10 Best Halal Restaurants in Canberra (2026 Updated)
Looking for the Best Halal Restaurant in Canberra? This guide is for you
Halal food no longer means circling the same handful Turkish Kebab joints in Dickson and ordering the Chicken Kebab or the Snack Pack. That is no longer the case anymore in the Canberra. ACT's halal dining scene has expanded quietly but very significantly over the past few years. There are a good varities of restaurants and joints that have popped up over the few places from North to South.
This guide covers the top 10 best halal food restaurant cand cafe across ACT. The halal cusiine will serve all your cravings whether you are looking for a sit-down family dinner or a fast food. In this topic we have covered the cusine type, halal certification status, price range and so on.
1. Zaiqah (Dickson): Pakistani Cuisine Done Right
Zaiqah leads number one in the list for the best halal restaurant in the capital. Zaiqah - which opened in inner- north Canberra in late 2025 is not one of the casual indian pop up joint where the authenticity is barely recognizable. Their menu reads like a proper home cooking repertoire from Lahore or Peshawar. You will get to taste the aunthentic Pakistani CHapli kebab with Karahi that carries the right amount of spices with Gajar ka Halwa as a desert which is slow cooked to the perfection.
The dining room is well maintained with clean tables and good lighting and you'd be served like a highness of the empire of Pakistan. The customer service of the restaurant is extremely exceptional. This is exactly the kind of place where you'd bring your parents, or a group of mates who want something different from their usual rotation.
2. Makanan Dumpling House : Malaysian Dumplings and Laksa (Acton)
Makanan sits near the ANU campus in Acton and operates accordingly: efficient, affordable, consistently good, and always busy at lunch. The name means "food" in Malay, and the menu doesn't overcomplicate things: dumplings, noodles, and a laksa that's earned its reputation. The laksa is the reason regulars come back. It's the OG laksa coconut broth with the right balance of spice and creaminess, generous with the protein, served at a speed that makes it workable as a lunch stop. The dumplings are made in-house and have that hand-made variation in thickness that signals they're doing it properly.
Portions are large for the price, which makes this one of the better-value halal options near the city center.
Halal status: Muslim-owned, halal-sourced.
Open: Mon–Sun, 11am–9:30pm
Best dishes: OG Laksa, Pan-fried Dumplings, Noodle soups
Good for: Students, quick lunch, families
Parking: ANU campus parking or walk from City bus interchange 35 Childers Street, Acton | makanandoumplinghouse.lifeintouch.net
3. Moowing Steak: Halal Steak from a Braddon Food Truck
This one surprises people. Premium halal steak from a food truck in Braddon—it sounds like a contradiction, and yet Moowing Steak has turned it into a consistent operation with a following that's largely word-of-mouth. The concept is simple: quality cuts, cooked properly, served without ceremony at outdoor tables along Elouera Street. For a city where halal steak options have historically been limited to a handful of sit-down restaurants, this fills a genuine gap. It's particularly good for a quick post-work dinner or a satisfying lunch when you're craving a quality steak without the wait or the formal restaurant setting. The food truck format keeps overhead low, which feeds through into pricing. You're getting significantly better value here than you would at a sit-down steakhouse for a comparable product.
Halal status: Halal-certified meat.
Open: Check google maps for current trading days/hours
Best dishes: Sirloin, Eye Fillet, Loaded Fries
Good for: Casual dining, quick lunch, date night without the formality
Parking: Street parking on Elouera Street, Braddon 26 Elouera Street, Braddon | moowingsteakbraddon.com.au
4. Bubba's BBQ: Canberra's Halal Late-Night BBQ Truck (Mitchell)
Every city needs a good late-night halal option. Canberra has Bubba's BBQ.Launched by two mates who wanted to do proper charcoal street food, this food truck in Mitchell is open Thursday through Sunday from 4pm to 1am; making it the only serious late-night halal option in the capital. The Nashville-style fries are the headline act: thick-cut, well-seasoned, tossed in a spiced butter sauce. The chicken burger is properly constructed — not a sad frozen puck — and the skewers have the char marks that tell you the grill is running hot. The vibe is deliberately casual and social. This is street food done honestly, not fine dining wearing a streetwear outfit.Halal status: Muslim-owned, halal-certified.
Open: Thu–Sun, 4pm–1am
Best dishes: Nashville Fries, Chicken Burger, Skewers, BBQ Snack Packs
Good for: Late-night eating, groups, post-event food runs
Parking: Mitchell industrial area has plenty of street parking
2 Callan Street, Mitchell | @bubbasbbqcbr
5. Star Kebab House : Reliable Turkish Takeaway in Gungahlin
Gungahlin is Canberra's fastest-growing district, and Star Kebab House has been feeding its northern suburbs for years. This is your reliable, no-surprises Turkish kebab and pide shop. This is exactly the kind of place you want to know about when you're living in the suburbs and don't want to drive to Dickson for dinner. The snack packs are enormous. The mixed veggie pide - soft dough, properly filled with capsicum, mushroom, zucchini, eggplant, tomato, and cheese is the vegetarian standout and genuinely filling. Grilled meat options are well-seasoned, and the salad bar freshness is maintained throughout the day. Open seven days, 10am to 9pm, which makes it one of the more convenient options in the north. Halal status: Halal-certified.
Open: Mon–Sun, 10am–9pm
Best dishes: Mixed Kebab Plate, Veggie Pide, Chicken Snack Pack
Good for: Families, quick takeaway, northern Canberra residents
Parking: Gungahlin Town Centre carpark
📍 9/33 Hibberson Street, Gungahlin
6. Saffron Room : Persian Cuisine Worth the Drive to Gungahlin
Persian food remains one of the most underappreciated cuisines in Australia, and Saffron Room is doing its part to change that from a quiet corner of Gungahlin. The menu centers on kabab—both the minced lamb/veal Persian kabab (known as Koobideh) served with saffron-drenched rice and grilled tomatoes and the Torshi Kebab: lamb chops marinated in pomegranate molasses and walnut, served with saffron rice. That marinade is the thing — the pomegranate's tartness cuts through the fat in the lamb beautifully, and the walnut adds a nuttiness that rounds the whole dish out. The dining room is warm and comfortable without being overdressed. It's the kind of place that works equally well for a date night and a family dinner.
Halal status: Muslim-owned, halal-sourced.
Open: Check saffronroom.com.au for current hours
Best dishes: Koobideh Kabab, Torshi Kebab, Saffron Rice, Joojeh (Chicken Kabab)
Good for: Date nights, family dinners, Persian cuisine discovery
Parking: Gungahlin Town Centre carpark
📍 57A Nellie Hamilton Avenue, Gungahlin | saffronroom.com.au
7. Adore Tea : Halal Café with High Tea in Philip
Adore Tea occupies a specific niche: it's a halal-friendly café that does high tea properly. Operating from Philip in Canberra's south, it offers a three-course high tea alongside a full café menu of waffles, scones, pastries, burgers, toasties and pastas.For Canberra's halal-conscious community, finding a high tea option that doesn't require navigating around non-halal items has historically been difficult. Adore Tea fills that gap. The presentation is considered, the scones are reliably good, and the café draws from Sydney's Adore Tea brand's broader expertise in tea curation.
Halal status: Halal-sourced, Muslim-friendly menu.
Open: Check directly for high tea booking requirements
Best dishes: High Tea Set, Waffles, Scones with Jam and Cream
Good for: High tea occasions, brunch groups, celebrations
Philip, ACT | adoretea.com.au
8. Little Lanka : Authentic Sri Lankan Cuisine in Franklin
Sri Lankan food is one of those cuisines that surprises people the first time they encounter it. It shares the spice palette of South Indian cooking but diverges sharply in technique and flavor. Coconut is used more boldly, curry leaves and pandan are foundational rather than optional, and the street food tradition is entirely its own. Little Lanka in Franklin is the restaurant that's brought this cuisine to Canberra's north, and it's done so with genuine conviction. Chef Nelson has been cooking professionally since 1989, spending 13 years at Banana Leaf in Civic before opening Little Lanka with his partner Lakshitha. That foundation shows. The three dishes that best represent what the kitchen can do are the hoppers, the lamprais, and the kottu roti. Hoppers are bowl-shaped rice flour pancakes, i.e., crispy at the edge and soft in the middle, and can be served plain, with egg (egg hopper), or sweet with coconut milk. The lamprais is the showstopper: a collection of curries, rice, and accompaniments wrapped in a banana leaf and baked, so everything steams together and the leaf imparts its own subtle flavor. Kottu roti is Canberra's best introduction to Sri Lankan street food and is shredded roti tossed on a flat iron with vegetables, eggs, and your choice of protein and finished with a dark, aromatic gravy. Every dish on the menu is halal, and the restaurant is also well set up for vegetarians and vegans, with plant-based options available across almost the entire menu. Gluten-free diners can be accommodated with advance notice. Reservations are required — call 02 6181 8650 to book. Free on-site parking is available, and the restaurant is wheelchair accessible.
Halal status: Fully halal — every menu item.
Open: Tue–Fri 5pm–9pm | Sat–Sun 11:30am–2:30pm & 5pm–9pm | Closed Monday
Best dishes: Egg Hoppers, Lamprais, Kottu Roti, Pol Sambol, String Hoppers
Good for: Families, vegetarians/vegans, Sri Lankan cuisine discovery, group bookings
Parking: Free on-site parking
📍 Unit 82/2 Manning Clark Crescent, Franklin | littlelanka.com.au
9. Azima Restaurant : Lebanese in the Heart of Canberra CBD (City Walk)
For anyone working in or visiting the Canberra CBD, Azima solves a problem that's more common than it should be: finding a sit-down halal restaurant that's actually in the city center, not a drive away. Located on City Walk - the pedestrian spine of Civic - it's about as central as a Canberra restaurant can get. The cuisine is Lebanese, and the kitchen leans into the communal, sharing-table tradition that Lebanese dining does so well. Mezze is the way to start: hummus, moutabel (a smoky eggplant dip that reviewer after reviewer picks out as the standout), sambousek cheese pastries, tabouli, and mixed pickles. Then the grill: shish tawook (marinated chicken skewers), kafta (spiced minced lamb), and lamb skewers that arrive tender and well-seasoned. The mixed grill platter gives you the full spread and is the obvious choice for a group. Reviews consistently single out the tabouli and the eggplant moutabel as benchmarks, with one reviewer noting the moutabel's presentation exceeded their expectations before the flavor backed it up. The room itself is worth mentioning the decor is deliberate and warm, with art on shelves and an atmosphere that sits comfortably between casual lunch spot and proper dinner destination. Azima is fully licensed with a wine list, which is a point worth noting for mixed groups where not everyone is Muslim - the restaurant accommodates both. Halal diners can order freely across the menu. Open seven days, 11:30am to 10pm, making it one of the most consistently available halal options in central Canberra. Reservations are recommended for weekend dinners. Wheelchair accessible, high chairs available, and suitable for functions.
Halal status: Halal food confirmed, listed on VisitCanberra and multiple halal dining guides.
Open: Mon–Sun, 11:30am–10pm
Best dishes: Mixed Grill Platter, Moutabel, Tabouli, Shish Tawook, Sambousek Cheese, Baklawa
Good for: CBD lunch, group dinners, functions, date nights, visitors to Canberra
Parking: Wilson's parking City Walk, or ACTION bus interchange 2 min walk
📍 Shop 1/222 City Walk, Canberra City | azimarestaurant.au | ☎ 02 5115 0755
10. Banana Leaf Restaurant: Canberra's Iconic Sri Lankan in the CBD (Akuna Street)
There's a direct line between Banana Leaf and Little Lanka (restaurant #16 on this list): Chef Nelson spent 13 years cooking at Banana Leaf before opening his own place in Franklin. That fact alone tells you something about Banana Leaf's standing. It's the restaurant that trained one of Canberra's best Sri Lankan chefs. Now at 2 Akuna Street in the heart of Civic, Banana Leaf has been a fixture of Canberra's dining scene for years and has accumulated over 1,000 reviews with a 4.5 Google rating. The numbers that reflect consistent quality over time, not a honeymoon period. The dining room is worth the visit before you even look at the menu: traditional Sri Lankan masks on the walls, cane pendant lights casting warm light over intimate tables, and a curved bar that makes the space feel considered rather than generic. The menu blends authentic Sri Lankan tradition with a modern Australian sensibility, and it pulls that balance off better than most restaurants that attempt it. The Feed Me Lunch ($45 per person) is a good way to cover a lot of ground quickly: chicken pan rolls, deviled cashews, fish biryani, vegetarian kotthu rotti, and more, all served as a shared feast. À la carte, the sago-crusted prawns in spicy mango glaze are the kind of dish that gets people talking, and the curry-glazed duck, which is served with tempered chickpeas, pomegranate, and ricotta, is one of the more distinctive mains in Canberra's broader dining scene, not just its halal subset. The lampreys get consistent praise. Reviewers describe it as a "treasure chest of "flavors"- the banana leaf parcel steamed until everything inside has absorbed each other's aromas. The barramundi has also been called a "showstopper" across multiple independent reviews. Vegetarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free options are all available across the menu.
Fully halal, confirmed across multiple halal dining directories, including FindHalal and AGFG.
Halal status: Fully halal confirmed on FindHalal Australia.
Open: Check bananaleafrestaurant.com.au for current hours — note 10% Sunday surcharge and 15% public holiday surcharge.
Best dishes: Lamprais, Sago-Crusted Prawns, Curry-Glazed Duck, Feed Me Lunch Set, Kottu Roti, Barramundi, Mango Lassi
Good for: Special occasions, CBD dining, group lunches, visitors to Canberra, Sri Lankan cuisine exploration
Parking: Wilson's parking nearby, short walk from Canberra Centre
2 Akuna Street, Canberra City | bananaleafrestaurant.com.au
Conclusion
Canberra's halal dining options in 2026 are the best they've ever been. The city has moved well past the point where halal-conscious diners had to settle for a limited rotation. Today you've got genuine diversity, new openings, and a Dickson precinct that functions as a real food destination. Whether you're a Canberra local looking to branch out from your usual spots, a visitor who needs to know where to eat, or someone planning a group dinner that works for everyone at the table, this list should give you everything you need. Bookmark it, share it, and come back as the scene keeps evolving.
