Where to Eat Halal in Malden, Massachusetts: Pleasant

Downtown Malden, Massachusetts packs halal kebabs, halal pizza, a halal meal-prep cafe, a Bangladeshi buffet and a row of Arab groceries into a few blocks near the Orange Line. Here is a guide to where to eat and shop halal in the city, what each place says about halal, and where to pray now that the clocks have fallen back.

The clocks fell back overnight, and in Malden, Massachusetts, Maghrib comes in at 4:37 p.m. today, according to the Malden Islamic Center's prayer schedule. That makes this the season of early dinners and quick errands after work, and downtown Malden is one of the easiest places north of Boston to do both on one short walk from the Malden Center stop on the MBTA Orange Line.

This guide covers the halal restaurants, cafes and markets in Malden that appear in the Mass Halal directory and in independent halal listings, with what each place says about its food and where to pray nearby.

A note before you go: none of the places below shows a third-party halal certificate that we could find. "Restaurant-stated" means the business itself says its food is halal on its own website or menu. "Directory-reported" means a halal directory lists it as halal, but we did not see a statement from the owner. When certification matters to you, ask at the counter. Hours change, so call ahead.

Pleasant Street: kebabs and halal pizza

Levant Delight, 12 Pleasant St. A family-run Mediterranean kitchen whose website lists kebabs, shish tawook, shawarma, kofta, charcoal-grilled lamb chops, hummus, baba ghanoush and falafel sandwiches. Zabihah lists it as fully halal with no alcohol, based on the restaurant's own statement. The restaurant's website shows hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed on Tuesdays, while Zabihah shows it open every day, so call before a Tuesday visit. The website lists the phone as (339) 210-3969. Directory listing.

Marchica Pizzeria, 54 Pleasant St. Farther up the street, this family-run pizzeria says on its website that it serves "100% halal food," from hand-tossed 12- and 16-inch pizzas (beef bacon is on the topping list) to chicken Alfredo pasta, chicken fingers, burgers and buffalo chicken wraps. The website lists hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday, with pickup and delivery to Malden and nearby cities. Phone (781) 321-9511. Directory listing.

Lebanon Street: a halal cafe for the gym crowd

Prep Hero Café, 43 Lebanon St. One of the city's halal spots is not a grill but a cafe. Prep Hero calls itself "100% Halal" on its website and serves egg sandwiches, turkey bacon croissants, steak and eggs, protein burritos, smoothies and coffee, with dine-in booths and pickup. Its founder, identified on the site as Naz, says he built it because finding halal food that matched his training diet "was a daily battle." The cafe also sells weekly halal meal-prep plans of 5 to 20 meals, picked up in Malden. It says it is open daily. Phone (781) 605-0179. Directory listing.

Highland Avenue: a Bangladeshi buffet and Ethiopian plates

Foodland Halal Market & Cafe, 13 Highland Ave. Near the Medford line, Foodland is a grocery and a hot-food counter in one. Its website describes halal meats, produce and pantry staples from Middle Eastern and South Asian kitchens, plus a buffet of home-style cooking. Its delivery menus lean Bangladeshi: beef tehari, chicken shami kabab, mughlai paratha, dal puri and samosas. Our directory lists its halal status as business-reported. Phone (781) 605-3703. Directory listing.

Taste of Atlas Ethiopian Kitchen, 223 Highland Ave. The family-owned restaurant advertises "Ethiopian Cuisine & Halal Pizza" on its website, with doro wat, tibs, kitfo and veggie combos on injera next to the pizza. The site uses the word halal for the pizza, so ask about the meat in the Ethiopian dishes before you order. The website says it is open daily and points to Google for exact hours. Phone (781) 327-7040.

The grocery row: Baba, Safy and Alsafi

Baba Supermarket, 183 Pleasant St. Lebanese father and son Adib and Mounir Kabbani opened what the local news site Neighborhood View called "Malden's first Middle Eastern grocery store" in 2011, after years running a shawarma and falafel stand at Haymarket in Boston. Look for hard-to-find items like molokhia leaves, and for made-to-order food at the back counter. Our directory lists it as halal, directory-reported. Online listings show it closed on Sundays. Phone (781) 321-4440. Directory listing.

Safy Halal Market, 18 Pleasant St. Zabihah lists Safy as a fully halal deli and grocery, based on the store's own statement, with Moroccan and Mediterranean pantry goods, deli salads and a small fresh-meat case in the back.

Alsafi Supermarket, listed at 22 Pleasant St. Next door, MuftiEats lists this Arabic grocery and butcher counter as halal based on neighbor vouches and Google reviews, one of which calls it the "best halal meat option in town." We did not see a halal statement from the store itself, so ask about the meat.

Where to pray

Malden Islamic Center, 405 Pearl St. The center holds the five daily prayers and two Friday prayers, now at 12:15 p.m. and 1:15 p.m., according to its website. With the time change, Dhuhr iqamah is at 11:39 a.m. and Maghrib iqamah is at 4:47 p.m. this week. Phone (781) 605-0759. We told the story of how the community moved from a rented room on Pleasant Street to its own masjid on Pearl Street last month.

Help us keep it accurate

Owners, hours and halal sources change. If something on a Malden listing does not match what you find, use the "Report a correction" link on its Mass Halal page or leave a review there. For more nearby, see our guide to halal food in Revere, the directory pages for Everett and Medford, and the Mass Halal events calendar.

Where to Eat Halal in Malden, Massachusetts: Pleasant Street, Highland Avenue and a Masjid on Pearl Street