Eating halal in southern Europe is easier than many people think. Every big city has halal restaurants, and the Mediterranean kitchen is full of fish, seafood, vegetables and rice. With a few simple habits you can enjoy the local food with peace of mind.
Where to find halal restaurants
- Madrid: around the M-30 mosque, Lavapiés, and Moroccan restaurants in the centre.
- Barcelona: El Raval, and certified halal roast lamb at Asador de Aranda.
- Marbella: the old town and Puerto Banús, where Gulf visitors have eaten for decades.
- Lisbon: Martim Moniz and Mouraria, with Indian, Pakistani and Mozambican cooking.
- Rome: around Termini station and the Esquilino district.
- Milan: Porta Venezia and Via Padova.
Each of our city guides lists restaurants that serve halal meat, with a note on how sure the information is.
Local dishes that are usually safe
- Spain: seafood paella, grilled fish (pescado a la plancha), prawns with garlic, Spanish omelette (tortilla), churros with chocolate.
- Portugal: grilled sea bass or sardines, cod dishes (bacalhau), and the famous custard tarts (pastéis de nata).
- Italy: pizza margherita, pasta with tomato, seafood pasta, vegetable risotto, and of course gelato.
Watch out for: ham and sausages are everywhere in Spain and Italy (jamón, chorizo, prosciutto, pancetta, guanciale). Many sauces and risottos are cooked with wine (vino), and some cheeses use animal rennet. Ask, and you will almost always find an easy alternative.
Useful words
- Pork: cerdo (Spanish), porco (Portuguese), maiale (Italian).
- Without alcohol / wine: sin alcohol / sin vino, sem álcool / sem vinho, senza alcol / senza vino.
- Fish: pescado, peixe, pesce.
Ask your hotel
Large hotels in Marbella, Milan, Rome and Lake Como are used to Gulf guests. With a few days’ notice, many can prepare halal meat dishes or order from a halal butcher. When you book with us, we send this request for you.
And for long stays, an apartment or villa with a kitchen lets you cook with meat from the local halal butcher – easy to find in every city we cover.
