The Halal Guys

My first time at a brick-and-mortar Halal Guys restaurant. I’ve visited the food truck in New York before, and yes, it is definitely pretty good. That said, it’s not like *mind-bogglingly epic* or anything. Don’t get me wrong, I love their story and the hustle—they’ve definitely put in the work and really built a miniature empire at this point. This new store on 5th Avenue in Hillcrest is nice, super clean, spacious, and has a cool wall mural inside. It’s only been open a couple of months, and I stopped by two days ago to try it out. The girl with the bleached short hair was very friendly and informative—great customer service. I ordered a pita sandwich with spicy chicken BBQ, and got everything on it. I had the dairy-free mayo and the super hot sauce as toppings, too. It was tasty, and that hot sauce packs a serious punch, but it strikes me as mainly drunk street food more than anything. I mean, it’s good, but it’s not great. It’s in the right location to capture a lot of the partying crowd in Hillcrest on the weekends, though. The flavors are there, and it’s filling and tastes fresh, but ultimately it tastes mostly like halal street food. Maybe it’s the scaling that’s cutting into quality slightly, I don’t know. I’d say it’s worth trying out forsure, and definitely worth hitting up after a handful of drinks, but beyond that, I wouldn’t go too far out of my way for it.

I was really excited to see Halal Guys open in San Diego, but this turned out to be the worst one I’ve ever been to. I went on Sunday around 7pm and the place was almost empty, which should’ve been a warning sign. We ordered regular chicken platters and it was awful. Both the rice and the chicken were so dry and chicken had a weird fishy smell and taste. It was honestly disgusting. Nothing like what I’ve had at other Halal Guys locations. Total disappointment The person who took our order wasn’t friendly at all, it does not take much to be nice or smile, specially when the place is empty and no work pressure. When she placed napkins in the bag, the napkin clearly was dirty “sauce from their gloves” but both of us saw it and she did not care to remove it and place a clean one but just counted two of them and placed them in the bag the whole experience was just bad from start to finish. I’d rate this place a zero if I could. We definitely won’t be coming back.

Finally!!!! The legendary food truck from New York City has finally opened location in San Diego and it was worth it. I’ve had Halal Guys for years and this location doesn’t miss you. I would do half and half on the chicken and steak. Always get the white sauce (vegan) and add some bbq sauce on top, so good! Enjoy!

Great opening night! Lots of people in line but not too long. Lots of people ordering for their big groups too. Also Lots of online orders. Not too bad of a wait at all! Excited to have Halal guys in SD! Got the beef/chicken and it slaps!!!

Fantastic grand opening day. The food is amazing as expected. They have a new flavor called spicy bbq chicken which is really nice and saucy. We had the sandwich, a platter, and the baklava cheesecake. The meat was so tender and juicy. The white and red sauce combined with the perfectly cooked rice was delicious. Finishing with the baklava cheesecake - absolutely incredible combo. It’s kind of like a coconut/pistachio/carrot cake almost. Super nice and perfectly sweetened. Not overly sweet like some cheese cakes. We were completely stuffed but it was worth it. Lived up to the hype.

I’m so happy to have The Halal Guys finally in San Diego. Please open more locations here. Super friendly, clean, and welcoming! Food was delicious and the side of chicken wings soooo good. Thank you to the owner and to Carolina for being so kind and helpful!

Cute place. Staff was very friendly and attentive. Amanda made my bowl & checked me out. She was very cheery and had excellent customer service

had a really disappointing experience at this location. When I arrived, there were three employees just chatting at the counter. As soon as I walked up, they stared at me like I was interrupting their conversation instead of being a paying customer. I had called in my order 5–10 minutes earlier, but one of the girls only started preparing it after I arrived. The place wasn’t even busy, just one table occupied,so there really was no reason for the delay. On top of that, the attitude was unprofessional. When I asked for white sauce and BBQ sauce, the employee threw in a sarcastic “please,” as if I had to say it to get my order. When I questioned her, she just diverted the conversation. At checkout, after handing me the receipt, she said “you’re welcome” in a passive-aggressive tone, even though I hadn’t said thank you yet. When I turned back to clarify, she repeated herself in the same dismissive way. Overall, the staff made me feel like I was inconveniencing them instead of being welcomed. This isn’t the kind of service I expect, especially from a place like Halal Guys. Definitely not coming back to this location.