The Halal Guys

I’m sad that I don’t see the hype here… I really wanted to!
Was super excited to try The Halal Guys — The time I walked by, the line was way out the door, so I figured it would be great. Decided to come back a different day. Waited about 15 minutes in line which is no biggie, but I just didn’t love the food!
Price is great — I got the large platter for about $ 8.29, and I like that they don’t charge you for both chicken and gyro and let you customize as you please.
Food just didn’t do it for me. Tasted very bland and tasteless. Yes, the hot sauce is SPICY and you just need a little bit. Without that I would have tasted just rice. Everything else was very unseasoned just blah.
Another reviewer mentioned Jones’ Fried Chicken — I think Jones is amazing. Flavorful, inexpensive, and quick.
Don’t think I’ll be back here. Too many great Middle Eastern restaurants in Houston to mess with not great food!

Okay, second time here. I waited for about half an hour. The wait is not an issue for me. The lamb gyro being changed to beef is not even an issue with me. The issue is the little food they give when you’re paying $ 8.29 for a regular combo platter. I suppose it is to have enough food for everyone since they are becoming a huge name here in Houston, but last night I basically got a salad with beef and chicken. Thank you for my salad with a side of rice, chicken and beef. Half my aluminum plate was just lettuce and I literally got about a fourth of rice. The portions are inconsistent. I ordered two regular combo platter and one came out significantly with more food than the other because the manager was there when they were making the second plate. I can’t even imagine how much food the small size comes with. People who say that a regular combo platter is enough for two meals, LIES!
Then there is just way too many people behind the counter assembly line for that little space they have. They are all in each other’s way, probably annoyed as hell with everyone cause of the stress and anxiety of such a huge crowd. There is no organization in their assembly line. They have no idea who’s dish belongs to whom, and when I placed my order of TWO regular combo platters I only came out with one. HOW?! So now not only do I look like the asshole for holding up the line when there is a line out the door waiting for food, I also am annoyed because now I am waiting longer for them to refill the water under the food trays and that took three people to do it when it shouldn’t take that many people.
The reason people come to Halal Guys is for the white sauce. People rave on and on about the white sauce. Gyro King and Jones Fried Chicken doesn’t have a sauce that can compare to the white sauce Halal Guys have. Their spicy sauce doesn’t even come close. You know why people are going to start going there? It’s because of the generous amount of food and the sauce they give you. I was standing there when the workers were putting on the sauce. The manager strictly said «three seconds only for sauce… one…two…three». Uhm, that three second sauce rule barely covered anything. And the red sauce? Again, two streaks of it across my plate. I like my dishes spicy, VERY spicy actually. If I’m not going to get enough sauce, I definitely won’t be paying $ 0.59 for a ketchup pack sized of extra sauce. What you can do to save time and make a more efficient line to go through is let the customer’s put the sauce on themselves cause the hold up seems to be a part of customers stopping the line to ask for the workers to put on more sauce. «More sauce… a little bit more… a tiny bit more». Yeah, that’s like an extra minute right there. The hype is done and over with.
P. S. Your chicken was dry and flavorless and your rice is dry and clumpy. It was better during soft opening.

Just like it is in NYC! We went during opening week so we expected a long wait — maybe after a month or so it’ll die down. But the food was definitely worth the wait! The regular bowl is $ 8.29 and the small bowl is $ 7.29. The regular is good for if you want leftovers or are really hungry, otherwise, I’d recommend the small bowl next time.
I love this place! And would highly recommend.

If you ever visited New Year City, you would know about The Halal Guys, a street food vendor who been serving halal food for a market that was untapped at the time. Now they are expanding their brand to other parts of the USA and they have a footprint here in Houston. The menu is simple, either the rice platter or sandwich, which simply a wrap. Then you choose your style with chicken, gyro, or falafel as your vegetarian option. Next you choose the type of sauce you want, the white sauce or the fiery hot red sauce. There’s a small selection of sides such as fries, hummus or tahini with pita, or buy extra sauces in packet form to drizzle all over your food. Lastly, there’s only one dessert, their baklava.
I went there during a preview opening where a few Unilocalers get a taste of their menu. I got the rice platter with combo meat and white sauce because I am scared of their red sauce and got a side order of fries. The price is a bit higher than the New York price based on my knowledge but not by much. But the food is just as good. The portion is great size and they are generous on the sauce. The place is cafeteria style or what people call it as fast casual these days as you move down the line telling the worker what you want on your food. There isn’t too much indoor seating but they do have a small inclosed patio and some outdoor seatings as well. As this was a preview opening, I can see the workers are still in need of some training, especially if there’s a rush of crowd coming to try their food.
Overall I had a great time trying their food and it’s great to see another option for inexpensive halal food that’s inside the loop.

Say hello to a new houston gem!!!
Place is so yummy! I’ve had this tons of times in Nyc! So happy this houston location opened! It’s like a piece of Nyc in Texas. Tons of parking and bathrooms
I would suggest the combo under $ 8 for the regular but the small is super filling. It’s everything on their menu!
I got a hummus to go as well which they added olive oil and paprika on the spot.
Come here for what I think is a healthier version of fast food as well as a middle eastern version of chipotle.
They accept credit card and have clean bathrooms

I had the pleasure to try this on its Grand Opening. I was not one of those people that arrived 4 hours prior to opening! Thankfully, the line moved quickly due to the speedy customer service and food prep. I was able to wait in line, order food, and bite into the combo platter within 45 minutes.
Menu is simple and quite easy to order. You can either pick a sandwich or platter then pick your choice of meat and sides (lettuce, tomato, etc.) and sauces. There are two different platter sizes (small and regular) but go with the latter. C’mon, you will have lunch the next day for work… maybe.
**You can add as much as white sauce inside the restaurant without charge before you pay! However, the cashier will charge you if you order white sauce on the side!
**As for the red, spicy sauce, I would recommend getting the packet to take home/​out to adjust the level for your own good. I ended up using ⁴⁄₅ of the packet before I started drinking some milk to balance out the spice. Please add amount slowly before squeezing an exorbitant amount.
Halal guys also has BBQ sauce, which I have not tried. Baklava was delicious and light but small for the price!
I prefer Jones Fried Chicken’s version but will give the Halal Guys in Houston another try. There is another called Gyro King, which is a food truck.
Maybe Halal Guys in Houston was really busy on grand opening and lost its quality. It was not «OH MY GOODNESS YOU PERFECT PIECE OF HEAVEN» good. Maybe I’ll try the main location in New York City and then see why everyone is making a big fuss about Halal Guys.

Have read so many great things and my cousin who resides in NYC loves their food! Visited this place a few days before their grand opening and the hardest part of my decision was how much white and red sauce to slather on top of my chicken and lamb rice combo! I even looked at its NY original location Unilocal reviews to help me decide.
THE RED SAUCE IS VERY SPICY! & I LOOOOOVE SPICY, but I became a baby while devouring my food.
I already want to return and eat some more!

Ok first of all I don’t know how the NYC Halal guys food is. This review is based only on my experience with gyro food in Houston. I went to the grand opening to witness the history! Really, the crowd was crazy. After 2 hour long wait, I ordered chicken platter with extra falafel. They put huge quantity of lettuce! Well, I was expecting more of rice, which didn’t happen. The were conservative with their sauces, I agree they should be with hot sauce (it’s super hot, believe me!). My platter was but of dry, more white sauce would have helped. Charging extra for the sauce is something which is not done at NYC, as per other reviewers. I agree with them, gyro is better served with ample amount of sauce, then just do that than charging extra for sauce. Rice was ok, I like the Gyro King rice more (and, they soak their chicken with white sauce). Chicken was good.
Given the huge crowd, the food might not have been as good as expectation they built with advertising. I would visit again on a normal day and will be back with my review.

Since today was the grand opening it took 2−3hrs to check out. It was like a better version of chipotle :) The spices if the meat was amazing and everything blended well with each other. I had the sandwich instead of the plate and it was smaller then I expected. I think if you want the most for your buck you should go for the platter.
It was a good gyro but there wasn’t as much meat as other places so I’m taking away one star for quantity. However, quality was pretty good :)

It’s finally here and it couldn’t be more glorious.
As a Houstonian whose lived in nyc and visits often, Halal guys is one of my go to staples. Late night, lunch or just whenever this place delivers and when I found out it was coming to Houston I knew this was going to be a game changer.
First of all when it comes to food this tastes just like I remember it and I believe it to be superior because of the more options you can get here. I’ve been here twice already and noticed you can customize by removing veggies, adding fries, extra meat and creating a smaller or larger portion plate. This variety itself distinguishes it from the original and allows you to eat here as hearty dinner or a light lunch if food coma is your concern.
The chicken and gyro are great and look fresh along with the salad. I really liked their fries and though I do like the rice I think I might substitute it for the greens from a health standpoint. Both times I had it it was great and consistent and with any food place consistency and quality are key. One issue though was there was no pepper and I like my fries peppered. I haven’t tried the falafel because it’s not my thing but the gyro and chicken are much better than all the impersonators in Houston.
As with any place of eating the ambience is important. This is where I have to give some great praise. Having the ability to eat inside or in an outdoor deck or in front of the store sure beats eating standing up in New York. The location is clean and top notch, not just from the cleanliness standpoint but they have a public restroom, all things that the original can’t provide. I love how this place is nice from the exterior to interior because I feel this shows Houstonians great fast food or hype foodie places don’t always have to be a hole in the wall. You can actually come for a date or casual lunch, something you can’t do with the other guys.
Overall, I highly recommend this to new comers and fans of the original to try it out. The extended hours are awesome and we in Houston deserve good quality food late at night which unfortunately we didn’t have until the halal guys came to town.

Very disappointed. No flavor in anything. Not enough sauce and sauce wasn’t even tasty. The only thing that has flavor was the beef but it was so finely cut.
Waited 2 hours in line and was not satisfied at all. Jones Fried Chicken on Fondren so much better, just saying.

We parked in the lot facing the patio of halel guys. Going south on Farnham if you take the driveway before the halel guys driveway you can either pull through or have more to turn around.
The combo platter was delicious. A tasty mixture of chicken and gyro meat on a bed of rice with a side of fresh fluffy pita bread and a small salad. At first I tried everything by itself and then mixed it all together once I knew where all the flavors were coming from. Save the pita bread for last so you can clean the bowl if you want. Get the regular size, it was a perfect amount to fill me up.
I forgot to try the falafel but others who had it said they would get it again.
You have to try the baklava, its fresh, light, crispy and drizzled in honey.
Next time I go back I might consider getting a car wash next door and walking over to get a bite.

I went last night for a soft opening and had an excellent experience. I’m assuming this place will have crazy lines after the official opening, so I’m glad I got to try it in a more relaxed setting.
If you’ve experienced the food truck in NYC then you know what a big deal it is for us Houstonians to finally get the real deal. The place is set up similar to a Chipotle– you walk down the line and pick your meal choices. There aren’t a ton of options, which is actually what makes Halal Guys so great. I went with the combo platter and it didn’t disappoint. Also, be careful with the red sauce. They’re not joking about it being outrageously spicy!
All the service was very attentive and the staff seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves. I’ll be interested to see how they handle the massive crowds after they open, but for now, it’s 5 stars all the way!

You know that feeling you get when you get first dibs at something that everybody wants? Like how much you wanted to be that guy who had a private screening of the Star Wars The Force Awakens (the screening part, obviously, and not the terminally ill part)? Like how people are whispering and talking about the coolest kid in school? Yeah, that’s kind of how I felt when I was invited to try out The Halal Guys prior to their grand opening to the public.
Unilocaler Stephanie L. who is personal friends with the owner had sent me a message asking me if I would like to join some other privileged Unilocalers to have first try of the food that they have to offer. And although this wasn’t officially a Unilocal event, a few elite and non-​elite Unilocalers attended the event. Now who says being a Unilocaler doesn’t have its perks?!
I arrived a few minutes prior to the event time (6:00 pm) and was greeted by a gentleman who handed me and my sister a VIP card good for one free entrée each. He also informed me that I didn’t have to wait until 6:00 pm to come around to order some food. I was hungry and I’d been looking forward for this event so he didn’t have to tell me twice.
The menu is simple. Sandwich (wrap) or platter. If you choose the plater, you can choose the small or regular size (always go with regular — you can thank me later), choose your protein (chicken, beef, or mixed), or if you’re a vegetarian, get the falafel, and then choose your sauces (white sauce, bbq sauce, hot sauce, or all the sauces). I personally went with the regular combo platter with extra protein and drenched with the white and bbq sauces. I didn’t feel like eating anything spicy for the day and let me tell you, the hot sauce was super spicy. I think not one person who sat close to me didn’t make a comment about how spicy the hot sauce was.
All the Unilocalers were seated outside. The weather was a little chilly and there were no patio heaters. We had made a suggestion to the owner to put some out there, but he informed us that the outdoor seating will actually have a climate control and it’s going to be enclosed so the heat and the cold will not be a problem in the future. Awesome!
As for the food, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I had heard about the Halal Guys. I’ve seen the pictures of people lining up in New York, I’ve heard people raving about it, I’ve seen the crazy number of people who RSVPd for their grand opening, but I didn’t know what to expect. But as soon as I had my first bite, all I can say is that they’re not kidding around. The chicken and beef mixed with the white and BBQ sauce over their rice and salad were all delicious. These guys are legit! And plus, when they say chicken over rice, they really mean chicken over rice, yo. When you open your platter, what you see is three pita bread, sauce, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, greens, and more meat! Definitely the place to go if you work out and need some protein for GAINZZZ!
Throughout our dining experience here, a bunch of the staff members came to check on us. They brought extra hot sauce, extra white sauce; we got to taste some baklava (delicious), and the owner also interacted with a few Unilocalers. I think all those trainings that these guys had in New York were paying off because these people were on top of their game!
My sister was stoked that she got to taste the Halal Guys before any of her friends because her friends had made plans to come out during the grand opening. So, just like me, she’s going to be that cool kid whom everybody wants to be.
I’m definitely coming back here. Maybe not immediately because I know that once this place opens up, the line is going to be crazy long. But I’m definitely coming back soon enough. Hopefully once they open up another location (which is also going to be inside the loop), the line is not going to be too crazy.
If you had made plans to try this place out, good for you. If you didn’t, I would recommend for you to do so. And when you do, please hold a spot for me in the line so I don’t have to wait.
Kthxbai

The Halal Guys (or «The Guys» for short) is a New York City concept that keeps the menu simple, the food prep standards exacting, and creates raving fans for the brand every time a virgin to The Guys gets a taste of that magical white sauce in, on, and around their mouth.
I could sort this review in one sentence because there is literally nothing that was not PERFECT about their customer service, food prep, food, atmosphere, or anything else involved in the equation. But I am not going to leave it at one sentence — Unilocal dot com pays me by the word. So here are some words, most of them not in the Cardassian mother tongue even.
The concept:
The Guys are most closely analogous locally to the Gyro King food truck, of which I had the ROTD for back in the kinder, gentler days of 12÷1÷14. So u know I am a fan of the King, but it is exciting to have The Guys bring their thing down here and elevate the Houston food scene with their presence. The Guys gracing our town with their presence is a feather in our cap and will help put us on the map.
The people:
The man at the helm in Houston for The Guys, extensively vetted by the brand over a nearly two year period, is Masroor Fatany. His team spent a month up in the big apple learning how to git ‘er done in the kitchen precisely. And git it done they do — both in the food prep sense to bring out delicious food, and also on the customer service angle. These were literally the nicest staff I have ever met. They made me feel like a million bucks with how kind, thoughtful, and receptive they were making sure we had everything we needed, we knew what to expect and why on a tiny short wait, and they apologized profusely for a tiny short wait. Every staff member was nothing short of wonderful; and Masroor spent his time talking to us as well, answering questions, and being a fantastic brand ambassador. You have to respect a local business owner who is super polite and even rolls up his sleeves to put in work alongside his staff — he personally brought me and Cherry our sodas. Now that is what I call amazing satisfying service for #CherryDaniel!
The munchies:
Your meat or meat-​like options are chicken, gyro, or falafel. If you order «the classic» (or «combo» as it is identified on the menu) option then you get a mix of chicken & gyro. Most sensible people follow the common wisdom to go for «the classic» because why not — they both are so good you don’t want to have a true Sophie’s Choice on your hands.
Your portion and portion-​like options are platter (Rice, Pita, Lettuce & Tomatoes), sandwich (Pita, Lettuce & Tomatoes), sides (Fries; Hummus or Tahini w/​Pita; Extra Sauce), and dessert (Baklava.) Get the baklava at all costs. If you need a quick pep talk to feel okay ordering dessert: You is kind. You is smart. You is important.
The white sauce is mayo-​based and Shania Goddamn Twain approved, according to Brad Stand of The Huckabees Corporation. The white sauce is just delightful.
The red sauce is «spicy» according to white people who think water and toothpaste are spicy. It is not spicy. It is very pleasant and adds a smooth profile to each forkful as an abstraction from the white sauce to create something fantastic with sauce synergy. But it is not spicy unless you think water is spicy, Susan.
The spot:
The Guys is in a brick and mortar space if you are headed south on Shepherd from River Oaks passing the Richmond intersection, the Whataburger, and it’s just past the 59 diner sharing the parking lot and next to the car wash immediately next door. It’s in a neat area for delightful casual eating with Freebirds, Maine-​ly, Bollo, and JCI all within spitting distance in addition to 59 and Whataburger. But The Guys are definitely now the crown jewel in the neighborhood of dining, replacing the cherished uberrito on W. Alabama recently lost.
The conclusion:
All hail the Halal Guys finally unlocking the Houston market. Their official grand opening is on the 30^th at this location — 1,800+ RSVPs for a restaurant space intended for approximately 18 sounds like a clown car situation or one of those German films I have seen online where the plumber seems to get easily distracted from the emergency plumbing situation he was called to handle. I did not want to get involved with that but I did desperately want their food. So fortune smiled on me that an amazing friend and outstanding Unilocaler Shawn S. helped me get on the guest list for a private event that was being curated by Stephanie L. (no relation) just prior to the grand opening.
This was not an official Unilocal event; and there are already ten reviews up based just on uberEats experiences alone so I don’t think this review does anything more than say: The Guys have finally arrived. And we welcome our new M.E./Mediterranean food purveying overlords to town.
Drop whatever you are doing — it’s The Halal Guys O’Clock and you have been dangerously neglecting your white sauce daily allowance. Accio white sauce!

Tried Halal Guys via the Über Eats promo this past week — got 2 orders of chicken and lamb over rice for only $ 10! What a steal. Delivery was prompt (to the med center) and even though I didn’t actually get to eat my delicious NYC style street food til the next day, it was just as tasty as I had remembered! The fluorescent orange rice, chopped meats, and pita re-​heated tasted just perfect after I threw on the separately packaged iceberg lettuce and chopped tomatoes. The spices on the meat were excellent and the chunks were tender and not tough at all.
BUT, and this is why I took away 1 star, Halal Guys had RUN OUT OF WHITE SAUCE. The white sauce is the essence of Halal Guys so I was pretty sad. I set out using the internet’s knowledge to recreate the white sauce at home using various ratios of mayo (real mayo, hellman’s, and kewpie), lemon juice, spices (turmeric, cardamom, and black pepper)…needless to say, I don’t think I came even decently close to the real thing but it still tasted pretty darn amazing and I learned that the white sauce is basically mayonnaise dressing (as are all other secret or special sauces in the food industry…) so how could I go wrong? Anyway, if this happens to anyone else, I liked a half real mayo half kewpie mayo + some lemon juice and spices to taste combo the best!

I absolutely love Halal Guys in NYC and it’s one of my first food stops when I’m in the city. So of course I was excited when I heard they’re opening a store in Houston! They haven’t officially opened yet, but they had a promo this week with ubereats, and I got my fix a little early (even though it took me about 20 requests to get through).
I got the chicken and lamb over rice! Granted it’s not exactly the same as NYC’s it was still delicious! The food arrived in 2 separate bags, the meat&rice in one and the sauces, lettuce/​tomatoes in another. I appreciated this so the veggies wouldn’t be warm and soggy. The chicken was a little dry in my opinion, but I’m not sure if it’s because it was delivered by über. They gyro meat was flavorful and not as dry as the chicken. The flavor of the everything is very comparable to the one in NYC, and tastes less… greasy? After pouring white sauce and a few drops of red sauce and mixing it all up, I was very satisfied! (Be careful with the red sauce… it’s probably one of the spiciest hot sauces I have had and I learned that the hard way my first time at Halal Guys).
I’m so glad Halal Guys has finally made it’s way to Texas! I look forward to eating it again next weekend and many times after.

I was skeptical to try halal guys via über eats for a few reasons.
1: the demand has been so high. I drove to greenway earlier in the week to try ordering from the über eats pop up menu, and failed miserably.
2: the original 53^rd and 6^th is so freaking delicious that I was afraid this wouldn’t live up to the expectations.
3: they’ve been advertising the «grand opening» for months! This was the most hyped up spot in Houston in a while.
Butttttt it’s delicious! I was not disappointed. It arrived hot and the salad was in a separate container, which was an excellent move, to keep it from wilting. The red and white sauce packets made it easy to control the heat, which for first timers is very important before the red sauce is FIRE.
Looking forward to visiting the store when you officially open next week.

The Halal Guys in Houston have perfected the authentic taste that you crave for when you visit NY.
There’s a reason why the original Halal Guys have over 7000 reviews and this place is no different. I got the Gyro & Chicken combo over rice from UberEats. That white sauce is basically like trying crack for the first time, but gets better with every bite. But that red sauce… is so delicious and spicy that I would punt kick a puppy for it. I finally don’t have to eat Jones ever again.
In a few months, this restaurant will be all over Thrillist, HoustonEater, CultureMap, etc. I swear this shit is so good I think even Donald Trump would endorse it.

decided to surprise the hubs by ordering halal guys [basically our favorite food ever] to the med center via ubereats pop-​up today. it was available only today, between 11am-​2pm– i ordered around 11 and the driver was there within 6 minutes! for a serious chicken & rice addict like me, this is absolutely life-​changing. now i just need to quit med school and officially move to h-​town.
total was $ 8.97 so 1.5x more than the 53^rd & 6^th location in manhattan but that amount of change beats a plane ticket any day, so not complaining whatsoever!
cannot wait till grand opening on january 30^th! [: hopefully the lines don’t stay crazy for too long.
#whitesauceiscrack