Big Knife

The main streets of Nairobi are dominated by fast food franchises that offer the normal fare of fried chicken in all its oil and crumbed glory, chips, pizza, and everything the doctor warned you about but your body craves. If you are disciplined enough to resist this, your next option is a hot lunch served by the in-house supermarket. But for those with adventurous palates and who want to spend a little more, there are niche restaurants serving authentic traditional Turkish, Ethiopian, Somali, or Indian food. On a recent hunt for something beyond the ”normal, Along Mombasa Road at Imaara Mall, I found myself at the Big Knife. Big Knife is a franchise that started small, serving Shawarma meals instead of the common wraps as a quick snack. And this is their selling point. Beef and chicken Shawarma is served as a full meal with either rice or chips and a side salad. The portions are generous enough, and nowadays they throw in a free glass of Turkish tea instead of juice. I picked the mix of beef and chicken shawarma and fries and I did not regret it. The Shawarma was well done and seasoned. The restaurant is clean and the ambiance is warm, big, and cozy, one can do a small party. The service was very quick, this really impressed me, as I was waiting for my sharwama, my free tea was brought, with this kind of weather we all need such LOL. Big Knife has several branches at Monrovia street Muindi Mbingu Street, Hurlingham Argwings Kodhek road, Bellevue Kenol petrol station, and Al JAZEERA RESIDENY, Ole Shapara Ave South C. I highly recommend Big Knife.

The big knife is a Turkish restaurant, one of the most attractive restaurants. It has its signature dish of shawarma that always stands out. It was my first time visiting the restaurant around Muindi Mbingu Street near Nairobi University footbridge during lunch hour. Upon arrival, I was shown where to sit, and I was provided with the menu. I ordered pizza which comes with two shawarma free at Ksh 990. For the drink, I ordered a glass of juice. The pizza was delicious with thin crust and well-spread cheese, which will be loved by every guest that visits the restaurant. The food was a lot I couldn’t finish, and I was eager to try the shawarma. It was the best that I have ever tried. The combination of meat and vegetable mayo made it stand out. The spices and flavors were extremely impressive. Everything I ate was fresh and delicious. After finishing with the food, I was provided with Turkish tea on the house, which proved to me that it’s genuinely a Turkish restaurant. The décor, the background music, and the restaurant lighting were terrific. However, the service was not of the highest quality. It seemed to me that the waiters were not very engaged. But the manager seemed very warm and thoughtful. He came to my table to check on the experience and seemed genuinely involved. I highly recommend this restaurant the food, drinks and the atmosphere is brilliant.

This fast-food restaurant is popularly known for its shawarma. They are a Turkish restaurant that majorly offers shawarmas and pizza with a few sides. This place has a good ambiance and even better staff. Though they have a few branches in Nairobi, I frequently go to the one at South C. Evening walks are always better when I pop by here. Their shawarmas go for as low as KES250 for the chicken roll. They have both beef and chicken. Their pizzas cost KES570 for the small size and KES670 for the large one. Their food is halal. The big knife has numerous offers running throughout the week. The one I like is for KES990 you get a large pizza and 2 shawarma rolls. The food is amazing I promise. You can’t stop at one roll. They also have ample parking and sitting space in the area.

The first time I tried the big knife shawarma was a few years back .There was a concert that was held at Ngong Racecourse and Big Knife were vendors. I had spent most of the night enjoying the music and by the time I was hungry enough to eat all the wraps were completely over the only thing that was left was the chicken .It was actually still being sliced and served. Practically speaking on that day I just ate chicken. The second time and my official shawarma try was in their branch in Hurlingam . It was a such a hectic day and I was feeling quite hungry and tired . When I saw their restaurant I was like why not. I’d always wanted to officially try eating from their menu because there was so much talk about their food. What I absolutely loved about this fast food restaurant before I even ate anything is the affordability. Their prices are so fair and you literally don’t have to think twice about splurging here. Their regular chicken shawarma was 250/= and personally I felt like it was quite filling I didn’t need to have more. It was basically just chicken and some vegetables lathered in a little creamy sauce and then covered up in the wrap. In regards to taste and flavor , I felt a little bit disappointed .There was little to no effort that was put. The chicken on its own wasn’t as juicy and spicy as it could have been. I had actually told them I wanted my shawarma spicy but the only spice they added was ordinary over the counter chilli sauce. (this was a little bit funny on that day )This meal to me was overally very bland but I didn’t really regret it because first of all it was cheap and second it was very filling. If you are looking for somewhere to have a quick meal that is very budget friendly with light specifications in regards to flavor then voila :Big Knife it is. They also have student friendly packages that come with a soft drink at such an affordable price. The most common combo is the student special where you get shawarma ,soda and fries at 350/=. Talk about affordability.