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Orange County’s Most Exciting New Restaurant Is an Indian-Flavored Meat Bonanza

Inside Khan Saab, the all-halal destination for modern Desi dining

by Farley Elliott
Photos by Wonho Frank Lee
3 comments / new
A wooden table with steak and naan bread and curry.
Khan Saab
Wonho Frank Lee
Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor at Eater LA and the author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. He covers restaurants in every form, from breaking news to the culture, people, and history that surrounds LA's dining landscape.

Is Fullerton’s new Khan Saab already poised to be the most interesting restaurant to open in Orange County in all of 2020? That’s big talk, but based on the menu at this modern Indian-ish restaurant, it sure could be.

Khan Saab comes to Fullerton by way of chef Imran Mookhi, who opened a different modern take on Indian food in Santa Monica, called Tumbi, back in 2018. This time around Mookhi is pulling from the larger Desi diaspora, meaning diners can expect dishes and flavors found across the already-diverse Indian food lexicon, with pulls from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and beyond as well. What’s more, Mookhi (who previously worked at restaurants like the well-regarded Tamarind of London in Newport Beach) says that Khan Saab will be entirely halal.

The menu is a delightful mix of ideas and ingredients, from a fried butter chicken dish to steakhouse staples like a New York strip with grilled veggies, a bone-in tomahawk, rethought steak frites, and more. There’s even a pomegranate-braised brisket, as well as kabobs, curries, and a variety of sides (yes, there will be naan). In keeping with halal tradition, the bar will be entirely non-alcoholic; diners will also be told on the menu which dishes are dairy free, gluten free, nut free, vegan, or contains eggs. The opening menus are below.

Khan Saab is open now in Fullerton, keeping hours from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for lunch daily, with dinner running from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, extending to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.

A steak with butter and chips on the side.
Kiwami coulotte steak frites
A grey bowl with fried butter Indian chicken.
Fried butter chicken
A dark brown butter chicken.
Butter chicken
A wooden plate of meat with smoke arising from the top.
Smoked pomegranate brisket
A wooden tray with finished brisket and red onion.
Smoked brisket
Shrimp curry with red swirls in a pot.
Jhinga masala
Naan bread on an orange plate.
Naan
A burger like fried bun with stick through it on a plate.
Vada Pav
Small white cakes with pomegranate for dessert.
Rasmalai
Silver leaf over a savory dessert on an orange plate.
Double ka tukda
A bright, modern dining room with vintage chairs.
The open dining room
A long blue banquette and windows on two sides of a dining room.
An open restaurant dining room with a brick back wall.
A brick wall inside a restaurant with a blue banquette along the bottom.
Funky Indian restaurant signage with sunglasses.
Simple metal plates on a wooden restaurant table.
A brick exterior for an Orange County Indian restaurant.
Foursquare

Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen

229 East Commonwealth Avenue, , CA 92832 (714) 853-1081 Visit Website
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