Halal African Food in Calgary: Somali, Moroccan & West African

If you searched for "halal food near me", you will find more than shawarma. African food is the quiet strength of halal food in Calgary. There's a Somali kitchen on International Avenue, an Egyptian counter on Edmonton Trail, a Nigerian room on Centre Street, one Moroccan basement, and a row of halal meat butchers in Forest Lawn. Here's which are halal in writing and which to ask about.

Somali restaurants in Calgary

For Somali food, start with Zam Zam Restaurant at 5115 17 Ave SE. Its own site says “All our dishes are prepared Halal.” Expect spiced rice, grilled meat and flatbread.

Suqaar (the menu spells it suqqar) is the dish to know: small pieces of beef or chicken sautéed with onion, peppers and house spices. Reviewers order the beef suqaar with soft chapati (sabaayad on the menu), and the goat meat with rice. Goat liver is a listed specialty.

Portions are big and the service is friendly. Somalia was an Italian colony, so there's pasta too. One reviewer's husband went for the chicken spaghetti. Gluten-free options are marked. It holds a 4.7 on Google.

Zam Zam is the only dedicated Somali restaurant I found. For more pasta, see halal Italian food in Calgary.

East African: Safari Grill

Safari Grill on 28 St SE serves Tanzanian and East African food in a safari-themed room. Think mishkaki skewers, mogo (cassava, often masala-style), ugali with mchicha greens, short beef ribs and samaki, a spiced fried fish. Reviewers point to the Foradhani platter.

It is halal, but it posts no halal signage or certification online, and Google lists beer and wine. So confirm the sourcing at the counter. Recent complaints are about service, not flavour: wrong orders, missing sauces and a forty-five-minute wait.

Halal Nigerian food: FLAVOURS

For halal Nigerian food in Calgary, try FLAVOURS. It is now on Centre Street North in Tuxedo Park. It serves jollof rice (rice cooked in a spiced tomato and pepper base) and egusi (a stew thickened with ground melon seed, here with goat). There's also fried plantain and puff puff, the sweet fried dough balls.

Staff show first-timers how to eat and bring warm water to wash hands. Some find portions small for the price. The menu is halal, but the meat pie may be an exception, so ask if you are strict. Google also says it serves beer and wine.

Egyptian food near me

Shawarma Cairo & Pizza on Edmonton Trail is halal throughout. The hawawshi is the standout, the pitas are handmade, and the owner will walk you through the menu. Finish with rice pudding and the pastries. Yuyu’s Food Station on 52 St SE is a fully halal Egyptian-Filipino counter. Order the beef hawawshi.

Hawawshi is spiced minced beef baked inside pita-style bread, said to be invented in 1971 by butcher Ahmed al-Hawawsh. For Egyptian-style shawarma in the northwest, Flame and Bite in Bowness is known for its homemade garlic sauce. Its own site says it uses fresh, halal-certified ingredients. Its beef shawarma comes with tahini and pickles. Its menu online doesn't list hawawshi, so ask.

Moroccan food in Calgary

There's one Moroccan restaurant for now: The Casbah, at 720 11 Ave SW, lower level, dimly lit and in the Beltline. It does couscous, tagines and bastilla, a sweet-savoury pie. Reviewers love the room and desserts. One table found four tagines that looked alike, heavy on vegetables and light on meat, at $32 or more each.

It is listed as halal, but there's no halal signage online and Google lists beer and wine. Confirm the sourcing with staff when you book. Book ahead.

Sultan’s Tent in Kensington, open since 1988, is marked temporarily closed on Google. Phone first. For more formal dinners, see fancy halal restaurants.

Ethiopian and Eritrean

An honest gap: I couldn't find a dedicated halal Ethiopian or Eritrean restaurant in Calgary. Dahlak Al Food Store on 14 Ave SW is the Beltline’s Habesha corner shop. It has lamb and beef cut to order, injera-side staples and East African spices, though reviewers warn about overcharges at the till and the date on the chicken. For kitfo, Asian Halal Meat & Food in Westwinds carries it, so ask at the counter.

African halal meat near me: YYC halal meat shops

The 17 Ave SE strip in Forest Lawn has several halal butchers close together. African Halal Meats at 4014 17 Ave SE has East and West African groceries next to the halal cuts. Prices are low, with bulk lamb for a crowd. Safari Meat Market at 5010 17 Ave SE is wholesale and retail. It says its farmers avoid antibiotics and growth hormones. Ask prices in person, not by phone. Compare those two first. For the rest, see halal butchers by neighbourhood.

In the far northeast, Skyview Grocery & Halal Meat carries African lines and goat that people make special trips for. But at 3.6 it is the lowest-rated grocer I found, so check the meat before you pay. North of downtown, Tebyan Supermarket on Edmonton Trail has North African shelves (Algerian biscuits get a mention). Get the lamb ribs., cut the way you want.

There's no African store in Sage Hill that I could find. The halal grocer there is Sage Hill Crossing Halal Meat. African Variety on 17 Ave SE sells perfume and modest fashion, not food.

Halal food Calgary: the short version

Zam Zam for Somali food with halal in writing. Shawarma Cairo or Yuyu’s for Egyptian hawawshi. FLAVOURS for jollof and egusi, and Safari Grill for mishkaki (confirm the sourcing first). The Casbah for a Moroccan evening (confirm when you book). Buy your halal meat on 17 Ave SE.