El Halal Amigos features some of the most popular dishes in authentic Mexican cuisine that are 100% halal. El Halal Amigos offers traditional Mexican food like tacos, burritos including brisket barbacoa, chicken a pastor, and carne asada with gluten-free tortillas.
Hisham Abdelfattah, the founder of El Halal Amigos, has Filipino and Palestinian heritage and is a South bay native. Abdelfattah's love and passion for cooking began at an early age when he was helping his mom at home. He started his first job at the young age of 15, where he occupied different roles within the restaurant industry. He attended the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and was busy managing restaurants like Tacolicious, Main Street Burgers, and The Cheesecake Factory by the age of 20.
Visits to Mexico added to his fascination with Mexican cuisine, and he was able to identify the Islamic/Arabic influences in this cuisine. The Moors from Muslim Spain brought spices to Mexico, and the Lebanese immigrants brought Shawarma.
In 2020, Abdelfattah bought a food truck and made his dream of El Halal Amigos a reality, bringing together his appreciation of Mexican traditions and his faith as a practicing Muslim. Abdelfattah is dedicated to preserving El Halal Amigos as authentic as possible, securing flavor from the farmlands of Zitacuaro, Michoacan, to street-style cooking techniques in Mexico City.
When Abdelfattah and his friends started the El Halal Amigos food truck, the world was struggling with the pandemic. Nevertheless, every month he donated a portion of his earnings to charity by collaborating with Islamic Relief USA. Two years later, they became a local favorite, and they recently opened their first brick-and-mortar restaurant in San Jose, California.