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When Ahmad Elattar lived in New York City, there was a halal cart on every corner, serving rice with chicken, lamb and a traditional white sauce, he said.
He wanted to bring those flavors to Allen, so he opened Halal Papi with his business partner and brother-in-law Adam Khalid in November 2025.
“It's not fast food, but it's like a home-cooked meal that's served to you fast,” he said.
A closer look
His approach to customer service starts with how well he treats his employees, and “treating every customer as if they're an extension of your friends,” he said.
Elattar said his commitment to quality is what sets his food apart. Some restaurants serve yellow rice that gets its color from dye, but the yellow rice Halal Papi serves gets its color from turmeric. In addition, the restaurant’s house chicken gets its red color from smoked paprika and a tomato base, he said.
“I'm not [going to] serve anything here that I wouldn't serve to my children or my own family,” Elattar said.
On the menu
Halal Papi offers customizable rice bowls, salad bowls, pitas, quesadillas and burritos. Guests can choose from a variety of protein options including lamb gyro, house chicken, falafel, seasoned beef, jerk chicken and musakhan.
“Musakhan is basically a Palestinian dish,” Elattar said. “It's chicken that's slow-cooked with caramelized onions and sumac, so it's going to have a tangy taste to it that's just excellent and unique, and you're not going to find it anywhere else.”
Guests can top their bowls or wraps with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, sumac onions, jalapenos, chickpeas, Kalamata olives, pico de gallo, cilantro, parsley, fire-roasted corn and a choice of several sauces.
“I don't spare [any] expense on quality like most people do,” Elattar said. “I don't cut corners.”
For example, the lamb gyro served at Halal Papi is the highest quality available on the market, Elattar said.
“Everybody that tries it, even if they don't like lamb, they can immediately tell ... how high quality it is because it doesn't have that gamey taste and it's not too greasy,” he said.
What’s next
The Allen restaurant is Halal Papi’s first location and Elattar said the community has been “extremely supportive.”
Elattar said his goal over the next five years is to grow the business by adding one new location each year over the next five years. He’s currently looking at the McKinney area for the next Halal Papi location, he said.
1206 E. Main St., Ste. 101, Allen
