Milano Kabob Takeaway. Falafel donuts are hole-y delicious. My favorite falafel in St. Louis. A new spot in the Loop where Al-Tarboush used to be located. 8.2 / 10 overall, led by 8.6 / 10 falafel and 9.0 / 10 garlic sauce. The falafel has a unique donut shape and I could quite literally drink the garlic sauce. The fatoush, sides, fries, and chicken tenders rate out at average restaurant quality of 7/10. I didn't get a kebob…
Milano's service was friendly. My sons and I were the only ones there on a Friday night, so we chatted with the owner. Although they have been in the restaurant business for a while, this is their first time in this location. They did a great job of renovating the frontage and space to bring it up to modern times. There's only a handful of seating in the restaurant, so expect more grab-and-go. Parking is available in the usual places on Delmar.
Milano Kebab Experience Summary
My kids and I went to Milano Kebab on a random Friday night.
It's in the place that used to house Al Tarboush off of Delmar in the Loop, one of my favorite Mediterranean restaurants before they closed down last year.
Mediterranean food will always be my favorite, but I've had difficulty finding a go-to in the area. Places like Garbanzo are good but not great. Great places like Balkan Treat Box aren't quite what my brain calls purely Mediterranean.
Now that I'm writing this, Milano Kabob seems more Middle Eastern than Mediterranean, given that it's Iraqi. But it fills an important void for me: falafel.
The 8.6/10 falafel deserves a following. Milano serves it with one of the best garlic dips I've ever experienced.
The falafel was the best I've had in St. Louis. Now, that's like an N of 5, but it was delicious. It's shaped like a donut with a hole in the middle.
But if the falafel was great, this garlic sauce was even better. Intensely garlicly in the most delicious way possible. The garlic lingers in your mouth overnight.
My mouth is starting to water just thinking about it.
Overall, some average restaurant-quality sides brought the score to 8.2/10 for Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food.
While I'll still research for other Mediterranean/Middle Eastern staples, I've found my falafel place.
The Food At Milano Kebab
The absolute standout was the falafel and the garlic sauce.
The garlic sauce was so good I ate it straight. A little bit creamy, thick, and very, very garlicky, it would be the sauce I'd genetically design.
The falafel was its own kind of special. It has a nice, solid, earthy falafel flavor with a beautiful crunch on the outside. The outside texture is extra crispy, while the inside is soft and fluffy. It didn't have a hint of an overwhelmingly hummus-y or chickpea-y taste.
I could actually see the owner making the falafel from the batter. She rolled them out by hand from a big pitcher filled with falafel batter.
For $15 with a couple of sides, it's a no-brainer in my book.
However, at this point, she just started throwing sides at me.
First up was the fattoush. I'm not a huge Fattoush fan, so I'm probably not the best judge of character, but this was good. My wife would like it a lot.
The hummus was standard - nothing stood out.
I enjoyed the side of beans with rice, but I wish the beans had a little more of a flavor kick. The consistency was smooth, and the rice was well-cooked, but nothing stood out.
When I thought it would stop, she kept piling it on with samoon bread. Samoon is like an Iraqi version of a pita. She paired it with several more dips.
The tahini sauce was quite good, but not in the same league as the garlic sauce. I have a low ceiling for a good tahini because it's a bit too nutty.
The final side was amba sauce, a mango pickle sauce native to Iraq. My Iraqi friend mentioned that her parents like it a lot, but it's an acquired taste. Dipping the fries in it was not a win, but it could be good if it were in the right situation.
My kids got the chicken tenders and fries. The tenders tasted fresh, like they were coating themselves. The kids loved them. They were very good chicken tenders, 7.8 /10 on the chicken tender scale.
The French fries had a great seasoning but were not as crunchy and pillowy as you'd appreciate in a good one. Again, these are restaurant-quality fries, but they are not a reason to go.
For all the food I got, I need to go back for pastries and, of all things, kabobs.
Milano Kebab Atmosphere And Miscellaneous
They took the Al-Tarboush space, spiced it up, renovated it, and made it modern. It was in disrepair towards its last years, but now it meets any kind of expectation you'd have for a place in the Loop.
Seating is limited. There is a bench, a tiny table, and three counter-seats available. You can watch them cook the food while you sit.
We were the only ones in the restaurant at five o'clock on a Friday night. So, we got to talk to the owner, who gave us a rundown of how it's going so far and what's up.
The service was excellent. The owner was alone, and we were the only people there, so we received outstanding service. However, it would have backed up if there had been more than two orders.
Hopefully, they're backed up now; I will definitely be going back.
Parking At Milano Kebab
Parking is on Del Mar. We parked right off of the side street that they're on. There are also big parking lots all across Delmar.
For being as crowded as it is, it's very easy to find parking on Delmar.
Milano Kebab Receipt
