100% halal · Flame-grilled · Overnight marinade

Halal Peri Peri Chicken — From Southeast Africa to Your Plate

Seven levels of fire. One overnight marinade. Zero shortcuts. This is what peri peri was always meant to taste like.

The origin story

What Is Peri Peri?

The African Bird's Eye chili — known locally as piri piri in Swahili, or peri peri in Portuguese — is native to sub-Saharan Africa. For centuries, communities across Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and South Africa used this fierce, aromatic chili not just for heat, but as the backbone of an entire culinary tradition built around bold, layered flavor.

Portuguese traders and explorers encountered both the chili and the cooking technique during the 15th and 16th centuries. They brought the bird's eye chili to Europe, Asia, and the Americas — but peri peri chicken as a dish stayed rooted in Southern Africa, where the marinade, the open fire, and the time all came together.

By the time peri peri reached New York City, most versions had been diluted — quick marinades, oven-roasted, sauce applied after cooking. We came to Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn in 2018 with a different intention: to do it the right way, with an overnight marinade, live flame, and seven heat levels built on flavor, not just capsaicin.

The result is a chicken that The New York Times called worth going out of your way for — and a growing community of people in Brooklyn and Long Island who come back every week.

"Peri peri in its true form is not just a spice — it's a process. The marinade, the fire, the timing. You can't rush it."

The process

How We Make Our Chicken

Three steps. No shortcuts. This is what separates peri peri done right from everything else.

01

Overnight Marinade

Every piece of chicken sits in our peri peri spice blend for a minimum of 12 hours. This isn't a quick rub. The African Bird's Eye chili, garlic, lemon, and herbs need time to penetrate deep into the meat — not just coat the surface. That overnight soak is the difference between chicken that tastes like something and chicken that doesn't.

02

Flame-Grilled to Order

We cook over live fire. Not in an oven, not in a fryer — over an open flame. The grill creates the char, the smokiness, and the texture you can't replicate any other way. The outside gets that distinctive caramelized crust. The overnight marinade keeps the inside impossibly tender and juicy. Every order is made fresh when you order it.

03

Basted with Your Chosen Heat

While your chicken is on the grill, it gets basted in your chosen level from our Peri Scale. From Lemon & Herb at level 1 to Extra Hot at level 7, each sauce is built around flavor first. The heat level you choose becomes part of the cooking process — not just a sauce applied at the end.

100% Halal Certified

100% Halal.
Always.

This is not a marketing claim — it is a commitment we made when we opened in 2018 and have never wavered from. Every piece of chicken, every item on our menu that contains meat, is sourced from certified halal suppliers. We serve Brooklyn and Long Island communities that deserve to know exactly what they're eating.

✓
Certified Halal Sourcing All chicken and meat comes from halal-certified suppliers. No exceptions, no compromises.
✓
Both Locations Halal certification applies equally to our Brooklyn and Bethpage locations.
✓
Consistent Standards Since day one in 2018, same halal standards — now serving Brooklyn and Long Island.
✓
Transparent on Request Have questions about our halal certification? Call either location — we're happy to share details.

The Peri Scale

Seven Levels of Fire.

Every level is built around flavor first. The heat follows. Whether you choose Lemon & Herb or Extra Hot, you're eating real peri peri chicken.

1
Lemon & Herb
2
Mango Passion
3
Garlic & Herb
4
Jerk BBQ
5
Mild
6
Hot
7
Extra Hot

Not sure which level to start with? Most first-timers enjoy level 3 (Garlic & Herb) or level 4 (Jerk BBQ).

More About Our Spice Levels →

Est. 2018, Bed-Stuy Brooklyn

Our Story

Peri Peri Grill House opened in 2018 on Malcolm X Blvd in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn with one mission: bring authentic halal peri peri chicken to New York City, done the right way. No shortcuts. No watered-down versions. The overnight marinade, the live flame, the seven heat levels built on real African Bird's Eye chili.

The neighborhood responded immediately. Within a year, The New York Times had reviewed us — not because we chased the press, but because the food was genuinely different from anything else in the city. Gothamist followed. Word spread through Crown Heights, Bushwick, Brownsville, and beyond.

In the years since, we've expanded to Bethpage, Long Island, bringing the same standard to Nassau County. Two locations. 700+ Google reviews. An NYT mention that we're still proud of. And the same chicken we've been making since day one — marinated overnight, grilled over live fire, 100% halal.

As seen in

The New York Times — Restaurant Review, 2019
Gothamist — "Bold Flavors to Casual Food Classics"
Newsday — Bethpage Location Feature
Peri Peri Grill House flame-grilled halal chicken on the grill
100% Halal Certified

Ready to taste the
difference?

Order online for pickup or delivery from Brooklyn or Bethpage. Seven heat levels. Overnight marinade. Flame-grilled to order. Also try our famous halal smash burgers — premium halal beef, smashed to order.

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