Khalil's

I lived in the neighborhood nearly a year before going in on a whim. Boy, do I wish I had gone in earlier! The prices and portions are good for Oakland/Shadyside. I went on a Thursday night and it was not too crowded. We are going back tonight for more great food and the belly dancers! Pros: Price, parking and service Cons: Medium sized parking lot. more

Awesome food and great wine selection! The portions are huge, I recommend the Sheikh's feast which lets you get a bit of everything. Everything was so fresh. They have an extensive wine list, many imported from Morocco. And a nice tea selection too. Desserts are great, try a cassie or backlava.\r Great for vegetarians and vegans! Pros: food, parking, wine list, teas, desserts more

We took my wife's sister and brother-in-law, who were in from Peoria, to Kahlil's tonight. I had never been here but love to show folks the adventure of food in Pittsburgh. I was so glad that I did. We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The menu was a bit daunting. Even after I broke the code my brother-in-law decided to just order exactly what I had ordered. He wasn't disappointed. The Sheik's dinner was excellent. This dinner included soup, salad, kabob, rice, vegetable, warm pita with an appetizer spread like hummus, coffee or tea, rice with pine nuts and dessert. We were given a choice of soup and chose the vegetable. It was so flavorful and full of vegetables. Even though we knew we had a significant amount of food still to come we both had to finish it. The stuffed grape leaves were just the right mixture of spiced meat with the sour grape leaves. The lamb and chicken mixed meat cabob was done perfectly. The meat was moist and just the right size and amount. My wife's sister ordered a vegetarian dish with okra and tomatoes. It smelled delicious. My brother-in-law and I were just commenting, wishing that we had ordered a side of it, when they came out with smaller dishes of it for each of us as part of our Sheik?s feast. With as good as the meat and salad were we would have been totally happy with just the soup and the okra/tomato mixture. Our Sheik?s meal ended with desert. They gave us our choice of any of the deserts that they had. By this time I was sharing parts of my meal with my wife. Not because she didn't like hers, as it was every bit as good, but because she had only ordered a salad and a meat pie. I also like restaurants where the wait staff checks on you frequently enough that you're just starting to realize that you need them but not so frequently that they're interrupting you. Our waitress paid just the right amount of attention to us. She was really helpful and very pleasant. Pros: food, service, friendlyness more

We went to Khalil's on a Thursday night just as the dinner rush was starting. Parking in the back was plentiful; and the music and decor added to the middle eastern ambience. Service was excellent as the waitress checked on us multiple times during the meal. There were plenty of vegetarian / vegan entrees along with a nice choice of meat based dishes. The Hummus appetizer was superb, smooth and creamy without the bitter garlic bite inherent in those ""storebought"" tubs. My veg. wife had the falafel which was more refined and less spicy then the boxed mixes from the grocer. It came with a yogurt sauce and a huge mound of butter infused rice.( leftovers were just as good) I had the lamb / chicken kabobs. The lamb was medium rare and tender while the chicken was moist and grilled to perfection. Both were infused with traditional mid east flavorings and came with rice and salad. Both our salads were large and fresh with feta and olives - an option that was worth getting. With the warm basket of Pita bread, the salad and hummus would be a fine meal unto itself. There is a beer and wine list available, though we finished our meal with sweetened chai tea. We had to get the baclava to go as we had reached our limit. The food was as authentic as the meals we enjoyed during a trip to Egypt / Jordan. The prices were in the $15 $24 range for the dinners, ala carte was $5-6 less. Next time ... the lentil soup. more

I went warily bearing in mind acropora39's critique, but had my doubts about the review \r \r since the others (and other web sites) gave the restaurant high marks for excellent food, \r \r and you can't stay in business for over 30 years if you don't serve a good product and \r \r charge a fair price. Since I was hungry and acropora39 said the portions were small, I \r \r ordered several large sides (hummos, baba ganoug, medamas), and when it arrived, YIKES! I \r \r had far more than I could handle. I've been to Malta, Greece, Syria, Cypress, and Egypt, \r \r and I've seen the small mazza plates they use for dips. What I had in front of me was \r \r easily 4-5 times what I'd gotten overseas. The price (under $7 for a large) was not too \r \r much to handle, so this left me wondering about acropora39. If these portions are small by \r \r his/her standards, he/she must be a giant of some sort (maybe that explains the 'acro' \r \r part of the name--like in acrobat), and if the price was too high, then acropora39 must be \r \r an impoverished giant (maybe that explains the 'pora'). Who knows? Who cares? Go to \r \r Khalil's, have some fun, and ask about the belly dancers. But go easy on supersizing the \r \r appetizers unless you've got the football team eating with you. Pros: Delicious Food, Ambience, Parking Cons: small seating area, not handicap accessible more

I love Khalil's. The staff there is super friendly and efficient and the restaurant is quiet and clean. I recommend the grape leaves! They are fabolous! more

This restaurant reminded me of eating in Europe...only as far as much of the food I ate in Europe was tiny portions for too much money. I can't complain about the quality of the food, it is reasonable and if the quantity was double, the food would be reasonably priced. However, the appetizer sized portions are not of such high quality as to justify the price. The lamb kabobs are average at best and my date had a dish which resembled dry meatloaf in consistency and taste. I recommend eating someplace else unless your car breaks down in front of the restaurant. Pros: nice tile on the wall Cons: , average food more

Khalil's II is an excellent dining experience. The restaurant has a very authentic atmosphere and is very quiet. I have gone here for business meetings and on dates and it worked well for both. The appetizer plate was delicious and my lamb kabobs were great. My only complaint was that the bathroom was a bit less than clean, and required you to step over a bunch of electrical cords to reach it. But that was it. Pros: Great Parking, Great Food Cons: Not for Kids more