The Halal Food Guy

The best halal Roast in London in Back!

@properburgers is not only one of the original and best burger joints in London but they also serve a excellent Sunday roast. They have been closed for a year due to the pandemic, but reopened recently and brought back the popular Roast as well last weekend. 

There's a choice of beef or chicken. The beef is a 28 day aged grass fed slow cooked brisket. The chicken is tea brined roast chicken breast. The roast potatoes are good! Finally a place that can do a good spud, served with carrots, green beans, broccoli and tasty gaint Yorkshire pudding that comes with a side of really tasty gravy. 

Everything tasted great and the portion size of the meat/chicken was hearty. Just love this spot and I'm glad it's back. 

Great news, they will be open over the Christmas weekend! So if you want to have a roast dinner and can't have it at home, then definitely book a table now! 26th only! 

Thanks for reading, I try and visit restaurants that all the other halal pages don't bring you! All I'm seeing these days are the same restaurants on multiple pages as they are invites and free meals. 

I paid for this meal in full, not a invite. All food halal. No alcohol served. Muslim owned.

Last weekend my wife and I were looking for a new breakfast spot and after a bit of searching she found @querkycafe
Which happens to be Halal so we decided to give them a go. They have 3 locations so we decided to visit the closest one to us in Forest Gate. 

When we got there I was a little surprised to find such a small cafe.. However they told me to walk down the side which lead us to a lovley secret indoor garden dining area. 

The menu has the Classic English breakfast as well a low carb Keto Breakfast option as well and there's also some brunch options like chicken N waffles. 

We went for a Big Breakfast which was actually enough for the 2 of us, all fresh and well made in particular the hash brown. You can also swap out items, we swapped the turkey rashers for grilled Halloumi.

Been a while since I had chicken N waffles and I enjoyed this dish. I was expecting something premade but the waffle and chicken tasted fresh and homemade. 

Ordering and payment is done via your phone and the system worked well. The staff were genuinely friendly and service was good. 

There's no fruit juices on the menu and no eggs Royale etc style dishes but, they have smoothies and other options. 

I'll definitely be back again. All food halal. No alcohol. I paid for my meal and was not invited. 

📍 180 Forest Ln, London E7 9BB

I saw a new burger takeaway @burgertrap_uk open up in Barking and decided to quickly grab a burger while I was doing some shopping at the Asda next door

I went for the trap burger, 2x6oz Beef patties, topped with Double American Cheese, a nice brioche bun wirh their trap sauce coming in at £6.99. 

First impressions looked good, similar to a chicos smash burger, but I don't think the patties were cooked in the smashed method as it took 10min to make. What was lacking was the deep rich beef aroma that i normally smell in a good burger.

How did it tatse? Well I'd rate it a solid 7/10, the texture of the bun was soft and gooey, but there was a definitive lack of meaty flavour, it lacked seasoning and the richness you get from a high quality beef to fat ratio. The flavour of cheese was lost in the overpowered sauce and toppings. The onions lacked sweetness and they weren't carmelised and under cooked and a few too many gherkins made it taste like a McDonald's cheese burger. 

This spot is located a stones throw from the original smash burger by Cristinas, where at lunch time you can dine in and get there far superior double cheese burger with fries fof the tidy sum of £7. So with this option available, I really don't see the point of going here unless they drop the price of the burger, its more a £4.99 burger. 

Overall I'd rate it 6.5/10 when you factor i the price. There's room for improvement and these guys just opened. I paid for this meal, they had no idea of my identity.

Hey everyone. Been away as I was unwell, I'm better now so for fathers day I took the family to @centralounge a Indian restaurant located in Ilford

Here's what I ordered 

Chilli Paneer £8.15
Avocado chaat £7.25
Pani Puri £5.80
Sticky Lamb Chops £10.85
Butter Chicken £9.95
Lamb Shank £14.95
Lamb Biryani £12.50
Keema Naan £3.65
Butter Naan £2.75
Ocean Blue £6.50
Elderflower & pear £6.50

In general the food was good, some dishes worked well and some need work. My favourite items were the Chill Panner, crispy texture in a tasty sauce. The lamb Biryani was enjoyable and had good portions of lamb, it was a bit sticky in texture but I like it like that and the flavours were balanced and tasty. 

The butter chicken had velvety smooth sauce and was really tasty, with perfectly cooked chicken and sauce with good depth in flavour. The lamb shank also had a rich and balanced sauce and the lamb feel apart with no effort at all. 

The lamb chops however were over cooked, which meant it was tough and chewy. If I was a paying customer I would of sent that back, I could only sample one bite, I didn't like the taste of the sticky sauce either. 

They did serve me a 🥑 chaat that was rotten, that could pass with a btec food blogger but I clocked that straight away. Sadly for my wife she was the victim of soggy nasty avocado. They did take it away and bring me a new one, but it came at the end of the meal so I took it home. The new one with fresh avocado was actually delicious. It's a shame they got it wrong the first time. 

Drinks and food came with a somewhat forced dry ice show for the table, but I'll take anything that will get me the likes. Drinks were okay, I didn't like the Elderflower it was bitter but the ocean blue was nice. 

Finished the meal with a average freakshake but the chocolate cake wasn't too bad. 

Service was good and overall this is a decent place to check out. It's more casual lunch/dinner than anything fancy, but there's there's a free car park on site. 

Alcohol is served. All food is halal with certification available. My meal was complimentary.

Here's another burger spot that's been opened for a few months @burgotown located in Ilford on Romford Road. I was invited down give an honest opinion on the food. 

The beef burgers are customisable, you can add what ever toppings you like. I personally don't like this. I'd rather pick a burger from a menu, I find most people don't know what ingredients work well together in a burger. 

The standard beef burger is £7 which comes with one 100g/3.5oz Angus beef patty with meat from @hillfarmfinest. I personally think that a single 3.5oz  is on the small side.

I got a double beef burger with just caramelised onions and another with jalapeños, caramelised onions and torilta chips both costing £9 each

I found the burgers lacked depth in that expected beefy flavour, it needed more seasoning, it lacked that signature smell of rendered beef fat and with being smashed burgers with a thin patty there wasn't much of a crust. Despite this, it's a burger with potential and not bad at all. I ate half of the burger, the 2nd half did taste better the next day. I'd score the burger a solid 7.5/10

Also tried the chicken burger £6.50 this was very good, the chicken was big, freshly made, juicy and packed with flavour. The accompanying pickles were cut thick and made the burger overpowered with a strong pickle taste, but overall a very good burger 8.5/10

A favourite item was the honey chicken tenders £5.50 these are a must order! The large loaded chic fires were also very good £7.

Finally, the epic phily cheese steak sandwich, £9, massive bun filled with sliced beef and peppers topped with loads of cheese. This was good, it did have a intense cheesy flavour and I found it quite heavy, but overall a filling sandwich with generous amount of beef. 

The food comes packaged in foil, I asked for food to be given to me as a regular customer would receive it, so the burgers got a bit messy, sure most infulancers wouldnt have made this choice, but I don't care how it looks, I care about how it tastes. 

Although there's space for sitting in, there's limited seating with only 4 tables and the eating area feels cold due hospital lighting and lack of effort with the decor.

Last year Coco in Tower Bridge was the biggest halal restaurant opening, It stood out as one of the most instagramable places to eat, with its high end stunning interiors and floral themed decor.

They recently opened a new restaurant in Lakeside @coco_asia_lakeside West Thurrock over looking the water, with a Asian focused menu with infulances from Japanese , Indian, Thai and Korean cuisine.

I was invited down and here's what I thought.

There's an outdoor terrace which overlooks the water and is fantastic on a sunny day, as I went at Saturday lunchtime opted to dine outside with wife and baby. 

My focus at restaurants is the food, I'm not distracted by decor, vibe, fire shows or dry ice...not to say I don't like a bit of theatre. On a side note, since coco launched, I've noticed newly opened restaurant basically look the same, hard to tell them apart sometimes.. 
 
Let's focus on the food. Here's what I ordered. 

Mini poppadoms £6.50
Fiery cauilflower £10
Chicken satay £13
Korean spicy wings £13 (Smoke show) 
Pulled duck rolls £13
Wagyu Bao £16 
Lamb Biryani £19
Tandoori Mix grill £32
Coco fried sushi £18
COCO spicy double rainbow £18
Fire chilli chicken £19 

I sampled a wide range of menus items, I'm gonna generalise everything but saying it was all good, not average but not excellent either, everything would score 6 or 7 out of 10. While there wasn't any major issues, nothing really set my tastebuds alive. All the dishes were played safe. 

The sushi was probably the most underwhelming dish, I was really expecting better especially for the price tag. The best thing I had was the wagyu Bao bun and the very spicy fire chilli chicken. 

The desserts were not at the level I would have expected and not recommended. 

This place is more about the decor and vibe with food that just satisfactory. Prices may seem high; this happens when a restaurant has this level of decor and doesn't serve alcohol. 

There's a free car park next door (car park D) 

All food is halal. No alcohol. I was invited. Meal was complimentary. More on the blog

I checked out the New @popeyesuk that's just opened up in Romford. The fast food fried chicken chain famous in the US. They have a location that opened Stratford but I've actually never been to that.

I visited yesterday and it was the first day. I was impressed with the customer service, they seemed to go out of their way to make sure everyone had a good experience.

Food wise its more pricer than kfc but the food definitely is of a better standard.

I definitely recommend the spicy chicken deluxe burger. It as a massive tender and juicy bit of chicken. The breading was crunchy, thick and packed full of flavour. I'd go back for that. Really good chicken burger.

Also got a chicken sandwich, which was good but didn't compare to the deluxe burger.

I ordered some signature 3 peice of chicken (the girl out the tills made a mistake and gave me tenders) they fixed this error very quickly and didn't charge me for the chicken I wanted and I kept the tenders. Bosd man gave me 4 peices as well.

I thought the tenders were great and worth getting. I was surprised with the size of the chicken drums, it almost looked like a wing or maybe a baby chicken. Tasted good nevertheless, I really like the crunchy texture of the chicken here.

The milkshakes and fried are good as well. No complaints with the food or service here, food came out within 10mins. If you are local Romford definitely check this spot out. 

All chicken is halal. No alcohol. I paid for my meal.

I checked out an old school spot Five Lads. I frequently went to the original that opened in Leyton years ago, but was invited to check out the Goodmayes location @fiveladsgoodmayes 

I tried a range of items, the new chicken thigh burger was brilliant, a massive juicy grilled chicken thigh that was soft and delicious. They also got a really yum £3.99 small milk cake that's worth trying

What I ordered 

Lamb gourmet burger £9.49 hummas with pita 
Beef with Halloumi wrap £8.49 
Lamb chops £12.49 potatoes wedges 
Bonless leg burger £8.99 corn on cob
Single platter £18.99 peri chips, coleslaw 
Mocktail strawberry, mojito
Nutella milk cake £3.99

📣 COMPETITION TIME! 📣 

I’ve teamed up with @fiveladsuk to present a lucky winner the opportunity to win a £50 voucher they can use to claim free food at any of their three branches: Leyton, Goodmayes & Slough!

To enter: 

- Tag 2 people’s in the comments
- Like share the reel
- Follow both @halalfoodguy & @fiveladsuk
- Share onto stories for EXTRA ENTRY

Giveaway will run for 3 weeks from today - winner will be announced on @fiveladsuk page on the date.

Good luck 🤞🏼😉

I checked out @no5dining a lovely Turkish-inspired restaurant and lounge in North London. 

The decor is very Instagram-friendly and has a great vibe - I went on a quiet Monday evening and took my bestie out for his birthday.

What We ordered

TRUFFLE CROQUETTES £10.50
SCALLOPS £13.50
OCTOPUS £11.50
FILLET STEAK 270G £42
LAMB SHOULDER £25.50
MAC ‘N’ CHEESE £6.50
Virgin PINA COLADA
Virgin MOJITO
CHOCOLATE BOWL £12

The starters I had were all excellent. 

My favourite dish was the Crispy truffle croquettes - filled with truffle, mushrooms,  onions and bechamel sauce, coated in a crispy and light bread crumb roll - this was so good i ordered it twice - A MUST ORDER

The scallops were very good as to the octopus which had a delicious charred taste. (note octopus might not be permissible under certain schools of Islamic thought) 

I got the fillet steak, it was cooked more towards medium than the requested medium rare, it didn't have a deep flavour profile, I've definitely had better. I think the Kitchen rested it for too long, by the time it got to me the temperature wasn't hot. It was also served with Macadamia paste, beetroot purée and quinoa which really was a strange combination that didn't work, but it did come with chips. 

My mate got the lamb shoulder, 14 hour slow-cooked lamb moulded in 2 discs on the plated served on carrot puree, I found it just okay, I expected a richer level of flavours.

For desserts, we moved to the stylish lounge area, where we shared a Chocolate bowl a fun dessert that's dropped onto the table; inside the bowl, you'll find loads of sweet treats like brownies, ice cream, macaroons, strawberries and toffee cake served with warm white chocolate poured on top. I found it too sweet for me, 2 of us couldn't finish it. 

This spot would be ideal for a special occasion, girl's night out or date night with live entertainment from Friday to Sunday. Kids under 12 not permitted. The starters were fantastic but the mains I had were a little average. The drinks were very balanced and well made.

I thought it was gonna be one of those places where the decor is the priority over food, but I was wrong!

Meal was complimentary #invite

A quick mention for @jungleesburgers a new halal burger spot that's opened in Barkingside. I went without knowing too much about these guys but I was very impressed with the burgers and overall quality of food.

I'll definitely be going back. Its a build your own burger concept. With unlimited toppings.

I got a double smash burger £8.99
Chicken burger £6.99
Cod burger £6.99

All were great. The beef burger was cooked to perfection and had a great depth of beefy flavour. The chicken burger was juicy and fresh and again packed with flavour.

Definitely worth checking out if you like your burgers. This might be a contender for my top 5!

Not an invite. I paid for my meal.

#halal #halalfood #halalfoodlondon #burger #halalburger #food #foodie

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