Other Notes: The Intercontinental Hotel is a real dichotomy of a restaurant. It seems to be about 70% correct and fails in other areas.
First off, the security there is top notch. It is one of the best security setups I have seen yet. Our truck was searched twice before we even got to the hotel. Once at the hotel, we had to pass thought a metal detector.
The hotel is set up on a mountain that overlooks a part of Kabul. The view is calming and relaxed. It’s a very picturesque view, even at night.
Once inside, you feel like you are at a 5 star hotel. The lobby is huge and spacious. It looks like any grand hotel lobby.
The restaurant is a large open dining area. Diners are treated with a trio of wonderful Middle Eastern style minstrels playing authentic music. See video below to get a small sample.
The food is buffet style and has all the staples of Afghani cuisine. The quality of the food is excellent and the selection is pretty amazing. One little note, there is an excellent kabob selection in the back, past the dessert table. It’s a shame it’s hidden away there as many diners could easily miss it.
The bathrooms were the best in Kabul so far. They were elegant and spacious. It completed the 5 star hotel experience. (Note, there was a strong smell of cat food in there, but I’ll overlook that.)
That was the good, now for the bad. To say the service is bad, would be to acknowledge that there WAS service. The waiters weren’t rude or anything. It’s just that they never came to the table. If you did manage to corner one, chances were less than 50% that you would get whatever you ordered. It took us two times to order the coffee (and about 30 minutes) before we got a cup (but it was good coffee.)
It’s not that they are short handed; there are plenty of waiters whirling about the place all night. It was disappointing that a place of this caliber could make such a rookie mistake.
A quick scan showed that it was mostly locals eating here. My guess is that this place caters mostly to affluent local Afghanis and doesn’t care much for expats. That is fine, and if that is the case, the locals are getting a great meal.
The price was a little higher than expected for a buffet dinner, but not anything to complain about.
In the salad bar, there were a few items that we not easily recognizable. My dining partner tried what he thought (maybe hopefully) was a bar of Hashish. In his first bite, he hit a bone. I quickly explained that “Hashish doesn’t have any bones!”
Overall, it wasn’t a bad dinner. In fact, if you have a large party to entertain and you want some great music and something a little different, The Intercontinental delivers. If you are in a hurry or expect to be waited on, hand and foot, this isn’t the place for you.
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