THE BEST Pakistani Food I've Had in all Los Angeles!

Whoa, that is the biryani. Look at all that rice. Oh, that is crazy. I see the meat inside too. Oh, for sure. I am getting this. Hey guys, it's Steve from Rockstar Eater. And in today's video, I'm going to be checking out one of the most rock and Pakistani restaurants in LA County. I'm here at Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen. This is one of the rarest kinds of restaurants you're going to find in Santa Monica. The only Pakistani restaurant in this city, but I heard a lot of great things about it. Michelin Bib Gourmand. Hey, that's good enough for me. So I'm going to go in there and I'm going to get the best things on the menu and to show you guys so that you know what to expect when you come to this highly rated Pakistani restaurant in the city of Santa Monica. And also if you're new to this channel, take a moment right now to hit that subscribe button as well as the notification bell. More of these awesome food videos coming your way. So this is one of three locations in Southern California. The newest one right here in Santa Monica and it's not your typical hole-in-the-wall Pakistani restaurant that you would find in LA County. It has kind of an upscale look which I think is very fitting especially since we are in a really good part of Santa Monica. Like I said they have Pakistani food but they also have some Indian dishes as well as some Afghan dishes. You know what let me show you the menu. Everything is on one side of this big sheet menu and this is all halal so just letting you know beginning with the street style food. Pani Puri is very popular as well as this one called the Bhel Puri and the Sloppy Khan. A lot of people get here as well. Signature dishes, can't go wrong with this, right? Chicken karahi is popular. Biryani, even this one, breakfast curry is very popular. Or if you want to go high roller, they got some steaks here. Oh yeah, see it's pretty fancy. Wood-fired bone-in tomahawk for 160 dollars wow and we also got the tandoor which are the kebabs you see they got the chicken tikka which everybody likes right tandoori chicken yep those are the indian dishes the smoked beef kebab as well as the seekh kebab socal harvest which are the vegetable dishes market fresh so you can do brussels sprouts or you can do palak paneer aloo gobi and who doesn't like curries right oh yeah butter chicken as well as this one called lamb rogan josh they got shrimp they got bhatura and they're also known for the drinks you see the selections of the water that they have as well as the various mocktails so if you guys love mocktails then you should definitely look at this menu as well as the spirit free shots and then up here they got the brews along with the sodas, mimosas, craft soda, as well as the lassis, and don't forget about the chai. This one is one of their most popular ones, which is the smoked double apple. I've not heard about it, but supposedly it's a very fantastic presentation and taste. It's supposed to be really good. Wow, look how smooth it looks. Oh, what is this? It goes right in there? Okay. Oh, I can tell this going to be quite a presentation. Okay I see okay it's going in there and it's making the whole thing smoky. Wow okay there it is the smoked apple right there. From what I heard the head chef's favorite which is good enough for me. Tastes like apple juice, pineapple juice, a little cinnamony and it's very smoky. I don't think I've had a combination like that before. And by the way these are non-alcoholic beverages even though there is a bar here they don't serve alcoholic drinks they serve mocktails but really good tasting mocktails so perhaps you should order one of these in addition to your meal so it is kind of a tight little kitchen but they are whipping out every single thing that's on the menu like i said pakistani dishes but also some indian dishes if you guys really like indian food i am totally okay with that oh yeah there it is it is done in no time. Oh yeah, put some of that butter on top too, make it nice and shiny. Looks like my appetizers are done. I'm gonna go out and eat it while it's still nice and hot. It's kind of a small little restaurant, but they do have both indoor and outdoor seating, which is pretty good, especially if the weather is really nice. And it is so close to Ocean Boulevard. You can walk right to the Santa Monica Beach, as well as the pier. Really good location. Regarding parking, it's Santa Monica. there's no free parking here so you're just gonna have to pay to park in one of these lots first one from the street section is the pani puri oh this is really good for sharing with other people but you can always eat it by yourself as well so we got the crisp puris along with the garbanzo and the potato onion and then that right there is the mint tamarind water so this is how it works. You pour it in just like that and then you eat the whole thing. Wow that is like so much mint tamarind water in your mouth. It's a little spicy but it's also kind of refreshing. You get the crispiness of the puri and I do taste the softness of the potatoes in there as well along with the garbanzo. It's really nice. I think this is like my fourth or fifth time eating pani puri a restaurant every one of them has their way of presenting it but this definitely the coolest presentation that i've seen and this is the other very popular from the street section the sloppy con and everybody gets it not just because of this presentation but look how delicious this thing looks so in here we got the spiced beef along with the gunpowder dusted bun you see that bun oh buttered up i am liking it we got some jalapenos on top we also got some red onions we also got some of the fresno peppers the herbs let's do it yeah this tastes like a sloppy joe but very elevated i am liking the taste of that ground beef that's really savory very spiced up and the bun itself is fluffy but then it's also buttery crispy the last time i've had a sloppy joe was i think when i was in elementary school i didn't much care to try it again afterwards but then again i don't really know where to get a sloppy joe but if you want to try a pakistani style sloppy joe this place this is where you got to try it and this one is the khan biryani have you ever seen a biryani presented like this before look at that crust on top it's like a biryani pie Oh look at that. There it is. That's the rice. So exciting. So in there we got boneless chicken, the rice itself, Thai chili, fried shallots. It's very colorful and it's very spiced up and very aromatic. This is a really amazing tasting biryani. I love the fluffiness of the rice. I like the spices. I like the thickness and the tenderness of the chicken. Pair it up with some of that yogurt in order to give it additional flavor and texture. Wow that yogurt really does add some additional nice flavor to the biryani because now it's saucier, it's creamier and it does help with the spiciness. I mean this biryani I wouldn't say it's like overwhelmingly spicy but it does help a little bit. But nevertheless try it out. Try it by itself, add the yogurt as part of it and see which combination you like the best. And this one is the mantu. I've had this a few times before in other restaurants and this is the way they make it. It looks so fancy. So these are beef dumplings along with the spiced yogurt that's on top sun-dried california tomatoes which are inside rooted in gilgit flavors and finished off with a west coast twist i am liking that okay just like i expected it's a very savory mantu it's their version of a dumpling and it is kind of spicy too oh wow okay so you have to kind of be careful with this thing i wonder if it's because of the spiced yogurt or if it's because of the sun-dried tomatoes. Something in there is a little spicy. Maybe that's why it's a good thing I got. One of their mocktails. This is the Pina Colada and look how pretty it looks. We even got that really dark colored cherry on top. Wow that has a really nice cooling effect. Now I feel like the spiciness is almost gone. Yeah maybe it's a good idea you get one of these especially if you're going to get some dishes that are spicy. Oh, check out this one. Wow, this is the smoked beef kebab. I don't think I've ever seen a beef kebab presented like this before in a restaurant. That's pretty fancy. Okay, so it's charcoal smoked carne asada, yogurt or garlic yogurt, mustard oil, smoke layered, tandoor fired. Okay, this one is definitely one of my favorite things on the menu. Everything about it tastes so great. Once again, it's the carne asada meat. That's been cooked beautifully. It's tender. It's crispy. It's also smoky Just like the menu says and I really love the addition of the garlic yogurt as well as the mustard oil You know, they kind of make it tangy and creamy It's perfect. Yeah for sure if you love beef This is the one you got to get and have you ever seen a chicken dish presented like this? Yeah, they bring the whole walkout to you. I've never seen this before. So this is the Peshawari chicken chicken karahi one of their best sellers boneless chicken spiced tomato fried shishito peppers wok tossed heat with bright peppery bite wow that's pretty good just like the menu says it's made with spiced tomatoes so that's what you're gonna taste all around the chicken the creamy tomato sauce that's kind of spicy big chunks of chicken as well yeah this is no joke they bring it out just like this to every table so they're not just doing it for me every customer gets it like this so you do have to be a little careful in the beginning because you don't want to burn yourself so just keep a little distance from it maybe use your fork so that you can pick off a piece from inside nice piece and then enjoy while it's nice and hot i can see why it's a very popular dish it looks great and it tastes great as well so if you are into a chicken dish other than the indian ones like the butter chicken get the karahi you're just not going to find this presentation anywhere and i had to get my butter chicken from the curry section classic indian so in here we got boneless leg creamy butter sauce it's supposed to be very smooth and rich and beautifully balanced and look at that we got some rice on the side why not since they have naan on the menu might as well try it this is the very classic indian flatbread if you've been to an indian restaurant before you ordered the butter chicken then you know pretty much how it tastes like it's just their version it's fancy and it tastes great i love the taste of the butter sauce along with the thick pieces of chicken and i got some rice on the side just like i said oh yeah you definitely need your rice it completes the meal it's like if you have a saucy protein like that obviously you should get the rice or you can get a side of naan and dip it into the butter chicken totally works too i think the naan works good by itself but inside this butter chicken it's like it's just as good if not better since i'm already here i am gonna try their dessert that is right beginning with the left one which is the chocolate samosa where else can you find a chocolate samosa this is so mind-blowing so this is made with Ghirardelli chocolate wow that's pretty fancy that's right Ghirardelli chocolate shaved chocolate as well as vanilla ice cream you see it at the center So this one is their best seller, which is their rosmalai peach rose milk cake, delicately sweetened chana, rose petal milk, joconde sponge cake, and a peach coulis. With this one, I'm just gonna have to pick it up with my fingers, which is okay because that's usually the way I eat samosas. That is like one of the most decadent chocolate desserts I've ever had. This thing is crunchy to the end of grape and there's all that chocolate filling inside which is very chocolatey like very rich dark chocolate very deep flavor so you see they really go all out with the quality here wow that cake is good too this is a really good dessert the cake is so spongy and so soft very moist and it has like a flowery floral taste and you get the crunchiness of the pistachio that's around. Very creamy as well. Just a perfect way to end this meal. You're not going to find too many Pakistani restaurants that's this upscale and fine dining. It's really unheard of. The food looks great and it tastes great. You can tell that the chef put a lot of thought into the recipes as well as the quality of all the ingredients. So yes it's here in Santa Monica but they also have their first location in Fullerton as well as in Hawaiian Gardens. But the good thing about Santa Monica other than the nice ambiance is that it's walking distance to the beach, to the pier, so you can spend half a day here in Santa Monica, come here for late afternoon or early dinner, and just really enjoy some of the best award-winning Pakistani food in LA County. Anyways, thank you so much for watching this video and I'll see you all in the next food adventure.