Hongdae halal restaurant: yellow basmati rice platters, Halal Steaks

One-line summary of the day: the meat photo on the sign lured me up to the 2nd floor, but the rice was the real deal 👇

I came to tear up the Hongdae alleys, saw the Halal Steaks sign, and my feet just stopped. There's a photo of a platter piled high with meat, and who could see that and not go in, lol. My friend Ppori and I went "this is the place!" and headed straight in.

Where is Halal Steaks in Hongdae and how do you get there?

Halal Steaks is about a 6-minute walk, roughly 500 m, from Exit 9 of Hongik Univ. Station. Come out of Exit 9 and keep going straight until you reach the Hongik Univ. Station intersection with the Apple Store. Cross the light, keep going straight, and turn left at Baekyeon Tojong Samgyetang (a ginseng chicken soup restaurant). It's on the 2nd floor of the building across from A-Land. About 763 steps, according to the owner, haha.

• Address: 26 Yanghwa-ro 16-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul (2nd floor)
• Hours: daily 11:00 - 22:00

What is the atmosphere like at Halal Steaks?

It's on the 2nd floor, but you really can't miss it, lol. There's a Halal Steaks sticker on every single stair and posters packed all over the wall. Just climbing the stairs gets you hyped, you know?

At the top of the stairs you get this door. A cute character greets you with a peace sign ✌️

The kitchen and counter are on one side, and the vibe is a bit unexpected. It's not what you usually picture when you hear "halal." If I had to describe it, it feels like a halal food shop in New York. Casual, street mood.

The walls are covered in food posters, and that's the trap. You keep staring at them while you wait, and the more you look, the hungrier you get, lol.

Halal Steaks review event: free mini fries

Every seat has a review event sticker. Write a Naver or Google review and show it, and they give you a mini fries. It's right where you look when you sit down, so you won't miss it.

Halal Steaks menu, prices and kiosk ordering

There's a menu board outside the shop, so we decided everything before going in. Being able to check it from outside is surprisingly handy.

You order at the big kiosk by the entrance and pick up your food at the counter when it's ready. No need to flag down staff, so ordering alone is easy. Here's what we got.

• 🔥 Combo platter (chicken + beef) S ₩12,900
• 🐑 Gyro platter (beef + lamb) S ₩12,900
• 💰 Total ₩25,800

What comes in a Halal Steaks platter?

A Halal Steaks platter consists of rice + meat + lettuce + onion + tomato + white sauce + sriracha + pita bread.

• Gyro — meat stacked and grilled on a vertical rotating spit, then sliced thin. At Halal Steaks it's a beef + lamb mix.
• Pita bread — not a side you order separately; it comes stuck into the platter as a triangle. How to use it is in the tip below.
• White sauce / sriracha — the white one is a tangy, creamy yogurt-style sauce, the red one is spicy sriracha. This is the Halal Steaks signature combo.

Is the meat at Halal Steaks halal certified?

On the wall by the counter hangs a halal certificate for the Australian beef raw material. I almost walked right past it while picking up my food, but looking closely, it's pretty interesting.

It's a halal certificate issued by AHDAA (Australian Halal Development and Accreditation) for the JBS Australia slaughter and processing plant in Scone, New South Wales, Australia. It certifies that the beef was handled to halal standards from slaughter through cutting and packing, and it's valid until December 2026.

This is the raw-material certificate for the Australian beef used at Halal Steaks. It's a document proving "this meat was slaughtered the halal way." It's separate from a Korean halal certification of the restaurant's operations itself (such as KMF).

Still, I liked that they hang it on the wall on purpose. They're not hiding where the meat comes from. If you're a Muslim guest, check this yourself and decide.

How do the Halal Steaks platters taste?

The platters came on a yellow table, on a red tray, in two stainless steel bowls. That color combo is already New York, lol. White sauce piped in a tight zigzag, with a line of sriracha slashed across it. Lettuce and tomato poke out around the edges, and a triangle of pita is stuck in the middle. The cutlery is one spork (spoon and fork in one) for everything.

Under the sauce there's yellow rice and onion, so from above you can't tell what's what at all. So mix it all up first. That's where it starts.

Gyro platter: the pick for lamb lovers

The gyro platter is what Ppori picked. Ppori loves lamb but couldn't give up beef either, so chose this, lol. I got a bite, and the lamb's distinctive flavor stays alive. It doesn't stick out, though, and sits in harmony with the beef. If you like lamb, this is the one.

Combo platter: sriracha balances the flavors

The combo platter is what I ordered. I wanted chicken but also beef, so I chose it. The sriracha on top was a bit spicy for me, enough to make me go "oof" on the first bite. But funny thing, as I kept eating, I realized the balance needs it. The heat cuts right through the creaminess of the white sauce and the richness of the meat. Without it, I think I'd have gotten sick of it.

What is the yellow rice at Halal Steaks?

The yellow rice in the Halal Steaks platter is what I really want to talk about today. Look at this rice. It's totally different from the rice we know. Super long, thin, and bright yellow. The grains don't clump and stay separate, and when you chew, a faint spice aroma rises up.

A spoonful with yellow rice + shredded meat + white sauce + sriracha all at once, this combo is the answer.

This rice is in the basmati family. It's a long-grain rice used in India and the Middle East, with long grains and almost no stickiness, so it's fluffy. The yellow color comes from spices like turmeric. Its job is to soak up the sauce, so it's practically the star of the platter.

Halal Steaks platter tip: pita bread and onion

Don't just leave that triangle of pita stuck in your Halal Steaks platter. Wrap rice, meat and sauce in it and it becomes a totally different dish. It tastes just like a taco. When you're about halfway through and starting to tire of it, switch to this and you won't get sick of it to the end. It's like eating two dishes in one bowl.

And the onion — buried in sauce it seems to have no presence, but mix it in and it handles the crunch and the sharp bite. It keeps cutting in between the creamy white sauce and the meat's richness. Without it, it'd be much blander.

Who is Halal Steaks best for?

• Anyone who wants to try something new in Hongdae
• People who like the flavor of lamb (→ gyro platter)
• Greedy people who want to taste a bit of everything (→ combo platter)
• Solo diners (kiosk ordering + pickup means zero pressure)

Good to know before you go

• The sriracha is spicier than you'd expect. If you're weak with spice, ask them to adjust the sauce.
• Size S is a light meal. If you want to be properly full, size up.
• The sriracha is spicier than expected, so adjust accordingly.

I got lured in by one sign and walked into Halal Steaks, and walked out talking only about the rice. If you've been curious about halal food in Hongdae, give Halal Steaks a try. I approve ✅