Biriyani Kabob House

Eating at Biriyani Kabob House, a strip mall spot on Third St. in Little Bangladesh, is like having dinner with family friends you’ve known since birth. The owner tells you what to order and he might drop a rice pudding on your table at the end of the meal. But it’s not just the friendly, comfortable service that makes this place stand out in a neighborhood full of great spots. It’s the consistently fantastic Pakistani and Bangladeshi food being served here.

Despite the name, Biriyani Kabob House specializes in biriyani, kabobs, and curries, a fact the gregarious owner will explain to you several times while you order. That means there’s plenty on the menu, but we always start with one thing, the Hyderbadi lamb biriyani. This is a plate of deeply aromatic basmati rice with spices, accompanied by a lamb shank that’s approximately the size of a football. The gaminess of the lamb is balanced by the coriander, cumin, and masala spices of the rice, making it the kind of dish that’ll have you coming back anytime you’ve got a friend in town who wants the best of the best things to eat in Los Angeles.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

It’s going to take you multiple trips to work through all the curries, but you’re not going to mind in the slightest, since they all hover around $15, and are also excellent. Each comes with fluffy house-baked naan, which is especially great with some of the spicier dishes, like the deceptively hot nali nihari, a stewed beef dish we crave any time the temperature in LA goes below 65, or the chicken karahi, which melds peppers, onions, a hint of ginger, and spicy chicken. The best of all, though, is the lamb shank curry—a straightforward dish topped with raw jalapeños and onions that cut through the oily meat and amp up the flavor of the relatively mild curry sauce.

The only weak spot on the menu might be the kabobs, which don’t live up to the high standards of the biriyani. While we like our meat with a slight char, these all tend to come out overcooked, especially the stringy tandoori chicken and spongy bihari kabob.

No matter what you order, there’s a not-small chance that your first visit might last multiple hours, especially if the owner comes over and strikes up a conversation with you (which he will). Who knows? You might even get to yell at the TV in Biriyani’s dining room. That’s when you really know you’ve found a second home.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Hyderbadi Biriyani

The best thing on a menu full of standouts. This dish—which is technically pulao, not biryiani, meaning the rice is more firm and slightly less seasoned—looks massive when it arrives. But you’ll realize when you finish it that if it were any smaller, you and your friends would fight over it like it was a fumble on the bottom of a scrum (which is fitting, since the lamb shank is about the size of a football).

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Lamb Shank Curry

The same lamb shank as in the biriyani, only covered in mild curry spices. This dish is ideal for layering on top of the naan with the accompanying jalapeños and onions.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Nali Nihari

This fragrant curry stew is bolstered by cardamom and black pepper, which cut the richness of the heavy, tender beef chunks inside. Just make sure you order it spicy. The mild version doesn’t bring out the flavor of the curry as well.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Chicken Karahi

This rich, buttery, turmeric- and ginger-heavy curry melds the flavors of the chicken, peppers, and onions together like a metalsmith making 22-karat gold.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Saag Paneer

You’ve had this dish 12 million times before, but this one is special. It’s both the spiciest and the most spinach-y version you’ll find in town, and there’s enough paneer in it that you’ll have a hunk of cheese in almost every bite.

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Naan

Soft, pillowy, and perfectly charred in parts, this naan is so big that you’ll have trouble fitting anything else on your table (and yet, you’ll still somehow finish it).

photo credit: Jakob Layman

Rice Pudding

The owner gives these out like they’re Halloween candy. They’re only a tiny bit sweet, creamy, and highlighted by heavy doses of vanilla and cinnamon, and after our first sample, they’re now a standard part of our order.