Kafi BBQ, in Irving, builds its menu around wagyu — Texas wagyu brisket and ribs alongside New Zealand grass-fed wagyu ribs — smoked in-house and made from scratch. Chef Ngoc Trinh leads the kitchen.
The restaurant traces back to pitmaster Salahodeen, who started cooking barbecue for friends and family and turned it into an obsession over several years — researching how to build a darker bark before moving on to house bbq sauce, homemade pickles, and from-scratch sides.
The banana pudding has become a draw of its own; D Magazine critic Brian Reinhart called it "my favorite banana pudding ever, by a huge margin." Regulars describe the meat as tender and high-quality, call the experience worth the premium price, and return often enough that Kafi has built a following on repeat visits.
The restaurant traces back to pitmaster Salahodeen, who started cooking barbecue for friends and family and turned it into an obsession over several years — researching how to build a darker bark before moving on to house bbq sauce, homemade pickles, and from-scratch sides.
The banana pudding has become a draw of its own; D Magazine critic Brian Reinhart called it "my favorite banana pudding ever, by a huge margin." Regulars describe the meat as tender and high-quality, call the experience worth the premium price, and return often enough that Kafi has built a following on repeat visits.