BIG SMOKE KAREN — Restaurant in Nairobi

Went there on a Friday afternoon.

WHAT WE ORDERED: *4 meat combo *mac&cheese *chunky chips *mashed potatoes *passion juice *mango banana smoothie *apple pie

WHAT I LOVED: *THE CUSTOMER SERVICE - It was excellent.

*DECOR - The wood + metal decor fits right in with the restaurant theme.

*GOAT MEAT & CHUNKY CHIPS - These were the star of this entire meal! So flavorful & delicious. 😋

*THE PORK RIBS, MAC&CHEESE and MASHED POTATOES - tasty but sadly, also served to us cold. What a waste...coz they would've slapped more if they were served steamy and hot.

*THE PASSION FRUIT JUICE - It is from actual passion fruits! So yum and refreshing!

WHAT I HATED: *THE BEEF BRISKET - It was my first time trying brisket in Kenya so I was excited but boy was I disappointed! I mean, the brisket slices were completely COLD! The fat on the meat had even solidified. Not sure if this is a service issue whereby food is not brought out to the customer fast enough OR a food issue whereby the caliber & style of preparation just isn't good. Because, why would you serve a customer COLD brisket?

*THE CHICKEN - same issue as the beef brisket. It was completely cold when served. It was also very tough to eat...was it really freshly smoked in house? Or is that just a slogan? We didn't even eat the rest of it because it was still reddish on the inside meaning it wasn't smoked properly.

*THE APPLE PIE - either the dough was not cooked all the way through OR the soggy cinnamon apple mess that was inside had turned the pastry into mush. So disgusting! It was like eating cooked apples that had just fallen into a mixture of sand and mud. Yuck! Literally, the WORST apple pie I have ever eaten. They shouldn't even put that on their menu.

PLEASE NOTE: *Carry a jacket/coat if you plan on sitting on the outside terraces as it tends...

I’ve been traveling a lot throughout Africa recently and I always put local food as a priority.

However, my taste buds were craving something from back home. So I decided to come to Big Smoke for lunch.

The customer service was great. I was being greeted all the way from the parking lot until the entrance of the restaurant.

I was indecisive about what which protein to choose, so I chose the triple smoke stack plate to try various meats.

The winner for me were the beef ribs. They were cooked well, bbq sauce on point, and the were fatty, just the way I like it. It reminded me of my childhood when I used to eat at Tony Romans back in the states.

The brisket was also delicious and at the moment the pork ribs were just too much for me to eat. (A lot of meat in the triple stack plate.)

I did have the pork ribs later that night and they were finger-licking good, literally!

It’s hard to do bbq food well outside the USA, but Big Smoke does a good job of bringing that American flavor to...

Place has potential, but we arrived at 3:30, had to flag a waitress down for our order, waited 1 hr for two 2 cokes, a milkshake and a cocktail. Drinks came out wrong after the long wait. They were out of mac and cheese at 3:30 midday and chips. It was complete and utter disorganization when we were there. Several waiters and waitresses walking around, chef out and about and no one being served in a timely manner. Great concept for the area, but I would not recommend anyone visit until they work out service logistics and up their game. Food finally arrived at 5:00 pm after our 3:30 arrival. Food was pretty good. Overall, manager seemed unbothered while several people complained about service. Just kept stating… it’s sorted when clearly nothing was sorted. Definitely a miss as is. Too expensive for service received. Perhaps with time it will be better and we’ll try again. Plus- bathrooms were very clean and kids area is nice to keep kids occupied while waiting 1-2...