Best Halal in NYC
Ten NYC halal spots checked against real addresses, hours, and press records in July 2026, from the original Halal Guys cart to Little Yemen in the Bronx.
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- 1Midtown · $ · W 53rd St & 6th Ave (SE corner)
The cart where three Egyptian immigrants turned a hot-dog stand into a chicken-and-gyro-over-rice operation in 1990, launching the citywide halal-cart genre that grew into a global chain.
Because this exact southeast corner of 53rd and 6th is where the chicken-and-gyro-over-rice plate was invented in 1990, and July 2026 Yelp activity still shows the cart running overnight hours at the same spot.
Order Combo platter, chicken and gyro together, with both white and hot sauce.
Go after 1am if you want to skip the tourist line and see the cart run the way it did before it became a global chain.
- 2Cobble Hill · $ · 176 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11201
A cafeteria-style Yemeni institution on Atlantic Avenue, serving slow-cooked lamb haneeth, fahsah, and oversized flatbread since the mid-1980s.
Because this room has been slow-cooking haneeth on Atlantic Avenue since the mid-1980s, and both The Infatuation and Time Out still name it the city's definitive Yemeni kitchen as of 2026.
Order Lamb haneeth with a side of fahsah, torn apart with the hubcap-sized flatbread.
Order at the counter rather than waiting for table service, and the fahsah is best eaten fast while the flatbread is still hot from the oven.
- 3Astoria · $$ · 30-15 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11106
Also No. 7 on Best Middle Eastern in NYC → · No. 7 on Best of Astoria →
Fares Zeidaia's cart-turned-storefront on Broadway in Astoria, running since 2002, serving falafel, shawarma, and gyro over rice.
Because Fares Zeidaia's cart has run continuously since 2002, took the 2010 Vendy Award for Best Street Food, and survived a 2022 sale scare that Astoria regulars pushed back on hard enough to keep it in the family.
Order White falafel platter, the chickpea-and-fava blend that won the Vendy.
The storefront gets a real dinner rush after 7pm, so the earlier cart hours during the day move faster if you're in a hurry.
Photo: Shezadi10, CC0 1.0 Photo: Shezadi10, CC0 1.0 - 4Greenwich Village · $ · NE corner of 6th Ave & W 4th St
A multi-location chicken-over-rice operation built around a bright-green herb sauce, with this branch holding the northeast corner of 6th Avenue and West 4th Street.
Because Samiul Noor's green sauce won the second Vendy Cup back in 2006 out of a Jackson Heights cart, and this Greenwich Village corner location still runs 24 hours a day as confirmed on Yelp in July 2026.
Order Chicken over rice, doused in the signature bright-green herb sauce.
It's a genuine 3am option in the Village. Ask for the green sauce on the side rather than mixed in if you want to control the heat.
- 5Midtown · $ · 1221 6th Ave (at W 49th St)
A family-run halal cart on Sixth Avenue known for overstuffed foil trays of chicken and lamb over rice, open late into the night.
Because this Sixth Avenue cart is named directly in The Infatuation's citywide halal guide as a world-famous cart, and its posted hours of 6pm to 4 or 5am were confirmed live on the operator's own site.
Order Combo over rice, packed into the overstuffed foil tray it's known for.
Don't confuse it with the separate, now-closed Adel's cart that used to run in the Financial District. This is the Midtown original, still going.
- 6Jackson Heights · $ · 7301 37th Rd, Jackson Heights, NY 11372
A 24-hour Pakistani and South Asian halal diner in Jackson Heights known for karahi, haleem, chicken tikka, and lamb chops.
Because it genuinely runs a 24-hour kitchen in Jackson Heights, a claim multiple 2026 reviews independently back up, and the Queens Gazette has profiled its karahi and haleem for years.
Order Lamb chops with karahi chicken on the side, the two dishes the Gazette keeps returning to.
Go for haleem on a weekend morning. It tends to sell out earlier than the rest of the menu.
- 7Hell's Kitchen · $ · 787 9th Ave
An Afghan halal restaurant in Hell's Kitchen run by owner Mohammad Wali since 1986, known for kabuli palow and kebab platters.
Because owner Mohammad Wali has run this Hell's Kitchen room since 1986, and July 2026 Yelp activity shows normal operating hours despite one stale aggregator flagging a closure that never actually happened.
Order Kabuli palow, the raisin-and-carrot rice dish the restaurant is built around.
The kabuli palow is the dish Time Out singles out. If it's not on the steam table when you walk in, ask, it's usually worth the short wait.
- 8Van Nest · $ · 700 Rhinelander Ave, Bronx, NY 10462
A nine-table Yemeni restaurant in the Bronx's Little Yemen enclave, open since 2008, serving maraq and slow-roasted lamb cafeteria-style.
Because it's the oldest Yemeni restaurant in the Bronx's Little Yemen enclave, opened in 2008, and The Infatuation specifically calls out lamb that slips right off the bone.
Order Maraq with slow-roasted lamb, eaten with salad and flatbread the cafeteria way.
It's nine tables and cafeteria-style, so plan to share a few plates rather than order one dish each.
- 9Midwood · $ · 1026 Coney Island Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11230
A Pakistani halal restaurant and sweets shop on the Coney Island Avenue corridor, known for nihari, karahi chicken, and a full sweets counter.
Because The Infatuation calls it the busiest Pakistani spot on the Coney Island Avenue strip, and it genuinely runs 24 hours, confirmed on Yelp as of July 2026.
Order Nihari, simmered overnight, best ordered with extra bone marrow if they'll give it to you.
Save room for the sweets counter up front. It's worth treating as its own stop even on a quick visit.
- 10Jamaica · $ · 168-25B Hillside Ave, Jamaica, NY 11432
A halal Bangladeshi restaurant anchoring Hillside Avenue's Little Bangladesh corridor since 1996, known for kacchi biryani and fish curry.
Because it has anchored the Little Bangladesh stretch of Hillside Avenue since 1996, a run corroborated independently by NYC's own official tourism site as well as July 2026 Yelp activity.
Order Kacchi biryani, the slow-layered rice and meat dish the restaurant is known for.
Ask what fish curry is running that day. It rotates, and the daily version usually beats anything fixed on the printed menu.