Rafiqi’s Delicious Food

I’ve honestly never tried the food, but I stopped today to grab a canned iced tea, amazing customer he even told me God bless have a nice day, it seems here wether you spend $ 1.00 or $ 20.00 your treated good

Since there are a million halal stands I usually go for whichever one has the longest line, you have to figure if people are willing to wait it’s for a reason! Rafiqi’s did not disappoint delicious, cheap, street food. I usually go for a chicken and rice platter with extra white sauce and hot sauce which is what I had here, it was perfect for a quick lunch!

I had the taste for chicken over rice. After remembering that this cart was by 39^th and 3^rd, I walked over, in the rain. The salad was fresh, with corn and olives. The rice wasn’t overpowering and the chicken was great. It was also a very clean cart, which is super important! They also had additional sauces like a green sauce of cilantro and a red sauce. I had the green. I’ll be back.

Tasty, delicious, cheap, street food! Definitely better than most others around. Their meat quality, salad is quite different and flavorful. If your in an area where you spot this truck, check it out!

I want a lady on the street but Rafiqi’s in the bed.
What to get: Combo with all the sauces — no salad
What else: This place can be your Rafiq of the week.
I have tried four or five different Rafiqi’s locations and I’ve had similar experiences at all of them, with a couple of notable exceptions.
(a) One time the cart in Koreatown made me really sick.
(b) One time the cart at Union Square tasted absolutely awful.
Despite that, the Union Square location is my fave. But this review is about the one near Times Square which was the one I tried on one of my most recent trips, so let’s focus on that.
This particular Rafiqi’s is one of my favourite ones. Service is fast and usually pretty decent. It seems like a clean, well-​maintained cart. It’s right in the heart of Midtown and very popular. The nearby Halal Guys and Biryani Cart get more business (and rightly so, in the case of Biryani), but if you want to sample all the best of NYC street meat, you have to give one of the Rafiqi’s a try.
From this particular location I ordered the combo (which is gyro meat and chicken, with rice, covered in sauces). I learned my lesson at previous Rafiqi’s, and finally asked for no salad, and extra of all the sauces. The salad tends to go bad if you save some of the food for later, and besides, it’s next to all the piping hot stuff so it kind of gets weird quickly, and doesn’t microwave well at all. Not that I like to microwave stuff, but how else are you going to re-​heat a combo?
Service at this Rafiqi’s is fine. I think it’s pretty awesome that the guy has a huge Rafiqi’s empire and so many trucks all over Manhattan. I wonder when (if?) he’s going to expand into the other boroughs. I’m looking through my notes here and I have several other Rafiqi’s I’ve enjoyed in my recent trips to NYC (I like to try different locations so that I can decide which ones are better, if any). So you can look forward to those.
By the way if you’re willing to venture out of Manhattan, then you must go to Sammy’s Halal in Queens. But if not, then try Halal Guys (the famous one), Chicken Tikka at Biryani Cart (my fave by far in Womanhattan), and any of the Rafiqi’s too.
Cause tonight, baby… I wanna get Rafiqi’s with you!

So close to giving this place 5 stars as the food was absolutely phenomenal. I’ve seen this place every day I get out of work as I work right around union square, and I have to say the smell had been taunting me for two tantalizing weeks. Finally succumbing to my temptations I gave up and went in to order some lamb over rice, which was incredible. My mouth is salavating just thinking about it, and it’s fair amount of food for a very solid price. The only reason I’m not giving this place 5 stars is that, when asking for what I would like on my meal, I said olives, and they put everything but olives on, and they seemed to rushed to help me afterwards as there was a bit of a line. I’m sure this isn’t typical, so I’m looking forward to trying again!

Best halal plate to date! Got the combo plate, both chicken and lamb were relish, next time I’d get just lamb though because it was really good. Get all the sauces and it includes lots of veggies more then the standard stuff, and all were fresh. Would definitely go back!

This location is temporary closed since December. Closest location is 52^st and Park ave, or 40^th and Park Ave

Hands down the absolute worst lamb gyro that I’ve ever had. Very dry and way too salty. I’ve had their chicken in the past and it’s been wonderful. But stay away from the gyro!

I have eaten from many many many halal food trucks, stands, restaurants in New York City, being a New York City native. This food cart is my absolute favorite. I always get chicken over rice and the flavors are just extremely exotic. If i had to choose between «The Halal Guys» or Rafiqi’s, hands down, i’d pick Rafiqi;s. i’m not a huge fan of shredded boiled chicken over boiled rice with murderous hot sauce. lol (Sorry, The Halal Guys have absolutely no flavoring.)
He doesnt fill the container all the way to the top, but the food is worth it’s price. it’s very tasty, in my opinion.
If you’re a big hot sauce fan like i am, just know he isnt very giving when it comes to that matter haha.

I specifically looked for this Rafiqi’s cart because it’s pretty close to the Philippine Consulate (45^th) where I had to assist someone with business matters. Of course, as someone else has mentioned, the headaches from dealing with the consulates can get you a bit aggravated AND hungry.
If I only knew my way around Manhattan — or personally knew someone who does — I would have made the trip to visit the famous Halal Guys carts, but I don’t. Rafiqi’s will do.
Lamb Over Yellow Rice ($ 5.50): I’m a bit skeptical of the «lamb,» because for starters, the guy working this cart sliced meat from the vertical spit and then took a handful of slices of meat from a container near the window. Also, it did not taste like lamb at all. Maybe it’s because it was heavily seasoned with spice, but still, it didn’t even smell like lamb either. Nonetheless, it was still a tasty lunch after having a couple of slices of pizza a couple hours prior to my visit. There was plenty of meat and rice. It comes with yellow rice, a salad, white sauce, and red sauce.
The guy who works the cart is super friendly. He was nice enough to add extra white sauce (that’s what the locals ask for, right?). I know there are other Halal carts around but if you can’t find the time to check them out, this isn’t a bad option at all. Solid food for cheap.

Delicious halal cart and definitely my favorite cart in NYC! I tried the lamb over rice. I thought both the lamb and rice were really flavorful. I also like how their portions are good, but without being over-​flowing and excessive like some of the other halal carts. I like the white sauce here better as well. If you’re looking to try a halal cart in nyc, I highly recommend this one!

In my critical opinion this food cart had a more flavorful and savory halal chicken than the much heavily favored Halal Guys food cart. Super friendly worker who I didn’t catch his name. Definitely recommend the chicken over rice here and already watering in the mouth thinking about it. They should seriously consider air mailing this stuff.

The food was great and something different about it. Definitely less of a portion than in Queens so dont share

Tasty and clean Halal cart near work on the corner of 47^th and Madison.
It’s the original type of NY food truck — it’s not a coach, it’s not overly styled, and the prices are still spot on affordable.
I love the mixed lamb and chicken over rice with veggies and hot sauce. Mmmmm… olives…a solid A-​ok 3 stars!

I went a couple of blocks out of my way for the chicken over rice at this stand. Truthfully, the chicken taste like any other halal stands and the same goes for the rice etc. In fact, I was really disappointed because there’s a lot less chicken in the order than the halal stand I normally go. Most of the time, I can’t finish one order but I was able to finish it today. It’s either I eat a lot or they’re cutting down on the ingredients.
Definitely not worth going out of my way again. They even have the nerve to shake the tip jar in front of me after I paid expecting me to drop my change. Not happening.

The past two days have been full of hell. Dealing with the Nigerian Consulate has got to be one of the most draining and frustrating things I’ve had to do in a while.
I’d been walking or cabbing back and forth from my office since Monday and this was my 6^th time this week and I skipped breakfast and missed lunch by 3 hours. So on my way back, I decided to pick up something quick and Rafiqis was what caught my eye first.
The guy working the stand took my order and if I remember right, he took my order and somehow incorporated ‘sexy asian mama’ after every question he asked.
«Onions, sexy asian mama?»
«extra hot sauce yes no, asian mama?»
Regardless, Rafiqi’s has the best gyro in Mid-​town in my opinion. Come here for the lamb and extra side of sexy.

rafiqi’s is one of the best street meat places around, they have so many of them all over the place its like the McDonald of street vendors. Their Hot sauce is potent and their choices of rice varies between vendors. lines are always long but they move fast. Thanks a good thing right?
I do like the others ar 51 street but they are too far, my second choice is rafiqi’s hands down.

It smells so good… I was always tempted after I’m heading back to the office after a gym sesh at NYSC.
I ordered the chicken and falafel combo over rice and sat down at Bryant park to enjoy over lunch time. The chicken was tender but wished the falafel was a little bit warmer. I think the meal was actually A-​Ok but there was something about that white sauce that I wasn’t very keen on. It reminded me of Elmer’s Glue (and no I didn’t used to eat it as a kid!) — very white and pasty. Obviously unnatural which to be fair for the price you can’t expect fresh yogurt or tahini but I think that put me off. I think I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more if the sauce didn’t put me off so much.

Long live New York City street meat! Rafiqi’s is my trusty fallback for midtown lunch whenever I’m strapped for cash and forgot to bring in a meal to work.
It’s so cheap! For under 5 bucks, you can get a huge styrofoam container full of chicken or gyro over a bed of rice. They also have a rather large selection of toppings for a food cart including cheese, lettuce, tomato, peppers, onions (raw and/​or grilled), black olives, black beans, and corn. White sauce/​hot sauce? YES.
The few guys who work this cart are really friendly and generous with their meat and toppings. Whatever you want, you’ve got it. no skimping! Tasty.