New halal restaurant offers a taste of the Middle East in CT

Waterbury resident Abdul Said used to travel hours for halal food.

During one of his trips to Kanoon smokehouse in Clifton, New Jersey — 100 miles and just under two hours from the Brass City — he got to know the founders of the restaurant and asked how he could bring his own Kanoon to his new hometown. That was in March 2023.

Said closed on a Waterbury property located at 91 Scott Road in January of this year and opened the doors to Kanoon for the first time on Sept. 20. It’s a soft opening with the grand opening coming in October.

The halal smokehouse is the first Connecticut location for Kanoon, the two other restaurants are located in New Jersey in Clifton and North Brunswick.

The specialty is smoked and grilled meats including beef, chicken and lamb.

Said is one of five partners, which includes Kanoon founders Gassan Yousef and Sal Washeh. Said, Sam Daoud and Ahmed Alissa are the owners in Waterbury. The manager on location is Hasan Mouse.

“This is a big, family-oriented place where people can enjoy the experience and quality food,” Said said. “We are the biggest halal restaurant in Connecticut with up to 220 people. Usually, people have to travel hours to go to New York or New Jersey for this experience. This is a nice community experience.”

Said, 34, is originally from the Middle East. He has lived in both Jordan and Palestine and came to the United States in 2015, where he studied business management. He also works as a regional manager for Rockland Bakery in Wallingford managing deliveries throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Said was initially looking at a spot in Milford before ultimately choosing the Scott Road location, just about five minutes from his home. The space was previously occupied for more than 25 years by Italian restaurant Nino’s Trattoria, which closed in May 2021 has been vacant ever since.

“The space was listed as retail space, but I was told I could use it to open a restaurant, but it took a lot of work. I signed the lease on January 15, and it took us nine months to get to this point,” Said said.

Said did much of the work and designs himself. The furniture was custom made in Turkey. The applewood design walls are easy on the eyes, but it’s the food that is the star.

The secret to the food?

“Everything here is homemade, the sauce, sides, appetizers, food,” Said said. “Everything is homemade every day and every morning.”

The restaurant starts cooking overnight, with some of the meat being smoked up to 16 hours in ovens imported from Jordan.

Kanoon is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. There are 15 employees, and Said is looking to hire more.

“This is the first halal smoked meat restaurant in Connecticut and you can come and have a variety of food, smoked meats, smoked lamb, steaks, salmon and smoked chicken and the goal is to have space that is family orientated, quiet, safe and has the quality that place for big groups can come in and enjoy their time together,” Said said.

In addition to the dining room, there is a large part of the restaurant that serves as a cafe for people to get one of Kanoon’s specialty drinks, including a mint lemonade.

“We are 100 percent non-alcohol and 100 percent halal we have coffees, juices, cakes and everything,” Said said. “Come enjoy our food in that space with a cup of coffee or a dessert.”

Mousa, the restaurant’s manager, moved to the United States over a decade ago and has managed restaurants in New Jersey.

“People have to drive two hours east or south in New York or New Jersey to get a similar quality of food,” he said. “Now are we are bringing it here to Connecticut, and a lot of people are excited to come at try the food here.”

Mousa said experiencing the “live fire show” in the front kitchen is a big attraction. It is performed during busiest times, as the chef preps a meal with :flames a sword and excitement.”

“I see the demand, and I was one of the ones that would travel for halal food and now we are going to have it in Waterbury,” Mousa said.

Daoud, who lives in South New Jersey, said he was excited to be a part of the ownership group.

“A lot of things led us here to Waterbury,” Daoud said. “It’s not just about making money, it’s about getting to know the people here and let them try our style of smoked meat and our food. I’m excited to see all of the cultures mixing together.

“We are bringing that experience to Waterbury, and we are excited to have the residents come interact with us and try our food, our spices, our dressing and make them feel like they traveled somewhere else,” he added. “It’s very rare to find halal smoked meat. We want people from all over the state to try our food.”

The meat dishes include smoked lamb shanks ($39.99), smoked half chicken ($19.99), smoked lamb chops/two pounds ($89.99), smoked lamb neck/two pounds ($89.99), smoked short ribs prime angus beef ($34.99), smoked whole chicken ($28.99), Kanoon stuffed whole chicken with farika or rice ($34.99), smoked lamb shoulder/two pounds ($69.99), smoked beef shank ($34.99) and smoked brisket prime angus beef ($34.99).

Off the grill are bone-in ribeye steak with grilled shrimp ($69.99), boneless ribeye steak with grilled shrimp ($64.99), T-bone steak ($54.99), medium family mixed grill special ($89.99), shish tawook (chicken) ($24.99), grilled lamb chops ($34.99), bone-in ribeye steak ($54.99), T-bone steak with grilled shrimp ($69.99), boneless ribeye steak ($49.99), large family mixed grill special ($149.99), chicken chops ($21.99), kufta kabab ($21.99), shish kabab ($27.99) and mixed grill ($29.99).

Seafood options are shrimp and salmon with garlic lemon sauce ($44.99), shrimp with garlic lemon sauce ($24.99) and salmon with garlic lemon sauce ($26.99).

The platters include potato kumpir ($17.99), Kanoon grilled chicken platter ($18.99), Kanoon smoked meat platter ($19.99) and falafel platter vegetarian option ($14.99).

As far as sandwiches, the options include Kanoon smoked brisket burger ($19.99), smoked meat sandwich ($19.99), Kanoon smoked meat burger ($18.99), grilled chicken sandwich ($18.99) and a falafel sandwich with hummus & salad ($10.99).

There is also a full menu of hot and cold appetizers, drinks and desserts.

The lunch specials run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and plates range from $12.99 to $14.99.