Suhoor Fest Is the Bay Area’s Biggest Halal Food Festival 

During Ramadan, billions of Muslims around the world observe suhoor, the nightly pre-dawn meal taken in preparation for a day of fasting, which one can eat quietly at home — say, taking down a couple of Medjool dates while still groggy with sleep. For thousands of Bay Area Muslims, it also serves as the occasion for the year’s biggest halal food festival: Suhoor Fest, a mammoth convocation of food stalls, art and clothing vendors, and lively Arabic music, all crammed together in a football field–sized parking lot in San Jose.

Now in its fourth year, Suhoor Fest is one of the largest events of its kind in the U.S. — so big, says El Halal Amigos owner Hisham Abdelfattah, “It feels like every Muslim in California is there.” This year’s edition will take place on Sat., March 15, from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., at the SABA Center in North San Jose.

Organized by Halal Fest, which has hosted halal food events in the Bay Area since 2013, Suhoor Fest is one of the many community gatherings that were born as a response to pandemic isolation. Founder Irfan Rydhan explains that he wanted to recreate the “back-home” feeling that Bay Area Muslims might have experienced in the Arab world and other Muslim-majority countries like Malaysia or Pakistan, where his father is from.

“Everything is usually shut down during the daytime, and then after sunset, that’s when everybody breaks their fast, and then they start to go out to participate in the street food,” Rydhan says.

Suhoor Fest is the Halal Fest team’s attempt to bring that lively atmosphere to the Bay — the streets lit up, everyone outside mingling until late into the night.

The 2025 edition of Suhoor Fest looks to be the largest one yet, with a lineup 21 halal food and beverage vendors, including a handful of prominent first-timers. Zareen’s, maybe the Peninsula’s most beloved Pakistani-Indian restaurant, will have a stall set up for the first time. Manakish Oven, a new Palestinian spot in San Jose, will sling its array of popular flatbreads. And, for visitors who like their shawarma with a side of lumpia, the Cabalen Sweet & Savory truck will be on hand to sell its unique hybrid of Filipino and Middle Eastern cuisines.

Of course, returning Suhoor Fest anchors like El Halal Amigos will once again draw some of the event’s longest lines. This year, Abdelfattah says he’ll be trying something new for his street tacos, melting cheese on the tortilla, quesataco-style, while it crisps on the griddle.

Other new features this year include an exotic car show and a mocktail pop-up. There’s also the option to buy $50 VIP tickets (admission is otherwise free) that come with a grab bag of coupons and other assorted treats — a T-shirt, a can of Palestinian American–owned Drink Palestina soda (which donates 10% of its profits to Palestinian relief), a raffle ticket for a chance to attend the Warriors’ Muslim Heritage Night game at Chase Center, and more.

In many ways, Suhoor Fest is the biggest, most joyous party of the year for the Bay Area’s Muslim communities. But this year’s event is also tinged with pain and worry, with more than 48,000 Palestinians reported to have been killed since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza and attacks on the occupied West Bank, and a tenuous ceasefire many fear is on the brink of collapse.

“Yes, it is Ramadan. It’s the most beautiful time of the year,” Abdelfattah says. “But it’s also very, very hard to enjoy all of the beautiful things that come with Ramadan because of what’s happening in Gaza, specifically.”

Both Rydhan and Abdelfattah cite the sense of responsibility they feel toward to the broader Bay Area Muslim community to practice Sadaqah, or charity, during Ramadan — to, as Rydhan puts it, always be thinking about “our brothers and sisters around the world, especially in Palestine and Gaza.” Toward that end, Suhoor Fest will be partnering with the nonprofit Islamic Relief USA, which will have a booth set up to collect donations for Gaza.

Abdelfattah will also host a separate Suhoor Night event at El Halal Amigos (with a special guest appearance by Zareen’s) on Fri., March 21, where he’ll serve beef bacon breakfast burritos and donate 20% of the proceeds to Islamic Relief.

Of course, one of the most unique aspects of Suhoor Fest is that it runs all the way until 5 o’clock in the morning — and every year, there’s always a healthy crowd that stays to the end to share a quieter, more contemplative moment with their community. After all, Abdelfattah says, “The reason why it runs until 5 a.m. is because we’re all still together to pray right at sunrise after we’ve filled our bellies.”

Suhoor Fest will take place on Saturday, March 15, from 11 p.m.–5 a.m., in the parking lot of the SABA Islamic Center (4415 Fortran Ct., San Jose). El Halal Amigos’ separate Suhoor Night event will take place 10 p.m.–3 a.m. on Friday, March 21 at 1100 Lincoln Avenue in San Jose. Zareen’s will also host a Suhoor Night at its Palo Alto location on Saturday, March 22.