I've been wanting to try Ruz Bukhari for forever now and while in the neighborhood some weeks ago, I finally got the chance. Now I know what I've been missing! I opted for the lunch buffet and it was great. Lots of variety and all the food was delicious. That day they had a beef & potato stew, a chicken & tomato stew, stewed eggplant, a bean dish, spring rolls (??? but they were good), fried fish, kofta kabobs, hummus, tabouli, baba ganoush, coconut cake and baklava among other things. Also, shortly after I was seated, a basket of soft, warm grilled pita was brought out from the kitchen to me. I've seen pix of their food on the 'net and it looked good to me but it actually tasted even better than what I'd imagined after having looked at the pix. The wonderfully spiced kabobs and the smoky baba ganoush were particularly good. I don't even like baba ganoush but I went up for seconds and devoured every last bit! Best I've ever had. I never get rice at a buffet and the owner implored me to but I balked. Now I'm kicking myself for that because after having looked at others' pix of this special preparation, it looks amazing. Next time. What bummed me though was that as incredible as it all was, the place was deserted! I'm a slow eater, was in there for over an hour having arrived at noon and the entire time, I was the only soul in there eating. Please support this place, you'll be doing yourself a huge favor. And please forgive my food pix - the art of attractive plating has never been my strong point. Just trust me - it's all delicious. read more

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The ladies from my book club all met here for dinner and drinks on a Wednesday evening. We like to pick locations based on the book we are reading so we can explore new restaurants across Jacksonville. The owner/manager was very kind but let us know when we arrived that the bartender was not there and he did not know how to serve mixed drinks. Not a huge issue with us- we opted instead to share a couple bottles of wine to make it easy. We were a little surprised by the price of the bottles ($40 each for a Josh and a Meiomi). It was a very slow night with only a few other tables so service was quick. We started with an order of the Mantoo, hummus, and baba ganouj. The mantoo was definitely the favorite starter of our group. Great flavor and cooked perfectly. Our group chose to order a large mixed kebab family style platter with rice and a variety of meats (ground and sliced chicken, ground and sliced beef, and lamb). The menu said it was portioned for 5 but man was it huge! There were 5 of us and we all ate large portions and still each had a take-home box after. The rice was amazing and so was the lamb. I had a variety of both the beef and chicken and preferred the sliced meat vs ground meat. After dinner, we decided to go back to our college days and order a hookah on the lounge side. We had a fun, relaxed time. I had never had this type of food before but thought it was delicious and would definitely order from there again. The pricing was great except for the bottles of wine read more

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As per my review on Google, I have serious doubts about the authenticity of the reviews for this place. Most of them seem to be fake 5-star ratings created by bots. When I went there with my family, we were seated at a table that was dirty and sticky. Furthermore, there were two tables with dirty dishes that were not cleared. To add to that, the owner/server was unprofessional and ego personality. Food has a strong smell of chlorine, was cold and not fresh. As a health inspector; I'm also concerned they did not follow ServSafe practices for safe food handling and sanitation, and that made me uncomfortable. I will not be returning and I do not recommend it to others. My best advise to owners sell the business don't just change name so you could keep with your unsafe practices. read more

Lounge cafe. Chill vibes and great staff. It's two different venues : one side is the lounge, the other, a great buffet restaurant but both offer delicious eats and great drinks. read more

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I came for dinner so I can only speak to this experience HOWEVER I can't wait to go to the lunch buffet. The food was good. The lamb chop was legit to die for. So good I wish I had a whole plate of that. The rice was fragrant and well seasoned. The chicken was a little dry for my liking but I also came in very late. The service was friendly and straight to the point. I am giving it 4 stars simply because the bathroom smelled like straight sewer. I couldn't hold my breath for that long. I want to go back and try the buffet and give the whole experience 5 stars. read more

Ruz Bukhari - Afghan Cuisine - Mediterranean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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MUST TRY! Amazing food and even better service. I visited this place while I stayed in FL. They close @ 10PM and I was headed there @9. I called ahead to see if I can order on the phone and it would be ready to eat when I got in. The man over the phone was super helpful and kind. We didn't get there until 9:30 and I thought they would be upset. Omg. The man was super kind. When they say "protect this man at all cost" yuppp! Food was amazing. And came out quick. We ordered the 5 Shanks + mixed platter. Yummy and huge. Huge place inside. They also do hookah from what it seems like. read more

Ruz Bukhari - Afghan Cuisine - 5 Lamb Shank + Mix Kabobs - Mediterranean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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Food - I ordered the baklava since a bunch of reviews said that it was their specialty, plus I like me some baklava once a while. I will argue that those folks haven't been to the great ones in the area. The filo was as sad as the ambiance. I have no problem with mom/pop shops, but they gotta step up their "this is our specialty" game. Don't bother going here for the baklava. Service: homie tried to get smart-- he ran the payment and clicked on 18% tip on the machine. I looked at him and gave the minimum for that preemptive strike... Boy, you just went to the kitchen to get me baklava with your hands while you were on the phone chit-chatting -- calm yoself, Yousef! Skip this place! read more

Awesome food. Fresh and vibrant flavors. Possibly the best hummus in the city. The rice is flavorful but not overdone. Eat here and be happy read more

Oh my, good afghan food is hard to find. But thankfully, this spots corrects that issue. First, whatever you do get the Bironi Banjon (sp?). Eggplant cooked to perfection, with a yogurt sauce topping that is DEVINE. I often thought about getting this for my full meal. Things to get: Borani Banjan - if you have never had good Afghan food, this is the dish to try. MUST TRY! Chicken Korma - thick curry and fall of the bone chicken (served bone in) make this my favorite entree. There is also a Lampe version if you prefer lamb. Dujaj Shawaya - meat is well seasoned, but this was just okay. They also have buffets at different times during the week and they have burgers, fish and chips and fried shrimp. I really love this place and get take out when I am in the area. The ambiance of the dining room is not great, but service is friendly and the good is AMAZING. read more

Location correction may be required for Yelp. The receipt shows the address as the one listed in yelp but we had to do a little Marco Polo expedition to find it. Basically enter the location and soon as entering the parking lot got to the right. Otherwise you will be at Target. Looks Iike this is suite 180-181 The Buffett is tasty with 5 main course dishes, rice, hummus, egg plant vegetables. Don't forget the option to order from the menu seems like all the really good food can be found there. The bathroom was clean and spacious. You will need to turn on the light. The people working here are nice and friendly. For 2 adults, 2 children the meal cost is $76.38 for the Saturday lunch buffet and 4 sodas. read more

Ruz Bukhari - Afghan Cuisine - Saturday Lunch Buffet Bill - Mediterranean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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This is my go to lunch spot when I'm starving. Lunch buffet has plenty of options and I have always enjoyed the food. Sometimes I have had to ask for the fresh pita bread but normally they ask if I want some since it's not on the buffet line, Definitely get it!! Not a super fancy place or anything and I've only been there for lunch but a definite relaxed atmosphere where you can just go and enjoy the food. read more

Excellent food, cozy environment, friendly Management staff Food is authentic aphgani a mixture of Mediterranean and Indian cuisine read more

1. Tables had not been cleared of other customers dirty plates 2.Man sitting behind lap top could have cared less about service 3. I never was served my bread portion during the buffet lunch 4.Nothing on the buffet was market 5.The soda dispenser was out of order, and it had an option for another customer telling me that there was canned soda I would have not known. Service and attention to customers very lacking. read more

Mantoo! Yuuuuuusssss! The last place that had it closed down on me and this one just happened to pop up on my delivery app. For those who don't know, Mantoo is a dish of dumplings filled with a spiced meat mixture with like a tomato-garlic yogurt sauce on top. I'm so glad another place has it. I quickly placed 2 orders of it as it was listed as an appetizer. I also got a side salad of onions, cukes, and tomatoes as well. My partna got the Lamb Seekh or Lamb Kabobs with white basmati rice. Our food was delivered early but my mantoo appeared to have been tossed around which was upsetting but it didn't change the taste of it. It tasted so good. His food he really liked even though he felt the need to add some hot sauce to his rice as he had so much of it. I'm definitely ordering again! read more

Ruz Bukhari - Afghan Cuisine - Mantoo tossed round a bit from delivery with the side salad - Mediterranean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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I went to grab lunch, and the buffet was supposed to close at 3 PM. We arrived at 2:30 PM and ordered Qabuli Palaw. We chose not to go with the buffet and ordered from the menu. It looked like they puréed the rice from the buffet onto our plates and added some meat on the side. The food was cold and didn't seem fresh. We were really disappointed and didn't want to finish our plates because we didn't want to risk getting sick. At the end, the owner seems personally added a 20% tip without asking us, which felt extremely unprofessional. read more

Big place, wasn't a whole lot of people. They must not know, this is gotta be one of the best Gyro's I've ever had.

This place is SO good! Tried it for the first time delicious afghani Mediteranean food. The service was great and the food was incredible. I think this was probably one of the best meals we've had here since we moved to Florida. We will definitely be back soon!!! Tried the hummus, falafel, pita and eggplant appetizers and chicken kofta, chicken kabob and beef kabob with ruz bukhari. The buffet and menu ordered items are so good and great prices! They also have a party room seating for 100+ people for parties and they catering for your events. read more

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I found this spot through a social media post and marked it in my "Jax" collection here on Yelp to make sure I remembered to give this place a try. My partner is half Afghani and we take any available opportunity to try Afghani restaurants. This restaurant is located in Bay Meadows. It was quite the drive from the area of town we were staying in Riverside. It was during Ramadan and they had an evening buffet we were offered. The buffet had pretty much everything from the menu we wanted to try. There was rice with lamb, delicious. The lamb was so tender. They also had a chicken dish that was very tender. I loved the eggplant and made my partner get some of his own. There was also beef and chicken kabobs. They had ran out of the beef on the buffet and brought us out some fresh from the kitchen. Again, so delicious. For dessert there were some dates, fresh fruit, baklava and a dessert I've never seen before. They said it was their restaurants specialty. It reminded me of similar but different desserts from India. It looked like a small fried hand pie but it was soaked in a sweet syrup. When you would bite into it there was a slight crunch from the fried texture and then an overwhelming (in a VERY good way) sweet syrup almost like honey that would explode in your mouth. There was also a custard like filling to them. It almost had a sweet honeycomb taste. It was definitely the star of the meal. I haven't stopped thinking about this dessert despite this restaurant being located in Jacksonville and me being in Atlanta. I will definitely be back for that dessert again. When we visited it looked like they had recently taken over the space next door and were expanding. read more

Big fan of Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern foods, and we had the good fortune of trying out their lunch buffet this afternoon, and it did not disappoint. From their hummus and baba ghanoush to their beef and chicken kofta and eggplant borani, each item was cooked and seasoned perfectly. Their flavors complemented one another and made for a delicious meal. Next time, we'll likely try ordering off the menu to see what other dishes they have to enjoy. read more

Food is fantastic. Some Afghan dishes and yummy Lebanese food. #halal #fithra. The owners are young and amazing

Great buffet options and amazing flavor. Halal food. The ambiance is very nice and clean. The restaurant owner is kind and had a smiling face and helped with things we needed. It's a hidden gem. read more

Ruz Bukhari - Afghan Cuisine - View from outside - Mediterranean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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Looks like there is a significant issue with water. Food has a strong smell of chlorine. It will be nice to have labels with ingredients to all dishes for the buffet area. read more

Stopped by during a weekday intending to have lunch with my wife. We walked in and although there were two tables of people eating there was no one working from the restaurant visible. After waiting a few minutes we decided to just pick a table to sit at until we were waited on. We sat there at least 5 more minutes and still no one came out to welcome us or take our orders so we left. read more

Delicious afghani food! Quabuli palau, Kofta korma and kabobs were all very good. You get a lot of rice but I didn't get much kofta. Other than that I will probably go back to try the buffet. Lots of options. read more

My wife and I were feeling adventurous and didn't want the chain food for our date night. Ruz Bukhari didn't disappoint. The food was amazing and hearing the stories from the owner and his wife made dinner even better. We will be back. Everything was seasoned well and so tasty. You have to get the rice with raisins and carrots...delicious! read more

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We had never had Afghan food before coming here. I heard it was good and I love trying new things. We were not disappointed! The owner is super nice, the food is delicious and the space is so cute! read more

The place was completely empty on Saturday night. We were the only table, so it was nice to get full attention of our server. Food was average. My kebabs were not so great, kinda dry. Oh, and the salad that came with it was not fresh at all. read more

This place is SO good! Tried it for the first time last night and was a little skeptical when we walked in but so happy we stayed. The service was great (a little slow but the food looked fresh so that's not a problem) and the food was incredible. I think this was probably one of the best meals we've had here since we moved to Florida. We've never seen our 2 year old eat so much!! We will definitely be back soon!!! Tried the hummus and eggplant appetizers and chicken kofta, chicken kabob and beef kabob with ruz bukhari. Huge portions and great prices! read more

This place was disappointing experience from start to finish. The service was incredibly slow, with wait times exceeding what is reasonable for it being empty. The food was okay but not worth the drive. Also the ambiance of the restaurant left much to be desired. It was outdated, and the overall atmosphere felt dull and uninspiring. It did not create an enjoyable dining environment. Not to mention the front doors unnecessarily wide open. read more

As per my review on Google, I have serious doubts about the authenticity of the reviews for this place. Most of them seem to be fake 5-star ratings created by bots. When I went there with my family, we were seated at a table that was dirty and sticky. Furthermore, there were two tables with dirty dishes that were not cleared. To add to that, the owner/server had left the door wide open, which was quite uncomfortable. The worst part was that despite waiting for a long time, the owner/server did not come to take our order. Instead, he went to serve another couple who arrived after us. We were very disappointed by this behavior and decided to leave. I would not recommend this place to anyone. read more

Ordered from Uber eats- in particular got the mixed platter with Chapali kabob and chicken kebab, side of rice and raisins. Was suppose to get a side of kofta but unfortunately was not included in order. Overall food was good and it's nice to have an Afghan restaurant in the area. read more

Under new management! A little secret hiding away in front of southside blvd Plenty of food and choice of meats with exquisite authentic Mediterranean taste And also included green and black tea You can't go wrong at this restaurant For the money Blessings read more

Happened upon this place accidentally and they had a middle eastern lunch buffet that was phenomenal. Excellent hummus, baba ganoush, and a tasty variety of meat dishes incredible rice as well. Highly recommend read more

Very authentic kabuli pulao. I grew up in Peshawar and it reminded me of home. Must try. read more

Ruz Bukhari - Afghan Cuisine - Indoor seating - Mediterranean Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

Amazing Afghan food!! Haven't had Afghsn food since I was laat there in 2014. Brought back so many memories! Will definitely order again. Next time I think I will eat on site! read more

I'm going to be blunt and transparent: The food here is really good. I can't deny that. What I will complain about (and did to the only employee we saw) is that I purchased a certificate for $25 off my purchase of $50 just 2 days ago for Levant Grille & Hookah Lounge. When I arrived at the restaurant, I noticed the name on the place was different. I asked the woman working there if it was the same place and she said yes, that they had just changed the name, but it was the same. I had eaten here in the past and loved the food, so I thought...fine, sounds good. When I showed her the certificate after eating, she tells me that they don't accept it since the name changed. I could not believe something that is on a site that I had JUST purchased would not be honored despite the employee clearly saying that it was the SAME restaurant with a simple name change. By the way, the restaurant still has the SAME website SAME NAME. Ridiculous! Due to the poor service I don't believe I will eat here again. Which is sad, because they have good food. read more

Poor service! Last week I ordered to go for 8 person and they didn't even put some silverware!

Delicious Afghani food! The mantoo is absolutely delicious. Highly recommend checking this place out. We also had the buffet which was good as well and had an assortment of meats. read more