Big Smoke

December 18, 2023

There was so much hype about this place, so I was a bit worried it wouldn’t match up but I actually had quite a pleasant time 🙃

Big Smoke is located in Karen, along Ngong road. There’s a very big sign on the road so you can’t miss it. When you enter it feels like you’re entering a barn but not a barn? I’ve never been to a Texas BBQ but if I was to imagine how one would look like, this comes pretty close. The decor is very country style, a couple of booths, a lot of high tables and level tables, all wood. I think the all wood feel is what makes it feel like a barn.

You can literally smell the meat cooking as soon as you step in 😋 The hosts are very welcoming and accommodating to whatever seating arrangement you’d like. They have an outer section and an indoor section as well as a kids play area so it’s a perfect place for family outings.

The menu may look bulky but it’s actually quite concise. We were here for one thing and one thing only so I didn’t even bother with starters. We ordered the 4 meat combo platter (KSH2,200) which has a little bit of everything: Goat shoulder, pork ribs, beef brisket and half a chicken and it also comes with their signature sauces. The menu says that the platters come with a side but if you order the 2,3 or 4 meat platter, the sides are charged separately… so the only one that comes inclusive of a side is the 1 meat platter… which really isn’t a platter is it? 🤔 Anyway, we ordered chips (KSH300), potato salad (KSH400) and Kachumbari (KSH200).

Since the meat is slow-cooked for over 10 hours I expected the food to take a while but we were served really quickly. I guess they cook a good amount the night before and continuously during the day.

The meats on the platter were so soft, very fall off the bone soft 🤤 The ribs, goat & brisket were the best for me in that order… The chicken, though also very yummy, was just another kuku choma for me, nothing too special. The meats really lacked salt though, and sure you can add salt for yourself but I would think even in the marination & grilling of the meats they would use some salt no? That’s my only critique otherwise - really good meat, really soft and tasty and filling - exactly what slow cooked bbq should be.

The fries were good, I didn’t try the potato salad. For dessert, thanks to a friend’s recommendation, we tried the apple pie. I love a good fresh apple pie 😋 This was a good try….🙈 The pie has minced pieces of apple in it as opposed to the usually bigger slices which is a nice twist, but I think that’s what I didn’t like about it. Although, the vanilla ice cream plus a scoop of the apple pie melts so perfectly together in your mouth so it’s still really a worthy dessert to have here.

I enjoyed the vibe here, the food and especially the meat - and the pricing is great for a place that’s slow cooking their food for over 16 hours.