The 10 best halal restaurants in Charlotte

Halal food around Charlotte runs from Somali lamb shank bowls on The Plaza and Tanzanian chapati wraps inside an Uptown market to Peshawar-style kababs in University City, Palestinian mansaf in east Charlotte and Dominican oxtail stew from a Pakistani and Dominican family that also runs a set of halal street food stores. This list covers 10 restaurants, nine in Charlotte and one in Harrisburg, from $4.49 samsa to a $99.99 mixed grill for four. Each entry says where the halal claim comes from, and no certifying body is named in any of the sources. The list is for Muslim diners, anyone keeping halal and anyone curious about the food. Entries are listed alphabetically, not ranked.

How we chose

Every restaurant here passed a county health inspection in 2026. Seven state the halal claim in their own words on a website, menu or storefront name, and La Shish Kabob’s website reprints a review that says all the meat is halal. The other two are US Fried Chicken, whose co-owner described the halal standard to CharlotteFive in 2023, and Mazali, which Axios Charlotte reported in April 2026 has a halal menu. Picks are based on how long each kitchen has operated, who runs each one where that is published, menus and prices from each restaurant’s own site or ordering page, and coverage from the Charlotte Observer, Axios Charlotte, CharlotteFive, WBTV and the Charlotte Business Journal. Restaurants with only a review-site halal tag were left out, along with those that could not show 2026 activity. No restaurant paid to be included. Prices and hours were last checked on November 6, 2026, and a few prices come from older posted menus, as noted.

Al-Basha Halal Grill

First opened in Charlotte in 2014 and billed on the website as serving the best halal Mediterranean food around, Al-Basha was displaced by a 2023 fire and planned to reopen in a former doughnut shop in Montford Park in May 2025, Charlotte Business Journal reported, and county inspection records at the new address begin in June 2025. The new space is smaller, at 1,500 square feet, with no patio and no hookah, the Business Journal reported. The Yemeni-style lamb shank braises for six hours.

Why we chose them

• The Pyramid chicken shawarma wrap is $12.99.
• One lamb shank is $19.99, and two are $29.99.
• The Family Mixed Grill feeds four with 12 skewers for $99.99.
• The kitchen stays open until midnight most nights and 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Address: Charlotte (Montford Park) — 1730 Abbey Pl., Suite 4

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Halal Street Food

The Bashir family, which opened Mi Barrio in 2014, put halal food carts on the corner of Trade and Tryon in 2016 before opening these brick-and-mortar stores, according to the company’s website, and the halal claim is in the business name. Axios Charlotte reported in March 2023 that the family was opening the Camp North End store, and a third store on Lemmond Farm Drive passed a first county inspection in October 2026. Kebabs cook over a wood-burning fire, and the house white sauce shares the table with a homemade hot Dare You Sauce.

Why we chose them

• All three stores are open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
• BBQ and shawarma family platters feed three to six people.
• Stores on Park Road and in Indian Land are listed as coming soon.
• Chicken gyros were $9.99 on the March 2023 printed menu.

Address: Charlotte (Camp North End) — 701 Keswick Ave., Suite 101, with stores at 4044 Connection Point Blvd. and 12005 Lemmond Farm Drive

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Kabab Place

Turkish Mediterranean and American food made with local ingredients fills the menu at this Harrisburg restaurant, whose website says the kitchen proudly serves 100% halal meat. Pizza dough rises for two hours before going into a stone oven, according to the site, and the photo gallery shows Turkish pide, a gyro wrap and a cheese pizza. Cabarrus County inspection records for the address begin in August 2025, and the county permits the business as a food stand.

Why we chose them

• Cabarrus County inspectors gave the kitchen a 96.5 in October 2026.
• Tuesday is the restaurant’s day off.
• Online ordering covers pickup and delivery.

Address: Harrisburg — 5084 N.C. 49

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Kilimanjaro Kitchen

Somali food is the focus here, and the website calls the cooking 100% halal. The menu highlights the classic pairing of fragrant rice with a fresh banana, plus chapati and sweet malawax crepes. Mecklenburg County inspection records for the restaurant begin in May 2026. Bowls come with pasta, rice or federation, a mix of the two, and the Somali Banana Barbecue Fries pile beef or chicken suqaar and banana slices on fries.

Why we chose them

• The Waslad lamb shank bowl is $23.99.
• The Mogadishu Bowl of slow-cooked goat is $23 and comes with chapati and malawax.
• A three-piece sambusa order is $10.80.
• A platter for four is $81.50.
• Reservations are by phone, and Monday is the day off.

Address: Charlotte (east Charlotte) — 4450 The Plaza, Suite F

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La Shish Kabob

Izzat Freitekh ran a restaurant in Jerusalem for more than 20 years before opening La Shish at his son’s urging, according to a profile reprinted on the restaurant’s website, and the kitchen cooks food familiar to people from Jerusalem, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. A review reprinted on the same site says all the meat is halal. Mansaf, lamb cooked in yogurt over rice, is $20.99 on the 2024 menu.

Why we chose them

• The Adana lamb kabob is $17.99 on the 2024 menu.
• Four lamb chops are $19.99, and eight are $39.99.
• Kunafa is $6.99 on the restaurant’s 2024 menu.
• Hours run 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day.
• A July 2026 county inspection scored the kitchen a 99.5.

Address: Charlotte (east Charlotte) — 3117 N. Sharon Amity Rd., Suite A

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Mazali

Owner Rashshad Pirmatov opened this Uzbek counter in the City Kitch ghost kitchen on Thrift Road in 2024, WBTV reported. Axios Charlotte reported in April 2026 that the menu is halal and that Mazali, now in a former vendor’s space, is the only City Kitch vendor with seating. The menu on the restaurant’s ordering page runs from plov to lagman noodles, beef samsa and manty dumplings, with Tashkent-style tea to drink.

Why we chose them

• Authentic Plov is $15.99, and Guiru Lagman is $16.99.
• Manty with beef are $12.99, and beef samsa is $4.49.
• Tashkent-style tea is $5.99 on the ordering page.
• The counter is open weekdays only.
• County inspectors scored the kitchen a 99 in July 2026.

Address: Charlotte (west Charlotte) — 2200 Thrift Rd., inside City Kitch

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Mi Barrio Halal Latin Grill

Khuram Bashir, from Pakistan, and Damaris Bashir, from the Dominican Republic, opened Mi Barrio in 2014 as their first restaurant, offering a halal menu of Dominican and Caribbean food, according to the family’s Halal Street Food website. Oxtail stew and goat stew anchor the menu, along with curry and jerk chicken, and gyro meals and chicken or lamb over rice share the menu. The Charlotte Observer included Mi Barrio in a 2024 halal roundup.

Why we chose them

• Oxtail stew and goat stew are $25.99 each.
• Jerk chicken is $16.99, and curry chicken is $15.99.
• The Meat Special of oxtail, goat and beef with rice and a side is $75.99.
• Doors open at 10 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. daily.

Address: Charlotte (east Charlotte) — 7308 E. Independence Blvd.

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Serengeti Kitchen

Chef Ammalu Saleh serves Tanzanian food at this counter inside The Market at 7th Street, WBTV’s QC Life reported in May 2026, and the restaurant’s homepage advertises fresh halal East African food. The chef grew up in Arusha, Tanzania, according to the restaurant’s site, and the business grew out of a personal chef service and a three-month pop-up through the market’s HIIVE Cohort 1 program, according to The Market at 7th Street. Dishes include a braised lamb bites Swahili plate and a Sekela chicken chapati wrap.

Why we chose them

• The market also lists rice cakes with coconut-cardamom syrup and fresh juices.
• The counter is closed on Mondays.
• The stall scored a 97 on a June 2026 county inspection.
• The restaurant’s lease helped fill the market in 2025, Charlotte Business Journal reported.

Address: Charlotte (Uptown) — 224 E. Seventh St., inside The Market at 7th Street

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US Fried Chicken

Jordanian immigrants Mohammad Alweesi and Mohammad Alamreen took over the West Sugar Creek Road store in November 2019, and Alweesi told CharlotteFive in 2023 that “the chicken must be halal.” The chicken is hand-battered with a spice mix imported from Jordan, and the menu grew during the pandemic to include New York-style chicken over rice with white sauce, kebabs and falafel, CharlotteFive reported. Desserts included sweet potato pie and bean pie, a traditional Muslim American dessert, CharlotteFive reported.

Why we chose them

• Wings came in 19 flavors in 2023, including Mango Habanero and Honey Old Bay.
• The Albemarle Road store opened in June 2023 in the Eastland Promenade center.
• CharlotteFive reported in 2023 that the subs, fish, salads and seafood plates were halal too.
• Mecklenburg County inspectors gave the Albemarle Road kitchen a 99.5 in November 2026.

Address: Charlotte (east Charlotte) — 5600 Albemarle Rd., Suite 800, with stores at 9605 N. Tryon St. and 2823 W. Sugar Creek Rd.

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Zafran Kabab Palace

Riaz Khan founded this University City restaurant in 2014, according to the restaurant’s website, which describes a 100% halal certified menu without naming a certifier. The kitchen draws on the flavors of Peshawar, Pakistan, with kababs and regional specialties such as beef nihari, and the site says the right cookware brings out the flavor of the nihari and seekh kababs. The Charlotte Observer’s 2024 halal roundup listed samosas, chicken 65, chicken tikka masala, aloo gobi and paneer tikka masala.

Why we chose them

• Live barbecue catering puts the restaurant’s chefs on the grill at events.
• Call ahead, since the website lists no hours.
• Mecklenburg County inspectors gave the kitchen a 91 in June 2026.

Address: Charlotte (University City) — 230 E. W.T. Harris Blvd., Suite C5

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Prices, hours and opening status last checked November 6, 2026. Call ahead where an entry says to.