black clamshell container with small cubes of lamb over yellow rice topped with white sauce with fries and a side salad
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Review: Sizzling Bites in Reading, PA

exterior of a strip mall stand with cream-colored facade with red and white logo over the door that reads "Sizzling Bites Gyros & Platters"

I never would have thought that Berks County would become a hotbed for halal food, but it’s starting to feel that way. 

In a little over a year, at least four new halal spots have opened in the county: Sajal Hot Chicken & Gyro in Kutztown, NYC Deli in Reading, Zaytoon in Wyomissing, and the newest addition, Sizzling Bites in Muhlenberg Township. 

Sizzling Bites Halal Grill got its start in Bethlehem in 2024. Their Berks County location is the third for the chain, which opened in Easton earlier in 2025. (Scranton has already been announced as the site of their fourth location, coming in 2026). 

View of the order counter at Sizzling BItes in Reading, PA with a video menu board above a work station with warmers

The Muhlenberg location is along the 5th Street Highway in the Plaza 222 shopping center (the same strip mall that was home to Alebrije until it closed in 2025). 

And the new Sizzling Bites already has a strong following, as evident by the stream of people coming and going during the lunch rush on my visit. One person was ordering from the kiosk, another was studying the menu, three people were waiting for their orders, and a handful of tables were filled with those who already had their food. 

interior of a restaurant with white tables and red chairs with a white wall on the left and red wall on the right

I walked up the counter to order, which ended up costing me $6 more because I grabbed a pack of baklava out of the fridge next to me. I took the dessert and my bottle of iced tea to a table to wait for my lamb platter. 

Only about five minutes later, they were calling my name. I decided to stay and eat at the counter near one of the front windows. 

black clamshell container with small cubes of lamb over yellow rice topped with white sauce with fries and a side salad

The menu at Sizzling Bites is very similar to Zaytoon, the Wyomissing restaurant that has quickly become one of our favorite lunch spots. The lamb platter is my go-to at Zaytoon so I had to see how Sizzling Bites’ compares. 

Sizzling Bites uses diced lamb meat on their platter, which is different from the shaved lamb that Zaytoon serves. I was a little nervous about how the consistency would be, but the meat was incredibly tender. The bed of yellow rice underneath was very similar, and so was the delicious white sauce on top. 

The biggest difference in their platters isn’t the meat, it’s the sides. While Zaytoon’s meat and rice platters are served with a side salad and pita, Sizzling Bites’ is served with a side salad and French fries. 

I liked the fries, but it was more food than I needed, especially at lunchtime. I still ate it all, though – it was just too good to stop. 

clear plastic takeout container with two roll-shaped pieces of baklava topped with pistachio crumble

The baklava went home with me so Julie and I could share it that night. The two long rolls were each cut in half and topped with crushed pistachio. The pistachio added a unique flavor to them, but the real star was the honey, which was used in abundance giving them an addictively sweet flavor. 

My actual lamb platter was about $15, but with my drink and the baklava it ended up being close to $25. The fact that it was a dinner portion – and the fact that everything was delicious – made it well worth the money. 

Halal has found a home in Reading, and I’m here for it. 

BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Very Good

Sizzling Bites Halal Grill
3225 N. 5th Street Highway
Reading, PA 19605

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takeout container with lamb meat topped with white sauce, pita chips, and salad from Zaytoon Kabob & Grill in Wyomissing, PA
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Review: Zaytoon Kabob & Grill

brick facade of the stripmall storefront for Zaytoon Kabob and Grill in Wyomissing, PA

Having been blogging now for more than a decade, I can say with certainty that Berks County has grown tremendously in the diversity of its food offerings. It’s almost night and day to compare today to when I started in 2014. 

Not every new addition has been a hit, and restaurants continue to come and go. But one restaurant we hope sticks around is Zaytoon Kebab and Grill. 

Zaytoon opened in spring 2025 in the former Zoup!, in the strip mall known as the Shoppes at Wyomissing. It’s a halal grill, one of the few halal spots in the area (Aladdin in West Reading and Sajal in Kutztown being two other notable ones). 

view from a booth with green cushions looking at a selife wall with black background and green neon light that reads "Zaytoon"

The restaurant is cozy with green-tinted booth seats lining one of the walls – half of them built for four, and the other half built for two – with tables dotting the open space surrounding the order counter. A soccer match can usually be found on the lone TV in the corner. 

Zaytoon’s menu is highly focused and rooted in Middle Eastern cooking. That means beef, chicken, lamb and falafel as the stars of the dishes. On my first visit, shortly after they opened in the spring, I decided to try their lamb platter. 

takeout container with lamb meat topped with white sauce, pita chips, and salad from Zaytoon Kabob & Grill in Wyomissing, PA

It came served in a compartmentalized takeout container with the lamb meat over a bed of rice, topped with white sauce. A small salad and two pieces of pita filled the other two spaces. 

The lamb was absolutely one of the best things that I have had. It was so tender and juicy, almost melt-in-your-mouth. And the white sauce was perfect. It’s tzatziki-like in consistency, but I feel it has a more subtle flavor than most similar sauces. It really was there to enhance rather than overpower. 

About a week after my own visit, Julie stopped in with one of her coworkers. She ordered the exact same meal as I did. She also gave it a rave review. 

two takeout containers with lids open, one with a gyro topped with lettuce and the other with an order of golden colored French fries

It was so good that on my second visit, I once again got lamb. But this time, I got it in a gyro. 

The gyro was over-stuffed with meat and veggies (tomato, cucumber, shredded lettuce, and onion). Like the platter, everything was smothered in that white sauce. 

And again, the flavors were excellent. Even the few bites where I didn’t have the sauce – just meat and pita – were very good and highlighted just how flavorful the lamb is. 

My only regret with the trip was that I had ordered a side of fries that I quickly realized I didn’t need. The fries were fine, nothing special, but I didn’t need them anyway because the gyro was so filling on its own. 

Back on my first visit, I also tried their pink chai. As a lover of chai, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try this unique variation. 

It was strong, definitely real tea and not made from a powder or syrup that some coffee shops use. It had spice to it, not as easy to sip as the more Americanized lattes that are more sugar than spice, but I enjoyed it and would get it again if I needed a pick-me-up with my lunch or dinner. 

order and food prep counter at Zaytoon Kabob and Grill in Wyomissing, PA

In addition to serving delicious food, Zaytoon has good prices. Meals are priced under $15, and with it being a quick counter-service spot, it’s a great place for a quick lunch or a no-fuss dinner. 

The lamb will definitely keep me coming back. Maybe I’ll eventually try something else on the menu. But even if I just get the same thing every time, I’m glad to have it here in Berks. 

BCE Rating
Food: Very Good
Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Very Good
Price: $$

Zaytoon Kabob & Grill
760 Woodland Road
Wyomissing, PA 19610

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