Moby Dick House of Kabob

It is another victory for this administration which has undersold its many achievements. When this president is gone, it will be Starwars without a Jedi. I love Iran and may all the happiness return to their ancient land. Would I visit? Definitely, I would love to go there once things settle down in the region and I am planning to visit with friends in 2516. In the meantime, I am grateful for their delicious food at Moby Dick’s House of Kabob, a restaurant that has brought great joy through generous portions and a sunny ambiance and sturdy tables that make you feel royal. I think about the way they cook chicken, retaining the succulence while grilling it to a golden roast on the outside. Then the respectful presentation of it. These five or six round chicken pieces look very classy placed in a line on one side of the plate.
In the center of the plate is the rice bunched into a beautiful rectangle, with the edges leaning in as if it were some ancient temple topped with saffron that adds its own splash of splendor. We are no longer at lunch. We are in a garden, in the melody of flutes and the laughter of flying, smiling fairies. Then there is that square of butter which is sinking slowly into the hot steaming rice. It represents you. You have been conquered by rice. You are sinking in steam and you are spirit!
At each end of the plate are whole baked tomatoes, slightly charred and very hot on the inside. This is their genius. They understand both, the chicken and the tomato. They know that when you cut into the tomato, bursting it, the boiling, hot, tasty pieces will flow into the butter loved rice. There is a richness in the food that does not surrender you to sleep. The sumac (berries crushed to a powder) allow you to control the spice. But not control in the sense that a nerd controls a computer by clicking and pushing buttons. But like an artist who adds touches of crimson on white and golden dreams. The cucumber sauce is also there in a puddle of thick delight, ready to help out when you need it.
As you finish the meal, the clouds bring you back to earth where traffic signs must be obeyed and work must be done otherwise they will fire you, (because sometimes you don’t come back after lunch) but a happiness is now in you and with you.
Minhaj Arifin, Author of How Desis Became The Greatest Nation on Earth

I have been to numerous Persian/​Iranian restaurants and I work in Reston. I went to Moby Dick today for the first time, and I really like this location because it’s off of sunrise valley. We had two chicken kabobs w salad, it was certainly tasty. Unfortunately it took more than 20min to get my food and my lunch break is 40min long so I had to rush my meal and it could have been the lunch rush or something but I didn’t see a long line when I got there. Parking is a struggle as well. But I Will return!

We ordered delivery. Waited about an hour. When my food arrived the sandwich was soggy and they had forgotten my salad dressing. I only ordered the salad because my sandwich didn’t come with a side. So a 7 $ dish isn’t being eaten and I spent extra money on it. I’m not happy. Won’t be returning.

The food might be okay but the staff is terrible. Last time I went there the guy behind the register said next so I walked up and started giving my order. In the middle of my order he turned and started talking to another employee. WTF. He then turned back and said «say that again». I then told him I wanted the order to go. Once the order came out, it was not in a to go bag so I said, «Can I have it to go?» He then snapped at me and said «You ordered it for here». WTF, who treats their customers this way. The food might be okay but it isn’t worth that.

I would like to take a moment to demystify the facts about a well-​loved traditional Persian food item: tahdig. For those who don’t know, it’s the crispy part of the rice that is intentionally created by adding oil, butter, and sometimes water at the bottom of the pot. What’s left is a delightful disc of golden yellow/​orange crunchy rice. If you’re expecting a plate of rice without tahdig, it’s possible you haven’t tried it yet. To be clear, it’s not a mistake or a hap hazard remnant, so don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Enjoy! Also, I know the owner of Moby Dick and they def know Persian cuisine. That’s the same thing as Iranian in case you were wondering.

I am probably at this Moby Dick a few times a month, never had a bad meal here. Surprised I see some bad reviews. One reviewer complains of burned rice and added a picture, that’s not burned rice, it’s something we call Tahdig, which is purposely made to be crunchy.
I typically go with the chicken or kubideh, but I also love their daily specials, and the salmon kabab. Service is always good too.

The Herndon location is a notch below others in the Moby Dick restaurant chain. The food is mostly okay (chicken breast kabob is the winner here — typically juicy and flavorful) and they do a busy lunch hour. The hummus and bread are good.
The problem with this location is that the service is terrible. The staff is difficult no matter how you slice it. Last time, they wouldn’t take my Groupon. Tonight I was mischarged for a Super Combo instead of Combo II. I noticed the difference in cost and asked — the reply was «prices change.» Oh, okay.

Tried today mobys Spicy ground chicken kabob and mobys Joojeh, aah what a taste now me and wife are fan of this restaurant. Loved the spicy cucumber sauce. I did tried the combo dish of kabob n Joojeh in my last visit. Awesome taste n service.

I enjoyed the moby veggie dish. Fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and spinach! Fast, professional and yummy! I’ll be back…

Food is good but service is horrible. And the one thing that’s ticks me off is that any order comes with half a loaf of bread while other moby dicks give a whole loaf and when u ask for an extra one they charge you 1.75!

I love Moby Dick! It is definitely my go-​to to-​go Persian kabob spot. I’ve been to several Moby Dicks in the area, and the Herndon location is definitely my favorite location. The kubideh is so incredibly moist and the rice is always perfectly cooked. I stopped going for a while after they did away with the punch-​cards, but just recently they started this new app thing where you can get reward dollars which is kind of cool. I just wish they had free Wi-​Fi because the reception is awful in there! It took me nearly 10 mins to download the app.

Best Moby Dick i’ve ever been to. During lunch their service is fast, they always give you extra of whatever you need, free of charge. They are very nice and the food is superb. Highly Recommended.

Dont go there. Spray or minet time. They gavé me burned rice. I uploaded a pic. Tell ur friend not to go there also. You are welcome.

Pretty average on taste, but big on price. When you add a drink you can easily spend 16 – 20 on your meal. Sorrento grill down the street @ the clocktower is around the same price but the quality of meat is much better (especially their grilled veggies)

Moby Dick is our go to place for a quick dinner when we don’t have plans and can’t decide what else to do. It’s always clean, quick and easy and never crowded at dinner time.
The majority of time we order chicken with salad. On occassion I get the falafel and every now and then I order the lamb. All are fine. Nothing is over the top. Pretty typical for a kabob place in a strip shopping center.
The chicken is usually seasoned well and cooked well. The lamb is always good. Not alot of extra seasoning — very simple. The falafel is fine — nothing special.
Their tzatziki sauce is pretty good. I like mine a little thicker but it’s seasoned well. They serve pita with just about everything.
They are a Pepsi product place so be prepared if you are Coke product person!

I liked this place. I went there on a busy weekday lunch. It was bustling with people. I ordered the ground chicken kabob sandwich .it is basically the swharma. The quantity was good and the taste was superb. DONT FORGET TO ASK FOR THE SPICY SAUCE !!
The hosts were very busy and did not have much time to interact. Nice place to have a good lunch for $ 7.

Great kabob! Platters have plenty of food to do family size, or enjoy them all to yourself. ;) the menu has a lot too!
Only thing is the delivery time is a little longer then I would like… but good things come to those who wait. (:

Came here with my colleagues. There is a lot of seating and the place felt clean.
I ordered the veggie platter here. The food came out fast even though it was busy. The veggies were nice and colorful and it comes with a ton of rice. It had spinach and mushrooms if you like that. The meal wasn’t too salty and the bread was fresh. Pretty good overall.

— The spicy ground chicken kabob has some umami to it.
— The joojeh (chicken breast chunks) was cooked nice and juicy.
— The vegetables are relatively fresh and the dressing/​sauces are pretty good and well-​portioned.
**The ordering is a bit tricky, which IMO negated an extra star to the rating.
To further explain, a platter comes with a small rice and small salad, but no substitution can be made. Therefore, if you don’t want rice, you will be required to pay $ 1.20 to upgrade to a traditional entrée with all salad. But then, you only get ½ a pita bread with the traditional entrée when I thought you get a whole pita bread with the traditional? The whole pita would make sense since paying the advertised $ 1.50 is basically doubling a platter’s rice and salad portion. Did I confuse you?! ;)

Given the wonderful abundance of Middle Eastern/​Persian/​Iranian/​Halal/​kebab/​kebap/​kabob shops around Fairfax County and Northern Virginia, maybe I am judging Moby Dick too harshly. But my two stars speak the truth, because I definitely have experienced better.
I’m happy to drive a bit further down the road to Sorrento Grill in the Clocktower Shopping Center or to the Kmart Shopping Center for Charcoal Kabob, or «all the way» to Reston for Reston Kabob. However, this Moby location is walking distance for me from work, so it’s an easy choice for lunch, sometimes.
Their meats are, in my opinion, just not as fresh-​tasting or as spicy or as flavorful as other similar restaurants in the area, and it has never been clear to me (or the cashiers, apparently) whether my «Traditional Dish» comes with bread and rice, bread or rice, bread rice and a salad, or do I have to pay $ 1.50 if I want more than one of the above? Frustrating, especially when the aforementioned (and less expensive) Sorrento Grill gives you complimentary bread and cucumber yogurt sauce with every order, and their platters clearly include rice/​couscous or a salad.
Also frustrating is the ordering/​pickup system. The acoustics in the restaurant coupled with the loud lunch crowd noise level make it darn near impossible to hear when your order number is being called.
Being the Spice Fiend that I claim to be, I was hoping that the Spicy Ground Chicken would actually be spicy, but even with a healthy pour of Frank’s Red Hot over it to compensate, the dill overpowering the chicken’s savoriness wasn’t what I would call spicy, or particularly good. Cucumber/​yogurt sauce is thick (not in a good way, but in the «sitting out for a long time» way), hummus is pretty bland.