Acclaimed South Asian restaurant debuts steps from Ocean Boulevard with creative mocktails and imaginative dishes.
By Dolores Quintana
The Michelin Bib Gourmand-rated Pakistani restaurant Khan Saab Santa Monica is now open in Santa Monica. It is the first such restaurant, “celebrated for redefining South Asian dining through an elevated interpretation of Pakistani and Indian cuisine,” awarded a Bib Gourmand rating, which is Michelin’s recognition for restaurants that deliver quality food at reasonable prices.
Chef-Partner Imran Ali Mookhi, along with partners Ahmad and Iqbal Hosseini, first opened the restaurant in Fullerton with a second location in Hawaiian Gardens. Khan Saab Santa Monica is located at 115 Santa Monica Boulevard, close to Ocean Boulevard and the beach. Chef Mooki is Pakistani-born and has spent two decades in acclaimed Southern California kitchens, including Tantra on Sunset, Tamarind of London, and Dosa in San Francisco.
The food is marvelous, with the “signature Sloppy Khan,” which is a “playful riff on the classic Sloppy Joe”, filled with keema pav, grass-fed wagyu beef, and wonderfully baked soft bread griddled to perfection. I can’t say enough good things about the kitchen’s breads. The service is impeccable, with servers and the owner radiating a welcoming and friendly vibe. Khan Saab is a place where you can feel at home.
The smoked beef kabob, prepared with charcoal-smoked top sirloin, yogurt, garlic, mustard oil, and shallots, is served with a special flair in a smoke-filled glass dome. It is also incredibly tasty. The butter chicken curry is a truly rich curry with more depth of flavor than we have been accustomed to with such dishes. The Khan Biryani with boneless chicken, biryani rice, and Thai chili comes baked in dough and is opened in front of you. Khan Saab recognizes the value of spectacle as well as flavor. Putting the Khan Biryani together with the butter chicken curry is a taste sensation, just saying.
There are vegan dishes on the menu like the Pomegranate Bhel Puri, which was prepared from a cart on the evening when I dined. A dish with a lot of crunch, it is made of crackers, rice puffs, peanuts, vermicelli, mint, tamarind, chili, garlic, and chutney. Vegans are not left out at Khan Saab, and this pomegranate-studded dish is something new and enjoyable for your palate. This is just a fraction of the menu, which leaves many other dishes to explore.
Another aspect of the restaurant that makes Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen stand out among South Asian restaurants is that the kitchen is fully Halal, and thus the restaurant has a completely zero-proof cocktail and beverage program guided by mixologist Ahmad Hosseini. The mocktails served by the bar are not only beautiful to behold, but very satisfying to the palate.
The Dirty Sprite (lime, salt, mint, and Sprite); Basanti Ecstasy (non-alcoholic gin, lavender-infused molasses, and lime); and Devil’s Kiss (Seedlip, passion fruit, lime, and jalapeño) are fully expressive cocktails where you don’t miss the alcohol. The Basanti Ecstasy, in particular, is a gorgeous drink, with an inner glittering glow that swirls in the glass. It was so pretty that I exclaimed praise, and the drink was handed to me. I didn’t miss the gin, and I like gin.
Khan Saab Desi Kraft Kitchen is a wonderful addition to the growing Santa Monica dining scene, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
