Halal Butchers and Grocers by Neighbourhood: The One Nearest You

Two questions get asked about halal butchers, and only one of them has been answered here. Which is the best and which are the ten worth driving to — that is one question. This page is the other one: which one is near me.

It is also the way people ask for one: a shop and a place, in a single breath. The meat shop in the northeast. The one in Shawnessy. The Nolan Hill one. Westgate. So here are seventy of them, by area, with what each is for where we know it.

Northeast: Westwinds and Mountainview

The densest halal shopping in the city. A single plaza here can hold a butcher, a bakery and a grocer.

• Calgary Produce Market, 4774 Westwinds Dr — a grocery, a meat counter and a hot takeout counter in one, with an on-site prayer space. Biryani and nihari to take home.
• Madina Halal Meat & Grocery and Ummah Halal Meat, both at 4656 Westwinds Dr.
• Kabul Halal Meat & Bakery, 4774 Westwinds Dr, and Aziz Grocery, Halal Meat and Bakery, 4809 Westwinds Dr.
• YYC Halal Meats Fish & Grocery and Panah Bakery and Halal Meat, both in Mountainview Plaza at 3770 Westwinds Dr.
• Bangla Bazar Supermarket, 4851 Westwinds Dr — the Bangladeshi pantry.
• Asian Halal Meat & Food, 55 Westwinds Cres; Mustafa Madani Halal Meat & Grocery and Pizza Centre & Halal Meat Grocery, both at 7 Westwinds Cres.

Northeast: Saddletowne, Savanna, Skyview and Cityscape

The newer north edge, where the shops followed the houses.

• Westgate Halal Meat and Deli, 850 Saddletowne Cir — a halal counter inside the Freshco, which makes it the rare one you can do on the same trip as the rest of the shop. Its own draw is the halal beef bacon and the marinated cuts.
• Vattan Halal Meats, 218 Saddletowne Cir — the branch of the Memorial Drive original. Regulars phone the order in and collect it ready.
• Calgary Halal Meat & Grocery, 20 Saddlestone Dr.
• Savanna Grocery & Halal Meat, 9052 46 St NE, and Savana Meat Shop & Takeout, 5850 88 Ave NE.
• Skyview Grocery & Halal Meat, 55 Skyview Ranch Rd, and Pak Foods, 10960 42 St NE.
• Alta Halal Meat, 6424 36 St NE; Centra Halal Meat and Shaheen Grocery, both at 4655 54 Ave NE.

Northeast: Whitehorn, Rundle, Temple, Falconridge and Castleridge

• Madani Halal Meat & Grocery, 5008 Whitehorn Dr — next door to the No Frills, so the pair covers a full shop. Open from 8am on weekdays, the earliest of any halal butcher on this map.
• Damascus Butcher, 6915 Rundlehorn Dr — Syrian and Middle Eastern, 4.9 across nearly 200 reviews, and it makes halal salami and bologna, which is genuinely hard to find.
• Chahine Supermarket & Halal Meat, 7196 Temple Dr.
• 786 Meat & Groceries and Alnoor Halal Meat & Grocery, both at 5075 Falconridge Blvd.
• Paradise Grocery & Halal Meat, 55 Castleridge Blvd.
• Tasty Halal Store, 3304 64 St NE; Ahsan Halal Meat & Grocery and Ali Baba Halal Meat, both at 5120 47 St NE.

Northeast: 32 Avenue, 27 Street and Sunridge

• Wild Rose Meats and More, 3131 27 St NE — 4.8 across 249 reviews, one of the largest samples on this map, and a butcher's butcher: cuts trimmed and packaged exactly to order. Centre Halal Market is in the same plaza.
• Basha Foods International, 2717 Sunridge Way — a big Middle Eastern grocer with a shawarma counter made from the meat sold at the butcher counter.
• Afghan Bakery and Halal Butcher Store, 3545 32 Ave NE — bread and a meat counter together.
• Barakat Bakery & Halal Meat, 4525 52 St NE — a bakery and a meat counter under one name, and the one people mean when they just say Barakat.
• Meatplus Halal Meat and Seafood, 2730 39 Ave NE, and Eden Grocery and Halal Meat, 4801 26 Ave NE.
• Ariana Bazaar & Cloth House, 3434 34 Ave NE, and Calgary Wholesale Market, 1305 33 St NE.
• On Memorial Drive: Vattan Halal Meat and Groceries, 5269 Memorial Dr, cutting halal meat in Calgary since 1996, and Mashawi Market & Grill, 3745 Memorial Dr.

Southeast: the 17 Avenue strip

Seven counters within a few blocks in Forest Lawn. If one is out of what you want, the next is a two-minute drive — which is the real argument for shopping this street rather than any single shop on it.

• Safari Meat Market, 5010 17 Ave SE — wholesale and retail, sourced from farmers who avoid antibiotics and growth hormones, which is a more specific claim than most shops here make.
• TAAJ Halal Meats, 4721 17 Ave SE — by the case for an event, or in household portions from the same counter.
• Mediterranean Halal Meats & Deli, 3917 17 Ave SE — beef, lamb, goat, chicken and fish with a Mediterranean pantry beside it, a different shop from the South Asian ones on this stretch.
• Maher Halal Meat, 3517 17 Ave SE, and Atlas Halal Meat, 5320 17 Ave SE.
• African Halal Meats, 4014 17 Ave SE, and Green Cedars Food Mart, 4710 17 Ave SE.

South: Macleod Trail, Midnapore and the new southeast

• Shaganappi Mediterranean Market, 9950 Macleod Trl SE — meat counter at the back, bread, olives, cheese and prepared food at the front, and the closest halal butcher to a wide stretch of the south. The meat pies are what people come back for.
• Zak's Mart, 8906 Macleod Trl SE.
• Ar-Razzaq Halal Meat & Grocery, 15219 Bannister Rd SE — the Midnapore and Shawnessy answer, and one of a small handful of counters south of Glenmore Trail.
• Canadian Halal Meat and Grocery, 20 Copperpond Psge SE — Copperfield and the newer southeast communities, whose regulars say plainly that they no longer drive to the northeast. The goat is what they name.

Southwest and the inner city

• Shaganappi Mediterranean Market, 3919 17 Ave SW — the original, near Marda Loop, more than a quarter century old, and a southwest option where halal grocers are thin on the ground.
• Khalid Halal Meat & Grocery, 4515 Macleod Trl SW in Parkhill — say what you are cooking and the counter will cut for it.
• TK Grocery and Halal Meat, 9639 Macleod Trl SW, and Zam Zam Halal Meat & Grocery, 9737 Macleod Trl SW.
• Food World Halal Meat and Grocery, 1916 37 St SW, and Gandour Halal Meats & Deli, 1619 37 St SW.
• Dahlak Al Food Store, 1208 14 Ave SW — the closest thing to a halal grocer in the Beltline.

Closest to downtown

There is no halal butcher in the core. The two nearest are both a few minutes north:

• Tebyan Supermarket & Halal Meat, 908 Edmonton Trail — the closest halal counter to downtown, covering Crescent Heights and the inner north, a part of the city with plenty of restaurants and almost no butchers. Lamb ribs are what regulars name.
• Samar Market, 2215 Centre St NW — Mediterranean and Levantine groceries alongside fresh halal meat, with beef prices singled out.

Northwest

Only a handful, which is the standing complaint of anyone living out here.

• Nolan Hill Halal Meat & Convenience, 50 Nolanridge Ct — meat, South Asian groceries and a frozen seafood selection that is a genuine addition if your usual grocer stocks fresh meat and nothing from the sea.
• YYC Halal Meats Fish & Grocery, 246 Nolanridge Cres — the northwest branch of the Westwinds shop.
• Sage Hill Crossing Halal Meat & Grocery, 54 Sage Hill Passage.
• Savor Meat Mart, 40 Country Hills Landing — the far northwest, and the lamb is what reviewers ask it to stay open for.
• Hyderabad Halal Meats & Grocery, 12 Royal Vista Way, and Indian Aroma Halal Grocery, 7750 Ranchview Dr.

Airdrie and Chestermere

• Al-Anwar Halal Meat and Grocery, 28 Kingsview Rd SE, Airdrie — see halal food in Airdrie and Okotoks.
• First Choice Meat Shop, Lakeside Meat Masala and Masala Meats and Takeout in Chestermere — see halal food in Chestermere.

What the map of it tells you

Thirty-nine of these are in the northeast and seven are in the northwest. If you live west or south of downtown you have three or four within a reasonable drive, and if you live in the northeast you have a choice on most street corners. That imbalance is the single most useful thing on this page: it is why the 17 Avenue strip and the Macleod Trail shops are worth knowing by name, and why anybody in the core ends up at Tebyan.

For what to actually buy once you are through the door, the butchers guide and the ten best grocers go shop by shop. For the meat itself, see halal Alberta beef and what makes chicken halal.

Common questions

Where is the nearest halal butcher to downtown Calgary?

There is none in the core. Tebyan Supermarket at 908 Edmonton Trail is the closest halal meat counter, with Samar Market at 2215 Centre St NW a few minutes further north. In the Beltline, Dahlak Al Food Store on 14 Ave SW is the nearest halal grocer.

Is there a halal meat store near Shawnessy?

Ar-Razzaq Halal Meat & Grocery at 15219 Bannister Rd SE serves Midnapore, Shawnessy and the communities around them — one of very few counters south of Glenmore Trail. Further east, Canadian Halal Meat and Grocery covers Copperfield and the newer southeast.

Which halal butcher in Calgary opens earliest?

Madani Halal Meat & Grocery on Whitehorn Dr NE opens at 8am on weekdays and 9am at weekends, the earliest of any halal butcher on this map.

Are there halal butchers in NW Calgary?

Seven: Nolan Hill Halal Meat & Convenience, YYC Halal Meats on Nolanridge Cres, Sage Hill Crossing, Savor Meat Mart in Country Hills Landing, Hyderabad Halal Meats on Royal Vista Way and Indian Aroma on Ranchview Dr.

Where can I buy halal meat on 17 Ave SE?

Seven counters within a few blocks in Forest Lawn: Safari Meat Market, TAAJ Halal Meats, Mediterranean Halal Meats & Deli, Maher Halal Meat, Atlas Halal Meat, African Halal Meats and Green Cedars Food Mart.