Restaurant review: The Great Kabab Factory

The Great Kabab Factory (TGKF) is located in Al Khuwair, diagonally opposite to Badr Al Sama Hospital. Basically a signature restaurant group from India, TGKF has now diversified into Gulf and has outlets in Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. In Muscat, the restaurant has been in operation since February this year.

FOOD: If you are a kabab lover, then TGKF is the place to be. It has an extensive range of non-vegetarian and vegetarian kababs. The dine-in guests can choose either a non-veg or a veg platter. The platter comprises of 5-6 varieties of kababs, Indian breads, biryani, and desserts. The non-veg platter includes specialties like galouti kabab, barrah kabab, chicken tikka, murgh malai kabab and machi tikka. The veg platter has tandoori paneer tikka, tandoori chatpate aloo, vegetable shammi kebab, tandoori salad. While the non-veggies can choose chicken or lamb biryani, the veggies can dig into subz biryani. To round it off, deserts like gulab jamun, rasmalai, kesar phirni, and jelabi are served. The food is unlimited ­­-- once you choose the platter, either veg or non-veg, you can have an unlimited go at kababs, rotis, biryani and desserts.

For me, the non-veg kababs tasted better than the veg counterparts. Among the chicken-based kababs, tandoori chicken was very succulent while the murgh malai kabab was nicely done. Some of the veg kebabs were too oily and quite ordinary. The likes of paneer and potato fills your stomach and I managed to avoid these to some extent. The juicy kababs can be washed down with masala buttermilk, which is refilled at intervals. The kababs were so filling that I had to call it quits for the bread, rice and dessert session. You really need to have a ‘king-size appetite’ to do justice to the food on offer. TGKF has decent options for take aways too.

AMBIENCE: The standalone restaurant is attractively lit in the night. The interiors reflect traditional and contemporary flavour in equal measures. The staffs are pleasant, polite and quite knowledgeable about the food on offer. They manage to give some intrinsic details about kababs, if you wish. The best part is they make the guests feel pampered.

PRICE: The non-veg platter costs RO 8.6 (after taxes) and the veg platter RO 7.5 (after taxes). Other than taxes on each meal, the bill also includes 8% service charges, which I feel is a rip-off. Nearly RO 2 in terms of taxes for a veg and non-veg platter is a bit too much.

VERDICT: TGKF is a good bet for folks who like to enjoy a decent meal. If you are the poor eating type, then it is not the place to be.