Pak Butchers

With three outlets in Bristol, and a further two in Cardiff, Pak Butchers claims to be the main suppliers of halal meat in the South West. For those of you who are not yet acquainted with the term, halal meat is flesh obtained from
non-​stunned animals that are slaughtered in accordance with Islamic Sharia Law. This essentially means that the beasts in question have not been strangled or beaten to death. Instead, death is usually induced by an incision to the throat, and more specifically, by the people that the animals are intended for. Other criteria applies, but is less relevant in the UK; for example, it is strictly forbidden to eat animals that have fallen headlong to their death or carrion of any kind — I guess road-​kill is out then (seeing as it breeches most of the Laws!) Sharia Law also states that pork must not be consumed, so you won’t find any streaky bacon or gammon steaks at Pak Butchers either.
What you will find is a friendly staff manning large clean counters with a selection of fresh and frozen meats and fish. Prices are reasonable, and the product range is impressive. I usually call into the outlet on St Marks Road when I go to do a shop at the Sweet Mart. I only ever buy one cut of meat, and always buy fresh. But despite being such a large concern no-​one seems to mind that my orders are so small.

Serving the Islamic communities of Cardiff and Bristol Pak Butchers are now front runners in Halal and hand slaughtered meat and poultry. They offer a massive range of meat that is for both wholesale and retail. I’m not a huge meat eater so shops absolutely ram packed with the stuff aren’t really my cup of tea, but you can swipe up some pretty unique numbers such as King Fish and whole mutton.
It does seem to be a shop geared mainly at the many
restaurants on St Marks rd that offer Halal meat, so it’s little wonder they are so keen on hygiene. With more food storage and health and safety certificates than you can shake a stick at, when I do need to buy meat this is definitely a safe bet.

There is a great wealth of Halal food places in Eastern which is fantastic.
A friend of mine who’s just moved to Bristol used to speak about his difficulty in finding Halal meat, or a variety of sources, but after a my discovery in Eastern he has been very pleased.
He cooked me a meal with meat from Pak Butchers (I should know where it came from — had to give him a hand with all his bags of shopping when he went there!), and I though it was pretty good, weather or not it was everything he cooked it with, or if it was down to the meat is something i’ll never know. I did think at the time that he was paying a little too much, but I gues you pay for the quality of the meat.
Also a sub note… anyone fancy giving me a hand next time I have to carry my friends shopping? … I nearly put my back out!