10 min readAre you searching for tasty, halal-friendly food in Bristol? You’re in the right place! Many of Bristol’s eateries cater for halal diners, offering everything from Lebanese grilled meat to Caribbean wraps. Take a look through our top picks for your visit...
Bristol Shopping Quarter
If you’re shopping in Cabot Circus, make sure to stop by German Doner Kebab, where the whole menu is halal. Expect premium lean meats, handmade waffle breads, fresh veggies and signature sauces.
If you’re craving fried chicken, all the chicken at Slim Chickens is halal, including the popular buttermilk battered crispy wings and tenders with the Slim Chickens sauce.
Image - Cabot Circus
You’ll also find plenty of tempting halal options nearby in Broadmead. Located in a kiosk next to Bristol Bus and Coach station, Rana’s Dhaba is popular with locals. The menu features dishes such as chickpea, lentil and paneer curries, chicken or vegetable wraps, vegetable samosas, onion bhajis, pakoras and more. You can often spot people chilling on the tables outside Rana’s Dhaba kiosk sipping on chai.
Also located in Broadmead is Vietnamese kiosk Big Bao. Popular halal menu items include their chicken bao bun, beef rice box, chicken banh mi and their oozy cheese corn dogs.
Image - Big Bao
Further up Broadmead is LJ Hugs, offering a fully halal menu featuring marinated Cajun spiced chicken thighs cooked fresh on the grill, as well as comforting beef chili cooked in passata, butter beans, kidney beans, and various Cajun seasonings. LJ Hugs has halal certificates on the kiosk window and packaging in the store if you want to double check.
Other spots for halal food in Bristol Shopping Quarter include Captain Kandy, Superiors Chicken, Twinkle Shawarma, Firewood and KFC.
Image - LJ Hugs
City Centre
At Lamaya Lebanese restaurant in Finzels Reach, all the meat is halal. Enjoy a feast with options such as the houmous,soujouk (Lebanese sausage), chicken shawarma wrap, or lamb kofta. They also have delicious sharing platter. Alcohol is served on site.
Talwar Express near The Bristol Hippodrome is the perfect pre-theatre dining spot, offering authentic Indian food such as chaats, thalis, curries and more. Take your pick from Bombay bhel, samosa chaat, Lahori lamb chops, chilli fish and Kundapura chicken, and many more. Alcohol is served on site.
Image - Talwar Express
Bristol Harbourside
Wapping Wharf is home to a range of great independent restaurants and takeaways, including Bandook. This cosy Indian restaurant serves halal options for all of its meat dishes, with menu highlights including tangy tamarind chicken wings, Punjabi spiced lamb cutlets, biryani and Grandma’s chicken curry. Alcohol is served on site.
Image - Wapping Wharf
A few doors down, Greek takeaway The Athenian serves a variety of halal chicken dishes. Try their regular gyros wrap, which comes stuffed with marinated halal chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, parsley and oregano fries, or if you’re after something daintier, go for the light chicken halal wrap, which comes without fries and with less filling.
Caribbean takeaway Biblos is known for its flatbread wraps and salads, and serves halal jerk and Cajun chicken. Don’t miss the jerk fried chicken wrap with Carib Island sauce and the Bajan jerk chicken with mayo and hot pepper sauce, both of which can be served in salad boxes for a lighter meal, or as gravy fries for something heartier. Alcohol is served on site.
Image - The Athenian
If you're looking for a fun spot to dine with family or a larger group, Za Za Bazaar offers a worldwide banquet, including an Indian stall suitable for halal diners. Visit after 5pm for dinner, and enjoy live cooking demos as well as dishes including chicken tikka, masala potatoes, and lamb rogan josh. This huge restaurant is based near Watershed, We The Curious, and Bristol Aquarium, so a handy spot to refuel between seeing the sights.
All meat served on site at Za Za Bazaar is halal, however, some of the food vendors serve pork and the bar also serves alcohol. As Za Za Bazaar is a buffet, there is also a chance of cross contamination.
Image - Za Za Bazaar
Old City
If you’re looking to dine in in or takeaway on Welsh Back, head to The Granary for their halal chicken Caesar salad from their lunch menu. The restaurant’s all-day halal menu items include pulled chicken laab with puffed rice, peanuts, and sweet pickles, chicken kofta with coriander chutney and hung organic West Country yoghurt, and fire grilled half chicken with a chilli marinade.
Non-halal meat including pork is also served on-site, and alcohol is served at the bar.
Image - The Granary
St Nicholas Market (Bristol’s covered market) is a haven for foodies, with a wide range of food stalls specialising in cuisine from across the world.
One of the most popular stalls is Matina. Known locally for its fluffy filled naan wraps made fresh in a tandoor oven and towering piles of salads, Matina offer delicious halal options including chicken or lamb kofta, as well as grilled halloumi or veggies. Get your choice of filling rolled up in a naan still warm from the oven, layered with fresh salad and sauces, or in a salad box with couscous or rice. Also in St Nick’s, Café Atlas sell hearty Moroccan dishes, from chicken and lamb tagines with couscous or rice, to Moroccan salads in the summer.
Image - St Nicholas Market
All of the food served at the TikTok-famous Indian restaurant Urban Tandoor is halal. Must-try items include the tiger prawn and salmon moilee, butter chicken masala, and the Goan fish curry. Be sure to mop it all up with some piping hot naan bread and fluffy rice. Alcohol is served on site.
Next door, Beirut Mezze serve traditional Lebanese food from the cool, cellar-style restaurant. Top deals include the pre-theatre set menu and the mezze menu, which includes houmous, grilled chicken, falafel, spicy lamb and more.
Park Street and Clifton
In the mood for Japanese cuisine? Yakinori on Park Street offers an extensive range of halal dishes across the menu such as sushi, warming bowls of ramen and comforting Katsu Curry. The chicken, beef, and duck are all halal. Featured dishes include the ultimate chicken bento box, aromatic duck wok-fried noodles and the shichimi chilli beef donburi.
The chicken gyoza, miso soup, and the Yakinori seafood ramen is not halal, however the seafood ramen can be made halal upon request and the miso soup served with bento boxes can be swapped for another item. Alcohol is also served on site. Yakinori also have halal certificates in store available to view upon request.
Image - Yakinori
At the top of Park Street at the Taiwanese-inspired chicken shop Ji Chicken, where all the chicken is halal. Signature dishes include popcorn chicken and volcanic cheesy chicken (which is molten in the middle but offers the most amazing cheese pull!). Customise your fried chicken with a choice of 12 flavours of seasoning including plum, lemon, and cumin. Be sure to wash it all down with some bubble tea!
Just up the road on Clifton Triangle is the worldwide buffet restaurant Cosmo, which uses halal meat in some of its dishes and serving stations. Check with the manager for the halal options available when you visit.
Image - Cosmo
Up on Whiteladies Road, all of the chicken at Aqua’s Clifton Brasserie is halal. Highlights from the main menu include Castlemead Farm chicken breast with sweet carrot purée, garlic kale and chicken tarragon jus, and the chicken milanese tomato linguine. Aqua also have sites in Welsh Back and outside the city centre in the nearby town of Portishead.
We also recommend visiting Indian restaurant Haveli The Yard, popular Sri Lankan restaurant The Coconut Tree, or takeaway grills Cedars Express and Taka Taka for delicious halal dishes. Bristol’s local branches of Subway and Nando’s also offer halal options.
Image - Aqua credit Ho Hey Marketing
Gloucester Road
If you’re after a taste of the Middle East, Sam’s Master Grill is a great halal spot. Dishes include, tender whole slow cooked lamb neck, with Persian rice, barberries and salad, mixed grill and juicy royal king prawns. All the food is halal and no alcohol is served, but the restaurant does invite customers to bring their own booze.
At Go Go Lounge, the Mediterranean charcoal restaurant, halal menu items include mixed grill, burger meals, wraps and seafood.
Lona Grill House and Juice Bar serve great Lebanese grilled meats and fresh juices, and is perfect for big groups, families and friends. Expect large platters of mixed grill containing everything from lamb kofta, lamb arayes, chicken wings, seafood specials and more. Please note, Lona is currently closed following a fire, but will reopen soon.
Fish and Chips shop Reel Soul offer halal meat options too. Reel Soul do sell alcohol and pork in the restaurant, however the sausages are fried separately and don’t come into contact with the other fried goods. We highly recommend the famous gluten-free fish and double fried chips with their homemade mushy peas, made with butter and garlic!
Image - Gloucester Road
Lawrence Hill and Easton
Mae Mae’s Piri Piri specializes in grilled Piri Piri chicken. Order grilled halal chicken with rice, in a pitta or in a burger.
Karamel Cafe on Stapleton Road is a local favourite with the Somalian community, with popular choices including meat platters, salmon and spaghetti.
Other halal restaurants in the area include Shah's Desi Food, Hot Spot and Desi Dera.
St Werburghs
Italian Restaurant Café Napolita offer some halal dishes, including chicken pappardelle, Casarecce Pollo, Lasagne, Spaghetti Bolognese, oxtail ragu and chicken salad. The pollo alla Greca and oxtail pizzas are also halal. Alcohol is served on site. There are also non-halal items on the menu.
Image - Cafe Napolita Chicken Pappardelle
Community events
Keep an eye out for events run by Somali Kitchen Bristol, who are also responsible for The Grand Iftar on College Green.
91 Ways run community events in Bristol with local chefs. They aim to connect Bristol’s 91 communities through the power of food, so expect lots of different cuisines. Please check with the organisers before booking.
Sparks in Broadmead often host community events, and some of the permanent food stalls include food cooked by Salha, a local Sudanese chef, whose specialities include full medames with bread, aubergine salad, chicken drumsticks and more.
Image - Sparks Bristol
Halal-friendly cooking classes and experiences
Join a sushi school experience with Yakinori, where you can learn how to cut salmon, roll your own sushi and more. You’ll be given a welcome drink upon arrival (soft drinks are available), as well as a starter selection to tuck into before the class begins, featuring vegetable gyoza, tempura prawns, and edamame. Then you’ll start your sushi masterclass. To finish you’ll be given a bubble tea – yum! The sushi class can be made halal if a note is made upon booking.
Migrateful cooking classes are run and taught by refugees and migrants. Learn how cook delicious authentic food from Somali, Syria, Ghana, Nigeria and more from the cooks' home countries. All the classes (bar those that cook with pork) use halal meat.
Image - Migrateful, credit Becky Evans
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