Halaal restaurants in Cape Town – Where to eat

South Africa is a westernized Christian majority country meaning you can’t just eat anywhere; However, Muslim and Islamic organizations worked hard to make it possible for Muslims to live and travel to South Africa, from students looking for a quick and affordable takeaway to a family looking for a high-quality dining experience. These organizations specially go through a screening process with restaurants to view the ingredients they use, where they source their meat and poultry, as well as their methods of serving and cooking to ensure it all remains strictly Halaal.

The organizations are:

• SANHA – South African National Halaal Authority
• MJCHT – Muslim Judicial Council Halaal Trust
• NIHT – National Independent Halaal Trust
• ICSA – Islamic Council of South Africa

Although it is good to look out for “Halaal” there are 2 other details to consider:

• Often restaurants advertise as “Halaal Friendly” which can be misleading but they may still serve alcohol or have open bars on the premises so it is always good to do your own research such as a simple Internet search, “Is ….. Halaal Certified?”. Avoid using platforms such as SnapChat, TikTok and Instagram as search engines for these purposes as they are highly unreliable.
• There are multiple restaurant franchises that have many halaal branches but also non halaal branches. It is always important to research the specific branch you are going to – Some of these franchises are, Spur, Steers, Rocomamas, Mochachos, Ocean Basket, Bootleggers, VidaEcafe, Colo’Caccio, Mugg and Bean etc.

Some sit – down dining options are:

• Uncle Ahmed (called Grill Tout Anachmon) restaurant for arabic wraps
• Andalusia restaurant – Moroccan cuisines
• Eatstanbul – Grills
• District Cafe – Burgers and steaks
• Syriana – Shawarma