so you know what you're ordering, and if you like your kebab less raw and rubbery. What didn't make sense was that I ordered the boneless chicken kebab which was still pink on the inside.... and I know that chicken has to be cooked all the way through. I don't know how they messed this up, given that there was no rush, we were the only ones seated in the establishment, and it took some time for our entrees to come out-- one would think there was enough time to cook the chicken through. This is a salmonella hazard. I was didn't think anything of it at first and just cut out the pink part off the first chicken piece but the second peace had even more pink meat left inside... so I only ate one (not whole) piece of chicken in this entree. At this point I was really turned off and didn't even want it anymore. I brought this to the attention of the waitress who offered to cook it again, but I declined since I lost my appetite from the pink meat and told her I no longer wanted it. I was still charged for this entree. I think the establishment didn't have the common courtesy to take it off the bill when they served hazardous food. Because of this, I am disappointed. I didn't want to have to ask them to take it off the bill, as it should have been expected. Overall, while I liked the appetizers and ambiance, my experience with the hazardous meat left less to be desired. read more

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I came here with a friend for dinner. The decor is really beautiful, and I love the aesthetic of everything. We had the whole place to ourselves, as no one was there. However, I did notice they were setting up for a large party of guests. We ordered three different appetizers; the fried dumplings, samarkand salad, and both the pumpkin and meat samsa. I can't decide which of the three were my favorite, the samarkand salad was refreshing yet filling. The dumplings were amazing; this was my first time trying dumplings and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed them. I did prefer the meat samsa over the pumpkin, but the pumpkin was just as tasty. The pumpkin samsa wasn't sweet like I assumed it would be, it was more on the savory side and had a mix of what seemed like cabbage. (Not sure though) but still good. They also have Poland Spring water bottles available, if you are like me and prefer to know where your water comes from. Although, we were the only ones in the restaurant, it took quite a while to bring out our entrees. I don't know if it was because they wanted us to enjoy our appetizers or something else. I ordered the lamb kebab, and it came with a little mound of rice. My friend ordered the boneless chicken kebab. My lamb kebab was super delish, it was full of flavor but was very tough. It felt like I was chewing forEVER. The meat was a bit on the rarer side too, this may be their default degree, so I'd definitely recommend letting your waitress/waiter know if you like more well done meat. With that in mind, my friend had ordered the chicken, and her chicken was still pink inside. Which I think was a bit concerning. She barely touched her meal after noticing that. I think this is a nice addition, especially that it is halal. And I'm not sure of how many Eastern European restaurants that are, because I have not seen many. But I do think they could have been a bit more attentive. Other than that they are friendly and this is a really affordable place with tasty food. read more

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Came across Karavan and found it was halal so I definitely had to check it out! They also have a prayer room available which is great for Ramadan. Food: I got to try various items such as ikra, hummus, Samarkand salad, samsa, non, kofta soup, & oxtail. Every single item was full of flavor and taste it's so delicious. Not only was it delicious but it was also a very generous portion which is great for sharing. I also tried the dessert and got the chocolate mousse cake and the baklava which are both excellent. Drinks: I decided to try the homemade fruit punch which was absolutely refreshing and felt a lot lighter than getting a soda so I highly recommend that you try the fruit punch because I think it really compliments the meal. Service: it's very rare where I feel speechless due to service but here I definitely felt like the service was so insanely good that I am shocked that somebody could have such a hospitable restaurant. Not only were they catering a large group when I went, but they were on top of their game for every single person in that restaurant. Ambiance: The restaurant is so beautiful inside they have beautiful fairy lights and spacious tables. The seats are also very comfortable and cozy. I also found at the restaurant was very clean which I appreciate especially in times like this. I will definitely be returning to try more of the menu items! read more

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One of the best restaurants in South Brooklyn The meat dishes are unbelievable Highly recommend to anyone who likes meat dishes read more

Karavan Kebab - a table full of dishes of food - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Came in with my mom for lunch. Quite a few tables were taken. I thought it is a good sign for a new place. The interior is amazing and refreshing, very unique. Got seated at once. The staff is very courteous, the food is delicious. The food exceeded my expectations. We ordered salmon kebab, salad, potatoes with mushrooms, kompot, and the bread. Bread was just made, so fresh and tasty, I couldn't find even in Italian bakeries the rest of the food was excellent too. I really enjoyed it and will be back soon read more

Karavan Kebab - Salmon Kebab - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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Excellent food!! Everything from salad to the meats are excellent. Honey is a must for dessert! read more

I have been to Karavan few times and it always has delicious food with a great service.Highly recommended! read more

Karavan Kebab - Mix Kebab with rice - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

this restaurant is sucks.. their behavior is horrible the food is so bad it's smells so bad plz don't go and waste your money. we literally had to leave the place for that. read more

Karavan Kebab - Do you think it's $13 platter?? - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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The food was amazing , the lamb was perfectly cooked and so well seasoned . The ambiance is great and the customer service is excellent this place is super family friendly. read more

Very nice, clean place with an amazing food! Hope to become regular at this wonderful establishment! Salads and meet are great! read more

This is a hidden gem . Great new place.Welcoming staff and owners. Nice and cozy atmosphere and great vibe. We have enjoyed everything we have ordered from the menu . Lamb chops is die for, lagman are excellent. Can't wait to go back. read more

Karavan Kebab - LAGMAN - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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Really good Central Asian cuisine!!! Tasty food and great atmosphere!!! Kebabs here a must try things! read more

Karavan Kebab - Front of restaurant - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Came here for lunch. Tried there grilled chicken and steak kebabs. Very well seasoned and tasty. The Greek salad very fresh and flavorful. Nice and clean restaurant. read more

Karavan Kebab - Greek Salad - Middle Eastern Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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Karavan you are absolutely remarkable, I had a lovely experience here yesterday. Was really surprised with the area where this is located. Every thing I've tried up until now is very good. Service was terrific and every one working here was very nice and generous. Karavan is definitely one of my go to's when I come to this area. read more

Okay I would say I waited 1 hour to get my simple order of one plov to be done and it's ridiculous! Moreover it was an old yesterday food that took so long to warm up you kidding me guys? I got sick stomach right after it for whole day! The only star for the kind server that got me lemon tea lol. Better go to Sherdor restaurant down the street read more

we had a party for 12, table was not set up, service takes forever, under staff, will not come back and will not recommend it to anyone

Thank you for the tastiest food ever! We enjoyed it soo much! Food are test amazing! During Covid we miss their food! Can't wait them to open the restaurant, so we can enjoy the cozy atmosphere, amazing service and the good food read more

The lagman soup we ordered was dreadful, unappetizing and cold. After 20 minutes of waiting for the famous kebab, all we got was a cold, bland and poorly made dish. It was not worth the wait and our time. I do not recommend this place. read more