Quetta Halal Market

The place is clean. The person who helped me was friendly. So why am I giving them two stars? Because I bought what was almost the worst leg of lamb I’ve ever bought from here. And it wasn’t cheap either. I drove here after reading all of the positive Unilocal reviews because I wanted to make sure I got a good leg of lamb to serve my guests. I’ve made leg of lamb plenty of times and it is usually excellent to very good. But I didn’t want to take a chance since I’ve had a few leg of lambs from the market that were ok but not great. The lamb didn’t smell great while cooking like lamb usually does, and seemed tough and flavorless. If I lived in the neighborhood and didn’t have ½ hour drive to get here (and another ½ hour to try to find parking in the area) I might give this place a try again. But for sausages, or other products not leg of lamb. Saw a much smaller looking leg of lamb at Wegmans the next day for just under ½ of what I paid and wished I just bought it there instead.

I love coming here. The staff and owners are so friendly and always offer pointers and tips! I have never been led astray in what to buy when I come here. I always try to talk to whoever is behind the counter to figure out what fits my needs best for what I want to make and how I want to cook it. Plus, they always offer suggestions as well, and they know their stuff!
It’s a small shop, but they have tons of options here, so don’t let the small space fool you!
You might have to wait a little (but never too long), because it does get busy at peak hours and the people here are so personable, they make sure they take care of their customers. I appreciate the fact that I am given ideas and tips, etc. so I don’t mind a little wait time if it means I am getting some good face time with my butcher, who is going to point me in the right direction about the food I’m buying.
The quality of the meat here is fantastic! Plus, its priced really fairly! The steaks here are probably some of the best I have had since moving to Philly. The chicken is awesome, and their turkey pastrami… so good!!! They also have really good lamb (and these are just a few examples)! Pretty much anything you get will be top notch! High quality and great service. Definitely come here if you need a great butcher in the area!

The meat is very fresh. Another thing that’s important for me is cleanliness and this place is the cleanest meat market I’ve ever been in and the fact that it’s halal –most definitely makes this place a 10!

Never tried anything else other than Steak meat but will definitely try other things too. So far, great experience! Highly recommended

It’s the best turkey bacon and pastrami ever. I went on a Sunday and it was quiet so I got lucky I guess. I’ll be back to try their steaks and other meats as well.

Called a day before to see they had goat and told me it would come tomorrow. I go there the next day and not only I came from far away and had to wait for people ahead of me, that they did not have the goat because they have to cut it up and they do it in the evening with a smirk grin.
The place is very dirty, old, and the the clerk was very rude. For better prices and quality meats, just go to the reading terminal, not this crappy butcher in a remote location. Stay away.

Knowledgeable and clearly popular– we made the error of coming here towards the end of the day on the night before Eid, these folks were almost entirely cleaned out. We were, though, able to get some lamb and some turkey sausage. The lamb was delectable when we cooked it rare at home the next day, very tender and fresh. Prices are more than reasonable considering how expensive lamb can be at the regular grocery store, if it’s available there at all.

Bought lamb shoulder for lamb curry here — YUM. Laith (the butcher) literally took out a full lamb, cut its shoulder off and proceeded to de-​bone it and cut it in to cubes for me. Almost 6 pounds of meat — great for the stew! Delicious, great quality, amazing prices ($ 5.99/lb). Will definitely be going back here.

Great great place! To be honest the only one in the Center Philly! The prices are good! So competitive in comparison to Whole Food’s ones! And you are always sure you get organic, HALAL meet. Being Muslim it is very important for me and my family!

They closed as I was walking up. «Going to lunch» at 3:15 on a Saturday and didn’t want to help me. I drove across town to check them out but wasn’t about to wait around 20 minutes. So I took my unwanted cash to the italian market.

This place will sell you good meat at a good price. It is Halal so swine is not available here. This place is ideal for getting that fresh lamb for the Roganjosh that you’re making later on tonight.

Just moved to PHL from San Francisco and have been working on establishing the basics; cleaners, barber, butcher, etc. Read about Quetta and headed over there today. Met Scott (I hope I have that right) the owner. Six generations of his family have grown up in the general neighborhood. He was kind enough to explain where and how he sourced his beef (local Lancaster cattle — my old hometown) and emphasized that the cattle are organically raised. I picked up two beautifully marbled bone-​in rib eye’s and a few lbs. of freshly ground beef. Looking forward to digging into it all. Update to follow…

I grew up in a family of sheep farmers, and as a consequence we ate lamb several times a week. My family, like every family I knew, had several deep freezers chock full of various animalia. I didn’t realize this was not normal until I left the area.
Now, I live in South Philly, and when I bought my first big deep freezer I felt like I was bringing a little piece of home to my neighbourhood. I’ve got all kinds of assorteds in there, and when I want to stock up on some well-​priced lamb in bulk, I hit up the Quetta Halal market. The quality isn’t quite as good as home, but it gets the job done and the price is crazy cheap compared to a supermarket.

I find the meat to be tough, but flavorful, the sausages spicy, but fatty (great as the meat for a stew or sauce), and the mild smoked veals to be particularly handy to have around. So nice to have such friendly people in the neighborhood, and he can cut you up what you want.

Pros: extremely cheap prices, good quality meats
Con (It’s a really big one that others have mentioned): The guy who does the cutting/​butchering/​handling of the meat uses the same gloves/​hands to handle the money. Dude gave me back my card with a piece of chicken on the card… it was disgusting. And when I pointed it out he apologized but honestly he acted like it was no big deal.
I’m giving the place 2 stars and not 1 because of the prices, but I honestly don’t think I will ever go back if I can find another decently cheap, high quality butcher in the city.

I have been dying to try Quetta since I moved to the neighborhood a few months ago. I stopped in to get some ground lamb and was greeted by a very friendly employee. He sold me 1.5 lbs of recently ground lamb for $ 5.99/lb. I was thrilled! I took the lamb home and cooked it up. While it was tasty, it was WAY fattier than any lamb I have ever purchased (and I am a frequent purchaser of ground lamb). I have never had to strain so much grease before when browning ground lamb. I will definitely go back to try their other meats, but I wouldn’t buy the ground lamb again.

Made the trek from Jersey to check this guy out, since he’s a legit butcher, and not the usual bag & go meat market catering to the South Asian population in South Jersey (no offense, but the peeps from the homeland just don’t know or care what a good steak is!). I’m so glad I did!
My loot: the freshest ground beef I have ever seen, freshly smoked sausages, fresh cold cuts, short ribs, and chicken breast. I stocked up enough meaties for a month for $ 37. I only wish I knew about them sooner and hadn’t wasted time & money trying to get real meat from a fake butcher.
All the stuff is hand slaughtered (zabihah halal) as assured by the staff and on the signs/​business cards, etc.
The brother at the counter was super funny & helpful too. When I told him I was moving to Hawaii & concerned about not being able to find halal meat, he made some phone calls and got the info from a Hawaiian brother living in Cali. The ultimate hook-​up!
Bottom line: fresh, great prices, legit halal. Helps to call ahead if you have a large order as the line can accumulate and take a while.

Don’t ask me why but it feels good when I talk about Quetta and people say «you have a butcher?» Try Quetta and you can too.
The first time boo and I went we got two flank steaks that would have made Fred Flintstone blush. When he told us the price we said, well in that case throw in two sirloins too!
There is no correlation between the quality and the price. Just today I picked up some prime rib but first I called Giunta Prime at RTM since it’s closer, 10.99 a lbs, Quetta… 5.50 and I got tips to cook it. It was the most flavorful meat I’ve ever had.
Side note, it’s Halal so they don’t sell pork however look up the preperation of Halal meat and I believe you’ll see it as a plus.

I’ve been Fresh Grocery-​in it and Reading Terminal-​in it… teaching my taste buds to settle.
Both the prices, with especial regards to the lamb, and the freshness of the meat beat out the overpriced FG and the way-​down-​yonder RT.
Although Fresh Grocer is about 10 – 20 cents cheaper than Quetta for chicken and dollars cheaper for the deli, the freshness outweighs the difference in dimes. DIMES, people, DIMES. (I’ve never had a more tender chicken).
Hours are decent and friendly service is off the charts. So personable and pleasant to order from.
Mon = Closed
Tues-​Thurs = 10 A — 7 P
Fri = 3 P-​8 P
Sat = 10 A — 8 P
Sun = 10 A — 5 P.
Note: $ 15 minimum for credit cards.
In the back of the store, there are sodas, small snackies, and frozen samosas… and some random pies. And it’s a small store. But I’m coming back for more.

Loved this place for a while. Great prices, great local meat, friendly service, convenient location. There’s a fresh meat counter with non-​pork meats — chicken and about a dozen cuts of beef. There’s also a freezer that contains chicken parts, meat pies and some ready-​to-​heat items.
BUT THEN … two months ago I was in there for a few things. I was third in line. The first guy gets some beef; the butcher (don’t know if it was the owner or the assistant) cut the beef using his bare hands and the saw machine, then he takes the customer’s money, again with his bare hands, and makes change. I’m really shocked, and think I must have mis-​seen, so I pay closer attention. The second customer asks for a whole chicken; the butcher picks it up (yes with those same hands!), wraps it, hands it off, takes the money, makes change. Turns to me. I ask for a steak and yes, he cut it and wrapped it and took my money all with his bare hands, after touching the chicken and who knows what else for how long.
I was heartbroken. I’d loved this place, defended it against my family, who thought it looked dirty. I figured there were hygiene standards that were met even if the place did look old and rundown. Their meat is fantastic, but I took that steak home and couldn’t eat it.
Really bummed about this.
You don’t have to have bells and whistles to get my business, but you have to be clean. Still can’t bear to give them one star, though; they’re great otherwise :’-{