Hayat - African Halal Restaurant — Restaurant in Beaverton

This food was not good. It was nastily made. The restaurant advertises as halal but the sloppiness of my food says otherwise.

First I received the wrong item. The menu stated fried fish with a whole fish in the picture. I however got "filet".. these things happen let's say ... but then the filet was dry, unseasoned with crusty edges. It was as if it was cooked early in the morning and I had gotten the last few pieces of fish with heat damaged edges when I ordered that night.

I did not attempt to eat the stew that was supposed to used as sauce for my fried fish...it just looked gross like red colored dirty water with dusty oil bubbles floating on top of it. I didn't try and I wasn't enticed to.

The chicken wings ordered...I was concerned that it wasn't chicken. The anatomy and shape of a couple pieces didn't resemble any chicken wing I've ever seen; I peeled back the breading just to check... it didn't bring me comfort so I decided not to pollute myself. The other pieces were so huge... being that I was already concerned of it's validity the size of the wings further bothered me. I did not even try the French fries that came as a side because the wings were a pending question...I just went ahead and closed the plate.

#tastebudrejected Disgust scale 1-10 I'll give HAYAT the rating of 7/10 + an extra point for deceiving my expectations of Halal restaurants.

The dasher service for this order was also subpar but the mere quality of the food took precedence.

All in all both the food and door dasher service were in alignment. I think this may have been a sign of god to start eating better, more clean and of my own hands. This food didn't belong in my body. May Allah help me to gain alignment and feed the temple I hold.

To sum this all up.... HAYAT.... I would...

I've been to Häyät twice in as many days, and for good reason: there's not much more fun than nurturing a small family-run neighborhood ethnic restaurant, and I'm a fan.

Starting with the Stuffed Somali Pastry, similar to a samosa but the ground meat and vegetables are spiced with a palette of flavors completely unlike that of the Indian counterpart. Savory, subtle, crunchy, and very filling.

The mango lassi is gently sweetened, rather than the cloyingly sweet I find the usual offering. It's so drinkable that after one glass I immediately craved another.

The buttery spaghetti -- remember that Somalia was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy -- is soft, past al dente, and lightly flavored with a tomato sauce that's had all the acidic bitterness cooked out. Satisfying, although I did wish I had some parmesano Reggiano in my bag.

The Mlik Tea is a lighter version of chai, spiced with the Somali palette, including cardamom and cinnamon, and sweetened to your taste. Please tell Hussein whether you want no sugar, or the bomb. Very sippable.

Mandazi is a puffed bread with a hint of sweetness, closest to a plain donut without glaze, dusted with cinnamon. A nice way to end a meal.

Yes, I know I've left out all the main dishes, the lamb shank, the beef suqaar, the goat, and all the veggie sides. That's because the first night I arrived after closing time and Hussein graciously asked me to sit and eat, and I picked quick and light choices. The second night I was fall-asleep tired, and wanted some Somali comfort food (like my mother never made) before heading off to bed, and passed on the heavier dishes with longer eat times. I will return for the other eats, and to once again enjoy Hussein's hospitality...

*edit: I believe this place has changed ownership since my original review and isn’t the same level of quality unfortunately.

I live 5 minutes from here and didn't know it existed until this weekend. Boy am I happy I finally found this place.

My wife had the lamb shank (roasted) and I had the fish coconut curry. Both were excellent. The lamb shank was roasted but must have been slow cooked too because the meat fell of the bone, it was delicious.

I usually don't order seafood unless I'm within walking distance of an ocean but I felt like something different and was not let down. The fish was fresh and clean, the curry was rich and creamy, and it all went perfectly with the multicolored rice.

At first glance the prices may seem a little high but once you get your dishes and see how large the portions are, everything then seems like a bargain. In fact, we could only finish half our meals and now we have left-overs for lunch this week that we get to look forward to.

Try Hayat if you want something outside of your normal cookie cutter fast food joint. It is a family run business and they have seemed to have maintained authenticity in their cooking which earns them a solid 5...