Yes, hibachi can be halal, and at our St Barnabas Road location in Marlow Heights it is, all of it, every day. But “hibachi” by itself tells you nothing about whether a plate is halal, which is why the question keeps getting asked. If you have been driving up to Southeast DC or over to Oxon Hill looking for a halal dinner that is not another grill or shawarma counter, there is now one by Iverson Mall, minutes off Branch Avenue and the Capital Beltway. Here is what actually makes hibachi halal or not, and what you will find when you walk into ours.
The three things that decide whether hibachi is halal
Hibachi is a cooking method, not an ingredient. That is the first thing to understand, because it means the answer is never about the hibachi. It is about the kitchen behind it. Three things disqualify most hibachi restaurants.
The meat.Chicken, beef and lamb have to come from a halal supplier and be slaughtered to halal standard. Most hibachi restaurants buy commodity meat and have no answer when you ask where it came from.
Pork on the premises.A restaurant serving pork gyoza or bacon fried rice is cooking it on the same flat top as your chicken. Even a kitchen with halal chicken cannot hand you a clean plate when there is pork six inches away on the same steel.
Alcohol in the sauce.This is the one almost nobody checks. Traditional teriyaki, eel sauce and many yum yum recipes are built on mirin or cooking sake. The meat can be perfectly halal and the sauce poured over it is not.
Flame is built to clear all three. Every location serves a 100% halal menu. There is no pork anywhere in the building, so there is nothing on the grill to avoid. Our sauces are made in house rather than bought in, which is what lets us control what goes into them.
If you are checking any other hibachi restaurant in Prince George's County, those are your three questions: who supplies your meat, is there pork in the building, and what is in your teriyaki. A confident answer to all three is rare.
At our Marlow Heights location
We are at 4620 St Barnabas Rd, Suite #B, Marlow Heights, MD 20748, by the Iverson Mall area just off Branch Avenue and the Capital Beltway. If you are coming from Temple Hills, Hillcrest Heights or Suitland, you are under ten minutes out. From Southeast DC and Congress Heights it is a straight shot down Branch Avenue. From Camp Springs, District Heights and Oxon Hill it is a quick hop across the Beltway, and National Harbor is a short run southwest.
The kitchen runs Sunday through Wednesday 11AM to 10PM and Thursday through Saturday 11AM to midnight, which is later than most halal kitchens in the area keep. Holiday hours can shift around Eid and the major public holidays, so the Google Business Profile is worth a look before a long drive. Order ahead on the app or online and pick up, or eat in and watch the grill work.
What this location gets asked more than any other: whether the wings are halal too. They are. Same kitchen, same standard, and there is a long flavor list to work through.
Getting here, and the neighborhoods we serve
St Barnabas Road is one of the easier addresses in this part of the county to reach, which is deliberate. From Temple Hills and Hillcrest Heights you are five minutes out. Suitland, Camp Springs and Forestville sit inside ten, and Branch Ave Metro is a few minutes down the road. Oxon Hill, District Heights and Coral Hills are a quick run across the Beltway, and Southeast DC pulls in straight up Branch Avenue and Alabama Avenue.
If you are coming from Waldorf or across from Fort Washington, budget fifteen to twenty minutes depending on the time of day. The Beltway is usually the smoother approach than surface streets at rush hour.
One practical note. Everything on this menu is cooked when the order comes in rather than held warm, so a walk-in at 6:30 on a Friday will wait. Ordering online or through the Flame app before you leave the house is the difference between a two-minute stop and a fifteen-minute one.
What to order at the Marlow Heights location
Chicken Hibachi, $9.85. The entry point and the one most people start with. Comes with your choice of any two sides, so fried rice and vegetables, or lo mein if you want it heavier.
Chicken, Beef and Shrimp Combo, $14.85. Three proteins on one plate. This is the order for anyone who came in hungry or is feeding two.
Buffalo Wings, 10 pieces, $14.99. A deep flavor list, and halal wings in Prince George's County are hard to find, so these move fast.
California Roll, $7.85. Sushi from the same halal kitchen, which surprises people who assume they have to choose.
How the plates are built: every hibachi comes with your choice of any two sides — fried rice, white rice, lo mein noodles or vegetables. Bento boxes arrive loaded already, with hibachi, vegetables, rice or noodles, a 4-piece California Roll, two dumplings and two spring rolls. Extra chicken is $2.95 and extra salmon, beef or shrimp is $3.95, which is usually the cheapest way to stretch one plate across two people. Individual sides run $2.95 to $4.95, and Yum Yum sauce is $0.50.
In Marlow Heights the usual pattern is fried rice and vegetables, with a wing order in the middle of the table to share. If you are ordering for a family, two combos plus a 20-piece will feed four comfortably and still come in under fifty dollars.
Visit us
Halal hibachi, cooked to order, on St Barnabas Road. Flame Japanese Hibachi Marlow Heights, 4620 St Barnabas Rd, Suite #B, Marlow Heights, MD 20748. 240-619-4586. Sun to Wed 11AM to 10PM, Thu to Sat 11AM to 12AM.
