The Halal Guys — Restaurant in San Francisco

I have very fond memories of halal food, especially from the east coast.

Visiting New York is one of my favorite things to do and on one trip in particular, my cousin introduced me to The Halal Guys and a few other vendors that specialize in Halal...and I can admit that they are all amazing.

During lunch when I decided to snooze off and my colleague went to grab a bit, I was pleasantly surprised when she came back with Halal Guys. The aroma filled the office and made me hungry. I was then reminded that the franchise did move over to the west coast years ago.

A quick yelp search and I found that the place was only a few blocks away. I strategically planned my next week around grabbing lunch at The Halal Guys.

That day I could not decide between a bowl or a sandwich nor could I decide between a combination of beef and chicken or just chicken. I said carpe diem and decided when I arrive I'll know what to do.

I ended up getting a chicken sandwich and yes, I was a happy camper. Added it with a little spice of course. Surprisingly I didn't feel the heat until I got to the end of my sandwich in which I finally decided to take a sip of water. There was a ton of chicken and lettuce and tomatoes. Sauce was just right. I did wonder if the pita could be doubled, but that bread held everything together.

I cannot stress enough how great the team is here and how excellent the customer service is. Even when they are super busy, the team is always helping and...

I have very fond memories of halal food, especially from the east coast.

Visiting New York is one of my favorite things to do and on one trip in particular, my cousin introduced me to The Halal Guys and a few other vendors that specialize in Halal...and I can admit that they are all amazing.

During lunch when I decided to snooze off and my colleague went to grab a bit, I was pleasantly surprised when she came back with Halal Guys. The aroma filled the office and made me hungry. I was then reminded that the franchise did move over to the west coast years ago.

A quick yelp search and I found that the place was only a few blocks away. I strategically planned my next week around grabbing lunch at The Halal Guys.

That day I could not decide between a bowl or a sandwich nor could I decide between a combination of beef and chicken or just chicken. I said carpe diem and decided when I arrive I'll know what to do.

I ended up getting a chicken sandwich and yes, I was a happy camper. Added it with a little spice of course. Surprisingly I didn't feel the heat until I got to the end of my sandwich in which I finally decided to take a sip of water. There was a ton of chicken and lettuce and tomatoes. Sauce was just right. I did wonder if the pita could be doubled, but that bread held...

A few issues that made this less than charming.

Food: -Food was Ok; a lot more expensive and a lot less generous on meat than the east coast. The plate is still a lot of food, but light on meat. Why go to HG if you don’t get a small mound of meat? -Something about the flavors and freshness seemed muted. The best halal guys have freshly roasted meaty goodness; maybe they can’t achieve that level of hot freshness without more turnover/throughput? -I felt a bit nickel and dimed. Each falafel priced out at over a buck each, and they charge extra for olives or peppers. Even subway gives you those for free! On the upside, we paid for olives and we got a generous amount.

Service: -Maybe it was the Friday evening shift wearing on the staff? One guy was trying really hard to be positive and get our order made; everyone else looked a bit tired and didn’t seem to put a lot of attention on our plate. The atmosphere just didn’t feel great.

I would definitely give it another shot; food was close to good but didn’t hit the spot this time. I love halal guys in New York and this really felt like a let down. I would give it a 2 star in comparison, but running a restaurant during covid in this part of town looks tough and I might have come at a weird...