Where to Eat Halal in Revere, Massachusetts: Washington

Revere's Moroccan and Arab community has built one of the busiest halal corners north of Boston. Here is a guide to the city's halal restaurants, bakeries and butcher shops, from HMS-certified Halal Eatz to Sayar Market and Casablanca House of Pastry, with what each place says about halal and where to pray.

Ask a Moroccan family north of Boston where to buy lamb for Eid, mint for tea or a box of sweets for guests, and there is a good chance the answer is Revere, Massachusetts. "Shirley Ave. is the place where a lot of Moroccans gathered around: Halal stores, Moroccan restaurants; and it means a lot to us," Rachid Moukhabir, who organized World Cup watch parties in the city this summer, told NBC Boston in June.

This guide walks through the halal restaurants, bakeries and markets in Revere that appear in the Mass Halal directory and in independent halal listings, with what each place or directory says about its food and where to pray nearby.

A note before you go: "certified" below means a third-party certifier lists the business. "Directory-reported" or "owner-listed" means a halal directory or the owner says the food is halal, but we did not see a certificate. When certification matters to you, ask at the counter. Hours change, so call ahead.

The certified option: Halal Eatz on Washington Avenue

Halal Eatz — Revere, 750 Washington Ave., #4. The burger and platter chain's Revere shop is the one place in this guide that Halal Monitoring Services (HMS) lists as certified, with chicken, lamb and beef on its certified-products list and the certificate valid through Dec. 31, 2026. The company's menu runs from chicken over rice and beef-and-lamb gyro platters to double cheeseburgers, Nashville hot chicken burgers and homemade falafel. HMS lists hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. Phone (781) 629-8071. Directory listing.

The same company won approval last week for a larger flagship in Framingham, Massachusetts, which we covered here.

The VFW Parkway: Turkish kebabs, halal pizza and Moroccan pastry

Istanbul Diner Cafe, 120 Veterans of Foreign Wars Pkwy. A Turkish kitchen with a second location in Saugus, Massachusetts, and a big catering business. The owner lists the restaurant as halal on Google, according to the halal directory MuftiEats, which recommends the Adana kebab, beef doner and the mixed plate. We did not find a certificate. The restaurant's own pages list slightly different hours, roughly 11 a.m. to 9 or 10 p.m. daily. Phone (781) 289-4249. Directory listing.

The Halal Pizza, also at 120 Veterans of Foreign Wars Pkwy. The name says it, and so does management: Zabihah quotes the restaurant saying "All meat and ingredients are Halal" and lists it as fully halal with no alcohol. Expect doner and sujuk pizzas, pide and calzones. Zabihah lists hours of 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and from 8 a.m. on weekends.

Casablanca House of Pastry, 151 Veterans of Foreign Wars Pkwy., Suite 60. French pastries, Moroccan treats, coffee and catering, according to the bakery's website, which also announces a second shop "coming soon" at 500 Eastern Ave. in Lynn, Massachusetts. During Morocco's 2022 World Cup run, it was "the main meeting spot" for local fans, one supporter told NBC Boston. Our directory lists its halal status as directory-reported. MuftiEats points to the croissants, chicken bastilla and mint tea. Phone (781) 629-1479. Directory listing.

The Everett Street plaza: Sayar Market and Beyrut Espresso

In a shopping plaza at 3 Everett St., near Route 1A and the Revere Beach stop on the MBTA Blue Line, two neighbors have become an anchor for Arab and Muslim shoppers. Eater Boston profiled both in 2024.

Sayar Market, Unit 3E. Younes Sayar left the taxi business to open the store in 2013, expanded it in 2015 and opened a second location in Norwood, Massachusetts, in 2020, Eater reported. The market calls itself an "International Halal Food & Butcher Shop," and Eater's writer found lamb kidneys, chicken gizzards, fresh grape leaves, brined cheeses from Syria, Palestine and Turkey, za'atar, dates and tagines on the shelves. The butcher counter closes earlier than the store, so check the website before a late run. Phone (781) 284-5915. Directory listing.

Beyrut Espresso, Unit 3C. Owner Linda Fayad, who moved from Lebanon more than 20 years ago, opened the cafe in 2021 with only coffee and sweets, then added za'atar mana'eesh, falafel, shawarma, couscous and bastilla at customers' request, Eater reported. She also bakes Moroccan breads sold next door at Sayar. We did not find a halal statement from the cafe, so ask about the meat. Phone (781) 629-5400.

More halal markets

Adam Halal Market, 1 Atlantic Ave. Halal meat, Moroccan groceries and tajines, according to HalalPlaces, which lists it as all-halal and open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Phone (781) 286-8890. Listing.
Safy Halal Market, 691 Broadway. A halal market with a deli and Arabic groceries. Zabihah reports that a halal certificate was seen on display and lists hours of 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Listing.
Fair Price Market, 1470 North Shore Rd. Halal meat and poultry with Middle Eastern and North African groceries. Its halal status in our directory is store-stated. Phone (781) 629-2557. Listing.

Late night: Nour Cafe on Squire Road

Nour Cafe, 174 Squire Rd. A shawarma and grill counter inside a gas station. The owner lists it as halal on Google, according to MuftiEats, which recommends the mixed grill plate and lists hours of 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily. Phone (781) 629-3585. Directory listing.

Where to pray, and a community to know

Masjid Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah (AICP Massachusetts), 41 Marble St. The Association of Islamic Charitable Projects' Revere masjid is open for the five daily prayers, with the Jumu'ah khutbah and prayer every Friday at 1:05 p.m., according to its website. On Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m., AICP holds a fundraiser dinner at the Boston Marriott Peabody for its planned masjid, school and community center in Danvers, Massachusetts. We covered those plans earlier. Phone (781) 284-6540.

Bosniak Society of Boston, 101 Atlantic Ave. A cultural and religious center for Bosniak families across Greater Boston, with prayer times posted on its website. Confirm Jumu'ah times with the society before you go.

Revere Arabic Community is a nonprofit founded in 2022 by Egyptian immigrant Asmaa Aboufouda to help immigrant families with food, language barriers and isolation, the Revere Journal reported in January, when it won a Project Bread Community Power Grant. Its weekend school at 395 Revere St. teaches Arabic, Quran and Islamic studies on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. In March, it held its fifth annual Ramadan iftar at the Revere Senior Center.

Help us keep it accurate

Owners, hours and certificates change. If something on a Revere listing does not match what you find, use the "Report a correction" link on its Mass Halal page or leave a review there. You can find more nearby in our guides to Everett and Malden, and on the Mass Halal events calendar.

Where to Eat Halal in Revere, Massachusetts: Washington Avenue, the VFW Parkway and a Halal Plaza on Everett Street