Tawakal Halal
African restaurant · Area 2/MIT
84 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Highlights
Somali comfort food: chapati wraps, biryanis, sambusas, spiced tea
Somali comfort food: chapati wraps, biryanis, sambusas, spiced tea
"Tawakal Cafe is our favorite place to eat in East Boston, and it’s located so close to Logan that it may also qualify as our favorite airport restaurant. The biryanis and soups are flavored with East African spices, and they’re all very good. But any meal here should include beef sambusas, the beef hilib chapati wrap, and large spoonfuls of the spectacular homemade hot sauce. Do yourself a favor before your next flight - skip the terminal’s $8 chocolate-covered pretzels, and go to Tawakal instead." - joel ang
"I learned that Tawakal Halal Cafe in East Boston—whose chef and owner Yahya Noor was a 2023 James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef: Northeast—announced it will close on Friday, January 5 after five years in its current location. The restaurant began in 2018 to share its mothers’ cooking and the flavors of Somali heritage, and the team says they hope to relocate; meanwhile they’ll continue selling their sought-after sambusas and flaky chapati with hummus during weekday lunch hours at a satellite location in MIT’s student center, and will host a farewell gathering at 11 a.m. on Saturday, January 6 to celebrate the ties and stories formed over the years." - Erika Adams
"Beloved East Boston Somali spot Tawakal Halal Cafe — one of Boston’s essential restaurants — has debuted a satellite location inside MIT’s Stratton Student Center at 84 Massachusetts Avenue; I note they’ll be running an abbreviated menu at the MIT outpost, and the East Boston shop is temporarily closed until Friday while they get going at the new spot." - Erika Adams
"A go-to restaurant for Joel Ang, reviewed in January and frequented many nights." - Rachel Leah Blumenthal
"East Boston restaurant Tawakal — a popular Somali restaurant that opened in late 2018 seven years after founder Yahya Noor closed the original location elsewhere in East Boston — is currently delivering dinner. (Lunch hours have been suspended for Ramadan.) In addition to serving dishes from his native Somalia, Noor incorporates influences from other East African and Middle Eastern cuisines as well. Be sure to order a bottle or two of the house-made hot sauce. Order: (617) 418-5890 / Uber Eats" - Rachel Leah Blumenthal
