If you were to try one of Red Fire Grill Kabob’s signature dishes at an event, or somewhere outside of their M St. shop, you might enjoy it. Sure, it is not a gourmet kabob, but for a chain restaurant, the food is decent, and maybe even enjoyable. The basmati rice is well seasoned, and the fresh baked bread complements the chicken, beef and lamb kabobs—which sadly give the impression of being overcooked and reheated—nicely.
Yet takeout or catering aside, all hope is lost for Grill Kabob’s two star offerings at their newest location, which used to be home to Aditi’s delightful Indian cuisine. With every meal starting at $11.95 and quickly rising upwards of $15, this supposedly quick lunch spot demands far more money than its fast food quality products are worth. Especially in competition with cheaper, neighboring fare like Qdoba, Grill Kabob will probably alienate student clientele with its overpriced menu. Instead, its prices place it in the same cost bracket as other local Mediterranean notables like Neyla, against which its freshness, quality, and atmosphere simply do not stack up.
On top of the disappointingly expensive cuisine, Grill Kabob’s tacky décor and poor service top off the negative dining experience. From the bright orange walls to the chrome ceiling hangings, the interior of the restaurant tries too hard to make fast food dining elegant. Overhead, a flat-screen television showing the assembly of kabobs and the carving of meats provides patrons with an undesirable behind-the-scenes look at the food they are about to eat. When it comes to fast food, it is safe to assume no one wants to watch it being assembled—except in a documentary chronicling the rise of American obesity.
While the bad décor could be ignored in the face of a delicious, albeit expensive, meal, unbelievably slow service tops off the negative experience that is dining at Grill Kabob. If you want to wait in the two-hour line down the road for some TV-worthy cupcakes, that’s your own decision. But as the sole customer in a self-described “quick service” establishment, waiting 10, 15, or 20 minutes for a presumably already cooked kabob is frustrating and inexcusable.
In a city teeming with delicious restaurants, Grill Kabob flounders, racking up a bill worthy of a real sit-down dinner while serving up fast-food quality. Unless it is featured for free at a Georgetown event, this new M St. establishment is not worth a try.
