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Photo courtesy of Ishtar Meat Mart.
Metro Detroit is home to a thriving Muslim community. As a result, many local restaurants take care to provide halal-friendly dining options, ensuring their food is available to all. Here are a few of our favorite spots for halal food in Detroit.
Amar Pizza
Straddling the border of Detroit and Hamtramck, Bengaltown is where Bengali culture meets Detroit’s culinary tradition. Now with a second location in Troy, Amar Pizza provides a one-of-a-kind take on the Detroit style with options including their naga pie, a tandoori pizza and the infamous, insanely hot ghost pizza (eat at your own risk). The menu also features tandoori and naga hot dogs, further deepening the Detroit-Bangladesh connection. Unique, delicious and halal-friendly.
Royale With Cheese
Detroit’s trending, Pulp Fiction-inspired restaurant uses halal meat in its overloaded burgers and sandwiches. The Havana says, “Burgers are breakfast” and the legendary Kruncher adds crispy heat to the classic cheeseburger in the form of fried jalapeno chips, roasted pepper chili queso and roasted corn. Royale also offers vegetarian options like the falafel-stuffed Alexandria sandwich and the kale Beirut salad – one of several delicious salad options to choose from. Save room for dessert! They are equally loved for their shakes and frozen custard.
El Asador Mexican Steakhouse
Everything Chef Luis Garza does is executed with intention. That is why El Asador is one of Southwest Detroit’s most valued culinary establishments. From the beautiful mural outside to the perpetually-fresh ingredients (including Creekstone Farms halal-certified beef), quality is always the number one priority. That is why the restaurant guarantees that no food item’s shelf life will exceed two days. They don’t even have a freezer in-house.
El Asador offers an entire section of their website to Detroit’s halal community, explaining, “Food is a medium that expresses the realities, traditions, and histories of the people that have cooked them. It is a medium to bond, create, flatter, and to be alive. And [they] are happy to share [their] food in an ethical way that invites and includes [their] Muslim friends and neighbors.”
Ishtar Meat Mart
If you’re looking to get high-quality halal meat straight from the source, Ishtar is the best around. Along with a full restaurant menu, this Sterling Heights butcher shop and market sells massive lamb chops, famous shawarma meat and fresh fish to those looking to up their cooking game. This is a go-to for those willing to go out of their way for impeccable quality.
Go! Sy Thai
A favorite amongst Wayne State students, Go! Sy Thai offers quick and easy dine-in and carry-out at two Detroit locations (Midtown and Capitol Park), plus a third in Livonia. The noodle dishes are generously-sized and the hot and sour tom yum soup is perfect for cold nights and keeping it light on warm spring and summer days. All the meat is halal, but for many local vegans and vegetarians, the fresh veggies are enough to make it a frequent food destination in Metro Detroit.
Al Ameer
With 30 years of experience, Al Ameer has firmly established itself as a choice destination for Halal food in Metro Detroit. It also values the importance of farm-fresh meal preparation, sourcing ingredients locally as much as possible. The menu is quite varied, but the shawarma (a classic) is difficult to pass up, as is the ghallaba, which takes sauteed chunks of Halal meat and simmers it in Al Ameer’s signature sauce.
Famous Hamburger
With a 100% Halal menu, Famous Hamburger in Dearborn is the perfect place to enjoy a handcrafted hamburger, milkshake or salad. With more than 15 signature burgers and heavily garnished (i.e. “eye-popping”) milkshakes, it’ll be hard to resist the temptations of a delicious meal here with flavor bursting from the seams.
L.A. Bistro
While many people associate Halal food with Middle-Eastern food, the two are not inseparable. Just look at L.A. Bistro, a fine Italian restaurant that utilizes Halal meat in its meals. That includes the favorite “Sami’s Special,” a pleasant mixture of grilled chicken breast, artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes, tossed in melted butter and lemon, and topped with goat cheese and pesto cream sauce. It has everything you could want in a complete and delicious meal.
Halal Desi Pizza & Gyro
In Hamtramck, you’ll find Hala Desi Pizza & Gyros, whose name says it all. Everyone loves pizza and at Halal Desi, you can enjoy cheesy, melt-in-your-mouth pizza with Halal meat toppings, like chicken and beef. That includes a Detroit-style deep dish pizza, too!
