A guide to understanding halal restaurants and Muslim-friendly restaurants

Posted by James Shaun on June 11th, 2021

The availability of restaurants that can meet the needs of Muslims attracts visitors to a city. One of the first criteria for Muslim travelers when planning their trip is to find out if they have halal or if there are Muslim-friendly restaurants in the city. Since most countries have at least one small Muslim community, it is important to have a halal restaurant to increase food costs. Given the growth of the Muslim consumer market, this is of paramount importance to restaurant owners who want to cater to the Muslim community who have a comprehensive understanding of the concept of halal food. This article explores some of the terms, how food is guaranteed, halal, misunderstandings, and other services that can better serve Muslim dinners.

1) How do you ensure that a restaurant is offering halal food?

When choosing to eat from a restaurant, the most important criterion for Muslims is to know how the food is halal. Restaurants offer three main ways that their food is halal:

Restaurant or kitchen halal certified.

Halal is assured by a third-party audit and verification in the restaurant that they offer halal food. Not having a halal certificate does not mean that the food offered is not halal. However, a certificate provides a high level of crescent assurance and easily identifies halal restaurants.

Muslim Owned / Organized Restaurant

Muslim-owned / organized restaurants assure that food is halal because they are Muslims. 

Some forms of self-assurance, if they do not fall into the above two categories. The restaurant itself guarantees customers that the food they serve is halal. Self-assurance comes in different forms: on the type of food they serve. For example, strictly vegetarian or seafood restaurants. Based on the food they offer. For example, a restaurant may be considered halal by some Muslims. The kind of meat they serve. For example, claim to only serve halal meat in restaurants. They do not serve a particular type of meat, e.g., restaurants claiming "No Park No Lard" have some issues related to these types of halal reassurance.

2) What are Halal Certification Bodies?

Many businesses around the world have seen a growing demand from Muslims for independent verification of halal assurances. Halal certification bodies regularly work to verify that products or establishments (restaurants) comply with halal requirements. These gatherings usually give credentials to a particular geography. In some countries, these institutions are approved by a formal, government agency. The restaurant does not require Muslim ownership or management to obtain halal certification. However, most certification agencies require that some of the staff, especially in the kitchen, be Muslim.

3) Halal Certified Restaurant

The best way to provide halal assurances is to obtain a halal certificate from an independent third party. They must confirm the restaurant's claim that all food served on the premises is halal. Restaurants that are certified by a halal certification body that certifies that their food is halal are known as halal-certified restaurants.

4) Halal-certified kitchen

Most halal certification bodies require that restaurants only serve halal food and not alcohol to provide halal certification. This will prevent them from obtaining a halal restaurant certificate that offers halal food and alcohol. Such restaurants may choose to obtain a Halal Certificate. With its help, they will reassure Muslim diners that although they serve alcohol, the food served is from a halal-certified kitchen. Such kitchens are used exclusively for cooking halal foods. They maintain a complete separation of halal and non-halal foods, ensuring no contamination of any kind.

5) What is a halal logo for a restaurant?

The halal logo is an indication of a halal certification body, indicating that a restaurant or kitchen has been certified halal by them. The restaurant's food sign makes it easy to know if the restaurant or kitchen is halal certified.

Source: Halal Restaurants Promotional Items