Madina Halal Cart

Best halal cart in Bellerose area. Good portions. Perfect comfort food! Lines can get a bit long at times, and parking is tricky.

This cart won’t make you forget the more famous halal carts in Manhattan but Madina Halal does the trick in a pinch, esp. when you don’t have the time and/​or inclination to trek into the City to grab a similar bite. If you normally don’t eat a lot of hot foods or are not a fan of it, be careful when asking for hot sauce.
I normally opt for a combo over rice and they pack a fair amount of food for $ 6. Some people complain that prices have gone up but then so do prices on most everything else. That being said, the same can be said of other local carts so they’re staying up with their competition. The white sauce is crack for most people so feel free to ask for extra. Can’t say it’s the healthiest thing for you but oh well.

Food tasted amazing, one of the best halal spots. Until one day I arrived to see the cart was closed. The windows were covered and the door was shut. We were hungry, so decided to knock and open the door to see if we still could get served. (We we’re frequent customers and the guys were always very nice) To our surprise we saw the cook taking a shit in a bucket. That has concluded my chicken and rice experience for life.

This is one of the best food carts in the city, makes the portions doled out in Manhattan look like a joke. They are in several locations, and I can also give high praise to the one on Liberty Ave around 117^th. At the Bellrose location, do NOT park in the Pizza Hut parking lot. I saw someone get towed within seconds of pulling in. The tow truck operator was so fast that nobody could react fast enough. It’s a private lot for Pizza Hut customers, and although it’s wrong on so many levels, they have the legal right to tow you the second you do not enter Pizza Hut and place an order at the food cart. Just park on the street and walk for 30 seconds, it’s not difficult to find parking. I’ve seen it happen two times out of about 50 times being there, but it’s just not worth the risk.

This should be called food cart corner. my wife and I have tried other food carts in the vicinity of Hillside Avenue and little neck parkway. The food cart nearest the Pizza Hut is by far the best. they give you good portions. we always get the lamb halal over rice. Very tasty after a hard days work in Manhattan. $ 5 you can get lamb or chicken or combination ($ 6) and a soft drink or water. highly recommend this place. DO NOT PARK IN THE PIZZA HUT PARKING LOT DURING THE DAY. PIZZA HUT IS RUNNING A SCAM WERE YOUR CAR GETS TOWED and then you have to pay an heafty fee to get your car back. The tow truck driver told my friend that the Pizza Hut management gets half of the fees they collect from the towing charges. I Assume the management of Pizza Hut are doing this because they are just mad that no customers go there because of the bad food and equally horrible service.

«Award Winning Cart», that’s the bullshit they have on their window. To be honest, this was my favorite halal cart for well over a year, and that’s why I’m still willing to give them three stars (it’s called loyalty, something these guys know nothing about). However, they’ve been slacking the past couple of years, and people are too blind to see it.
First, and most importantly, they completely lack customer service. Ever since they started having a huge influx of customers, they stopped putting the love into each platter. The past few times alone, I’ve found raw pieces of chicken scattered in my platter. I had never been so heart broken. It’s basically an assembly line where they do anything to just finish quickly. If you go to ANY other halal cart, you will see the individualized attention your platter receives, and you’ll see the difference in freshness and quality.
Second, they’ve increased the price of their famous «combo» platter, and they’ve become a lot more stingy with the pita bread. For christ’s sake just give everyone pita bread, then people can’t ask you for it.
Third, their hot sauce is disgusting. I’ve been told that I’m crazy for getting more than 5 lines of red sauce on my platters, but I just like things painfully spicy. I like to feel it then next day at work, regretting my decision from the night before. Chicken and rice is an experience for my friends and I, and I like to get my money’s worth. However, their hot sauce comes from an industrial sized bottle that looks like I can clean my car’s engine with.
I started going across the street to the one in front of CVS, and I haven’t looked back. Those guys are like Spongebob making a krabby patty, when it comes to making chicken and rice. Just flawless and full of love. If you want to deal with Squidward-​like customer service, I recommend sticking with the one in front of pizza hut.

Great food awesome taste, but as «Vik» also reported below, the one scruffy out of shape indian/​paki guy who’s there who takes orders is the rudest man in terms of customer service, I once asked for a diet coke and he pretty much yelled at me for wanting diet coke if I was eating chicken and rice. He always on the phone and messes up your order then blames you for not getting it right. Then he throws a fit If U decide to pay by credit card. They need to find a new guy because he’s hurting the business

Decent halal place. The rice is a little too bland for me so I have to drench it with sauce but the chicken is excellent !!!

Good food. Well above your average carts. The chicken distinguishes itself from other carts in a positive way. Would have given a greater number of stars if it weren’t for the customer service. Absolutely horrendous. Not by all employees either, just by one particular individual. An early 30s, scruffy, out of shape male around average height. He works during the days and is plain downright, inattentive and rude. Not one time have I placed an order with him and received the right platter. On top of that, I am also handed a side of impoliteness and attitude. I find it very ironic that he only presents a change in my order after it is already made. For example, when I ask for extra pita, he conveniently mentions he ran out after my order is ready. He’s smart because he collects the money first so Im unable to cancel the order.
I’m usually a generous rater but it’s a shame how one person can bring down a potentially 4 – 4.5 star worthy cart down to a measly 2. Poisonous to business but an inspiration for me to reactivate my Unilocal account from 3 years ago just to write this review.

I thought this was the best halal cart food I had until I tried the one on Steinway & 34^th Ave.
Honestly, it is pretty good. It is closer to my house than Steinway which is convenient, and is cheaper ($ 5 for chicken and rice plus a free soda). They also take credit card at a $ 10 minimum.
The rice is orange and the chicken itself does not taste good unless you douse it in white sauce. Their red sauce is really spicy (and trust me, I have a high tolerance for spicy food) so make sure you only get a little bit. Otherwise, you will be sitting in the bathroom, exploding.
No complaints really. Steinway just tastes better. Also, don’t park in Pizza Hut or they will tow you.

I’ve ordered from Madina 3x and its good. For $ 5, you get yellow rice w. chicken w. Soda. Once the chicken was hard and dry and once I got sick… It’s kinda hit or miss. The salad is just plain lettuce. I like Hazma & Madina by CVS better because their salads are a little better, but they’re $ 1 more. I haven’t tried the other food cart across the other street, Sahara, yet. This is in the Pizza Hut parking lot. Open late. I think the best time to get «fresh» food is prob. around dinner time when there’s alot of people on line. Good deal on the Long Island/​Queens Border, on the Queens side, so no right turn on red!

i get food from here nearly once a week. it would be more but its not exactly down the block. which should tell you something.
theres is often a long wait… which should also tell you something because there are 2 other c&r carts directly across the street… and both of them almost never have a line at all.
trust me… its well worth the wait for these guys.
ordering can be a little rough… the guys working in the truck… while not at all rude… do seem a bit grumpy. and they often wont remember what you ordered and youll have to tell them a few times. its all good though, youll get what you want.
the food is the best around… and rivals the best halal carts in the city. not to mention the portions and prices are great.

The best halal service cart. for my family.
We normally buy our chicken or lamb over rice and never we have complaints on how efficient and how much they served. Today is same experience, even better. The lowest price among its cart contenders across two streets. Just be careful on parking your car in the Pizza Hut premises. I had experienced once that my car almost got towed.
Will keep coming back until they change their service style.

I just picked up food from here! It’s great to come to a halal cart that is in close proximity to home with good food. This specific cart is not to be confused with the halal cart that is directly on Hillside Ave, this is the one located on Little Neck Parkway.
Their prices are typical for halal cart food — $ 5 for either lamb, chicken or mixed over rice. Although it is an extra $ 1 for pita, it is well worth it. I have found that although they are a halal food cart, they have a great unique flavor yet still manage to keep the food typical to what you would expect.
I have been coming here for a few months and have absolutely no complaints of the food — the location makes it tough to find parking without having to worry about getting towed or a ticket. So I would be very careful of your choice of parking.

This review is for the Halal Cart directly next to the Pizza Hut. I see a lot of reviews but people are mistakenly reviewing the Hamza and Medina cart instead which is outside of CVS.
The halal food is really good here! They offer your standard fare of chicken/​lamb over rice with salad. The meats are cooked in some kind of spiced marinade juice which offers a different but excellent taste over the other carts in the area. The white sauce is good as well!
The cost for a combinatation plate is $ 5. If you take a drink that will run you a total of $ 6.
They do have a phone number in which you can call in a order. I will post it next time I go there.
Tip: Don’t park in Pizza hut late at night. I’ve seen this tow truck come out of nowhere and pick up cars. They charge you a few hundred dollars just to drop your car. Be careful!