Five halal food influencers to follow before your next trip to Europe
These creators are helping Muslim travellers find everything from neighbourhood favourites to halal versions of Europe’s iconic dishes
For many travellers, Europe has long been a destination to eat as much as to sightsee. A visit to the continent is built around iconic national dishes: pasta in Italy, tapas in Spain, bratwurst in Germany and pastries in France. But Muslim tourists have often been left out of these iconic culinary experiences. Hidden pork, alcohol-based ingredients and uncertain halal standards have meant that eating well has required research, local knowledge or compromise.
That’s starting to change. Driven by Europe’s growing and increasingly young Muslim population, halal food has become one of the continent’s fastest-growing food markets, with some forecasts predicting it will grow from US$432bn to more than US$1tn by 2034.
Social media has helped accelerate that shift. Across TikTok and Instagram, halal food creators are vetting restaurants, checking ingredients and introducing followers to everything from neighbourhood favourites to halal takes on national classics. As of June 2026, #halalfood has amassed more than 12 billion views on TikTok and more than 19 million posts on Instagram.
So who are the halal influencers to follow? We’ve picked five of the biggest in Europe, beyond the UK.
Oompie Fais (@eetnou.nl)
Amsterdam-born Faisal, better known as Oompie Fais and who asked to be identified by his first name only, started posting food videos almost on a whim. Three years later, he has amassed nearly 30,000 Instagram followers and more than 120,000 on TikTok, where his energetic reviews and signature opening move have made him one of the Netherlands’ best-known halal food creators.
“When I started, I just wanted to create something,” says the 24-year-old. “I thought, I eat out a lot, so why not film that? After I posted my first video, I had people saying, ‘I’ll go there’. That was the moment I realised I had to show people more places.”
He credits his success to consistency and authenticity. “People can tell when someone is pretending or playing a role. I’ve learned that audiences respond best when you’re genuinely yourself, regardless of your background, appearance or how you speak.”
Most of his videos showcase halal restaurants across the Netherlands, and he says demand is changing the industry. “In the beginning, only Muslim business owners were providing halal food. But what you see now is that non-Muslim business owners also provide it to reach a bigger audience.”
His favourite recommendation? Bumpy’s Chicken in Amsterdam-Noord. But he’s just as enthusiastic about introducing followers to places they might never have found on their own. “I also like giving people who can’t afford to eat out the chance to experience those places through my videos.”
Yassin Halal (@qbanoofficial)
Berlin-based creator Yassin Acosta Medina launched his halal food channel with his young sons after spotting a gap in the market for family-focused halal content.
“As my family and I eat exclusively halal, we wanted to create a platform where people could be confident the restaurants featured aligned with our values,” says the 38-year-old Cuban.
While many food influencers occasionally feature halal restaurants, he says their recommendations often lack consistency. “One video would show a halal restaurant, the next a restaurant serving pork or alcohol. For me, that lacked consistency and, for many people, reliability too.”
His children are a central part of the channel, trying everything from döner croissants to hand-cut halal noodles. “We create content by a family, for families,” he says. “The family atmosphere and natural feel of our content is what makes it special.”
Berlin’s diverse food scene keeps providing new discoveries. “I’m fascinated by Central Asian cuisines, particularly Uzbek, Kazakh and Tajik cuisine. Not only do they offer delicious dishes but they also reflect a long and diverse cultural history.”
The Italian Revert (@italian_revert)
The Sicilian creator behind The Italian Revert — who prefers not to reveal her real name — began posting because she struggled to find people who, like her, were both Italian and Muslim: “Many people still associate Islam in Italy exclusively with immigration, so I wanted to share a different perspective.”
While her channel started as a means to document her reversion to Islam, her account’s pivot into Italian-centric food tips has attracted a following of close to 30,000 on Instagram. She explores how Muslims can navigate Italian food, which traditionally uses a lot of pork and alcohol.
“I received many messages from people who were surprised to learn that some traditional Italian foods, such as cannoli, are made with ingredients that are not halal. That made me realise there was a real need for this kind of information.”
Cannoli — sweet ricotta-filled pastries, and iconic Sicilian treats — can be made with strutto, pork fat, or Marsala wine.
Her Italian upbringing, she says, is what sets her apart. “I don’t approach Italian food as something foreign or adapted from the outside, but as part of my own culture that I’ve learned to navigate through an Islamic lens.”
She’s a fan of dishes that adapt the classics with a little creativity.
“I’m especially excited about restaurants that make cuisines from non-traditionally Islamic countries and regions accessible in a halal way, rather than simply offering limited options from a vast regular menu.
“I find Brodellini in Bologna particularly interesting — it reinterprets traditional Bolognese cuisine in a halal way while staying true to its roots. This is what makes food culture more inclusive and open.”
Brussels Halal Food (@brusselshalalfood)
As nearly a fifth of Brussels’ residents are Muslim, there is a big demand for halal recommendations in the Belgian capital. But when 31-year-old Imane, who uses only her first name publicly, launched Brussels Halal Food in 2019, she says there was no platform bringing together the city’s halal restaurants.
“Within my personal circle, people were constantly asking me for recommendations because I regularly visited halal restaurants across Brussels.”
What sets her account apart, she says, is its rigorous verification process. Before featuring a restaurant, she checks its halal status and, wherever possible, asks for evidence or certification. “If a restaurant is showcased on my page, it means that a verification process has been carried out beforehand.”
Beyond restaurants, the account covers butcher’s shops, grocery stores and halal food festivals, making it a one-stop guide to Brussels’ halal scene.
Imane believes the city’s halal food culture is becoming increasingly diverse, with more restaurants moving beyond fast food to offer fine dining, fusion concepts and international cuisines. “I’m also happy to see a growing interest in authentic cuisines and family-run businesses that showcase their cultural heritage through food.”
Reydelacomidahalal (@reydelacomidahalal)
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Few halal food creators in Europe have a bigger audience than Spain’s Rey de la Comida Halal (“King of Halal Food”). Behind the account is 24-year-old Saeed Halam, whose reviews of halal restaurants have attracted almost 50,000 Instagram followers and nearly 400,000 on TikTok.
Focused on reviewing local spots — his videos review everything from neighbourhood kebab shops to halal smash burgers — Saeed’s content is mostly in the style of the “come-and-watch-me-eat” videos.
He’s found particular success with search-style vlogs such as his kebab-hunting concept, where he visits various Spanish cities in search of halal eateries — and his attitude to proving halal certification. He makes a point of verifying halal claims on camera, sometimes asking restaurant managers to confirm certification or showing viewers behind the counter.
Perhaps what sets him apart most is the focus he puts on helping local restaurants, stopping by eateries that are struggling with footfall. But he’s also known not to hold back — unfiltered reviews are part of his brand.
His latest focus is reimagining dishes that would traditionally be off-limits for many Muslim diners. And recent videos include halal takes on classics such as halal tiramisu.
