A New York City-Based Halal Restaurant Is About to Open on Boylston Street

A new York City-based halal restaurant chain is opening in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood, adjacent to Berklee College of Music. Shah’s Halal will open on Friday, February 7, at 1124 Boylston St., in a space formerly occupied by an outpost of the Crazy Dough’s Pizza chain.

Shah’s Halal began life as a food cart in Richmond Hill, Queens, New York, in 2005, before opening its first restaurant in 2016. Shah’s has since expanded to include more food carts and more than a dozen restaurants in the United States, as well as one restaurant in London. Each location of Shah’s Halal is certified halal by the Halal Food Council U.S.A.

The menus at Shah’s Halal’s New York and London locations include dishes such as gyros; rice dishes featuring chicken, falafel, kofta, fish, and lamb; hummus; and...Philly cheesesteaks. Shah’s Halal owner Khalid Mashriqi told Eater in June 2019 that the restaurants’ recipes are derived from family recipes and that halal food is currently experiencing a boom.

“Boston is a beautiful city and a great food city,” Mashriqi said in a press release in February 2020. “We are thrilled to be moving into the Northeast and are bringing the same authentic flavors, fresh ingredients, and competitive price point we are known for throughout New York and California. We are looking forward to becoming part of such a vibrant community.”

Shah’s Halal isn’t the only out-of-town halal-food-truck-turned-restaurant game in town — the Halal Guys expanded to Boston in 2017, with plans to open more stores in the future. Meanwhile, Boston’s own Chicken & Rice Guys continues to hold its own with several storefronts and trucks.

Noah Fecks

• Fenway Is Getting a Halal Restaurant From New York [EBOS]