Frequently asked questions

Zabihah was born in Silicon Valley in 1998 as Muslim engineers started passing around a webpage with the few local halal eateries to meet at after work. It quickly blossomed into a global halal restaurant guide, particularly popular with travelers. You can enter your city or allow location access and we'll sort results by distance, cuisine, price, and rating. Every listing shows whether the meat is zabihah-certified, who the halal authority is, and how other Muslim diners rated it - whatever information we find, we'll pass on to you.

We include a restaurant on Zabihah if they claim to serve at least one dish with meat that has been intentionally slaughtered using halal guidelines. Because there is no universally agreed-upon definition of halal, we depend on the investigative resources of our readers to verify the claim or report through Zabihah exactly what the establishment considers to be halal. For example, if a restaurant claims to be halal, yet our readers find evidence that it may not be, we show that information on our site so that our readers can make up their own minds about whether or not they feel comfortable with that restaurant. As we move towards more universal standards of halal, and new legislation mandating "truth in advertising halal" comes into effect (as is happening in the US and other countries), we will have a more secure definition that we can depend upon.

Yes. Zabihah is free for everyone — Muslim diners and restaurants alike. There's no paywall, no subscription, and no charge for a basic listing. We've been helping people find halal food since 1998 without asking users to pay.

Over 53,000 halal restaurants, grocers, and caterers in more than 100 countries, plus thousands of mosques and prayer spaces. The directory grows every week as community members submit new places and our team verifies halal status.

Yes — switch to the Prayer Spaces tab on any search page to see mosques plus restaurants that offer prayer accommodations ("Prayer allowed upon request" or a "Designated prayer area"). It's the easiest way to plan meals and prayer at the same time when you're traveling.

While we make every effort to verify claims of halal authenticity directly with halal restaurants, we have limited resources to investigate in person, and there is no single company, authority, or government that can enforce halal standards worldwide. As such, we have to balance the claims of restaurant owners (who allege defamation and loss of business when halal claims are challenged) and the views of users who feel that restaurants are not sufficiently "halal" for their liking. As you can imagine, it is not an easy task.

Instead, we simply strive to have accurate descriptions of what is being offered. Many restaurants have halal meals cooked separately from non-halal foods, which qualifies as a "partial halal menu" on Zabihah. Others serve alcohol to their non-Muslim customers. In surveying our users since 1998, the vast majority of them are comfortable with this arrangement, as long as there is a halal option for them when dining out. Those who are not can insist on patronizing restaurants that are categorized on Zabihah as having "fully halal menus," restaurants that are listed as "alcohol free," or those that are explicitly certified by a recognized halal authority (though only a small minority of halal restaurants seek such certification).

Ultimately, the responsibility for truthfulness lies with the restaurant owners and the responsibility for keeping them honest lies with the customer. As both are dealing with a religious requirement, both are answerable to God. Our responsibility is to be fair, accurate, and transparent — not to enforce. We state clearly that the "eater should beware" of changing menus, non-halal products, or false claims by restaurant owners. We have allowed user reviews since our inception for this very reason, so that users could relay their experiences to others, pressuring (if necessary) restaurant owners to shape up.

Rather than shunning restaurants that are serving alcohol or pork, we believe it is better to describe their offerings transparently so that community members and potential customers of these businesses can let these establishments know how important it is for them to be alcohol and/or pork free. Incentives, rather than punishment, are the best way to raise the standards for the restaurants listed on Zabihah. Furthermore, users can choose the option of filtering out such restaurants from view in their preferences.

In the case where a branch of a major food chain is listed in Zabihah, it is because the management of that particular franchise decided to procure halal meat for that store's menu. It does not mean that the entire chain is halal. Please confirm with the management of these stores to verify halal status. Having said that, there are several chains that have elected to offer halal options at all their franchises. You can browse chains in several countries on their brand pages.