Halal Turkish restaurants near me
Halal Turkish restaurants near you. Nearly all Turkish restaurants and kebab shops in the UK serve halal meat; here is how to check, and what the exceptions are.
Find them near you
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Is Turkish food halal?
The great majority of Turkish restaurants and takeaways in the UK buy halal meat, because their owners and most of their suppliers do, and because the Turkish and Kurdish communities they serve expect it. Lamb, chicken and beef from a Turkish-run kitchen are almost always halal, and the doner spit almost certainly is. The exceptions are pork, which Turkish restaurants do not serve, and alcohol, which many do: a licensed Turkish restaurant serves halal meat and also sells beer, wine and rakı. If that matters to you, the unlicensed ocakbaşı and kebab houses are the ones to choose.
How to check
Ask. Turkish restaurants are used to the question and will tell you their supplier; many display a halal certificate near the counter. Look for the HMC or HFA certification if you want an independent standard, though most Turkish-run kitchens buy halal without formal certification. Our directory does not yet hold halal certification data, so this page lists all Turkish restaurants near you and leaves the confirmation to a phone call.
The exceptions to watch
Turkish-themed restaurants run by non-Turkish operators, and some chain 'Mediterranean grill' brands, may not use halal meat; a Turkish name on the sign is not a guarantee. Cypriot Turkish restaurants sometimes serve non-halal wine-cooked dishes. Sucuk and pastırma from a Turkish grocer are halal by default.
What to order
Everything on the grill. Ocakbaşı mixed grill, adana, shish, köfte, lamb chops; lahmacun and pide; the full breakfast spread. Turkish food is, in practice, one of the easiest cuisines in the UK to eat halal without asking twice.
Related dishes
- 01Doner Kebab
Doner kebab is seasoned lamb, beef or chicken stacked on a vertical spit, roasted slowly and shaved into thin strips. In the UK it is sold two ways: the takeaway version in pitta or a wrap after 11pm, and the restaurant version served on rice, bread or with yoghurt and tomato sauce as an iskender. The two have little in common beyond the spit, and knowing which one you want is the whole trick to ordering well.
- 02Shish Kebab
Shish kebab is cubes of marinated lamb or chicken threaded on a flat metal skewer and grilled over charcoal. It is the original kebab, the one the word was coined for, and on a UK ocakbaşı menu it is the benchmark dish: if the shish is good, the kitchen is good. It is served with rice or bulgur, grilled pepper and tomato, and sumac onions, and it is the order to make when you do not know the restaurant.
- 03Iskender
Iskender kebab is shaved doner laid over cubes of pide bread, covered with tomato sauce and browned butter, and served with a spoonful of thick yoghurt. It was invented in Bursa in the 1860s by a man called Iskender, whose descendants still trade under the name, and it is the most indulgent thing on a Turkish menu: rich, hot and heavy. In the UK it is the dish that turns a doner from a takeaway into a sit-down meal.
- 04Adana Kebab
Adana kebab is hand-minced lamb mixed with tail fat and red pepper, pressed along a wide flat skewer and grilled over charcoal. It comes from the city of Adana in southern Turkey, where the name is legally protected and the recipe is strict: lamb, fat, pepper, salt, nothing else. The UK version is spicier and more varied than the original, and it is the dish to order when you want heat and smoke rather than a clean cut of meat.