Skip to main content

Nairobi's Top 4 Texas Brisket Places Reviewed and Ranked

Brisket on a bed of roast vegetables with barbecue sauce at Texas Brisket, Kikuyu 

This review has been updated after a number of you suggested I try the brisket at County2County. 

What's the best place to have Brisket in Nairobi? What's even brisket? 

Brisket is one of the toughest cuts in a cow, from around the belly. It is so tough that it has to be smoked for about 16 hours to tenderise. But that there, is the catch. 

12 to 16 hours later, it is the most flavourful and softest cut you will ever have. So full of flavour and so soft you can pick it apart with your fingers. 

However, due to the long cooking time involved, only a few places offer brisket in Nairobi. 

The best so far is Texas Brisket which is located within Kikuyu Railway station. 

They do the meat for a proper 16 hours, and will usually have a fatty or non-fatty portion. The fatty portions are more tasty. A 500 gram serving goes for KSh. 900 and a 1 KG order comes with a serving of free fries. Their brisket has a well smoked exterior coupled with a very juicy interior and is served on a bed of roast vegetables. 

Texas Brisket is also the most affordable. If going there past noon on a Saturday, it is advisable to book your order as the brisket is popular and runs out quite early. 

Coming highly recommended is Bali's Best along Magadi Road, next to Total Magadi Road. Despite it being highly recommended even ahead of Texas Barbecue, it still has some way to go to match our reigning number one.

Bali's Best brisket does sport a rich smoky and beefy flavour,  and the meat was tender and juicy. The brisket is presented on a hot skillet alongside roast vegetables and a barbecue sauce. Servings start at KSh. 1,000 for half a kg with no accompaniment.  A single chips servings is KSh. 250.


Taking third place is County2County in Westlands along Westlands Road helped along by its balanced smokey,  beefy flavour with the bits of fat rendering to the rich taste. It could do with a little more tenderness though. 


Brisket at County2County with coleslaw along Westlands Road

County2County prices their brisket at 1,900 shillings for half a kilo with accompaniment, and 3,000 for a full KG with no accompaniment, again making it pricier to our first 2 contenders. They serve brisket on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The brisket is served with a barbecue sauce, some red cabbage coleslaw and a choice of fries,  wedges or ugali.


The smoker at County2County


Fourth ranked is Smokehouse Barbeque located at Saifee Park around Bogani Lane in Karen. The cuts are a little tough and might need more time in the smoker. Other than the chewiness, they still pack the flavour of a nice brisket. Pricing starts at KSh. 1,000 for a quarter KG (250 grams) and KSh. 1,600 for 400 grams. A little bit more smoke and they move higher up the ranking. 


Brisket at Smokehouse, Saifee Park 

(See note below about Barbeque Pit) At fifth place in our ranking are Barbeque Pit, located in Nairobi West opposite T Mall, at Magharibi Place. Interesting enough, according to my very trusted reviewer, they had the best spiced brisket. They however need more hours on the grill to make the cut and move higher up the ranking.

A kilo at Barbeque Pit costs about 2,000 shillings. Being next to Maru's Bhajias makes for a nice accompaniment of bhajias. They however hold the highest promise if they were to hold that meat to the smoke just for a little bit longer. Should they hit the 16 hours promised time, their brisket threatens to overthrow the hallowed Texas Brisket. 

That wraps up our Nairobi Brisket Review. If you really want to have Brisket, I recommend you head over to Texas Brisket in Kikuyu or to Bali's Best along Magadi Road. 

County2County and Smokehouse are great alternatives, though you'll want to insist the smoking takes a little longer. 

Favouring County2County is the proximity to town/Westlands. By the time of updating this piece, it appears Nairobi Barbecue Pit no longer offer the brisket. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beers in Kenya: A sober opinion

Note: This is a dated post and has since been mostly passed by events. SAB Miller beers including Castle and Peroni are no longer widely available in Kenya after their exist. Sirville Brewery was bought out by Brew Bistro before being permanently shut in a tax dispute. Kenya is a land of milk, honey, beaches and taxes. I have penned, or is typed, a newer post here .  Peroni - One of the best beers in Kenya. Did a taste of canned and bottled Italian, and bottled Tanzanian I like the tangy flavour and body in Tanzanian Peroni. The can is close. Heineken drinkers will like the Italian one.  I have had a short beer swigging stint in my life. It has however been long enough for me to share my opinion of Kenyan beer. Interestingly, over the course of sharing such opinions with other drunkards connoisseurs,  I have found that we all have different views as to what beer is the best, which one makes you too drunk, or which one gives one free, extra hangover for every ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to Drive from Kenya to Namibia (or South Africa)

  What You Need COMESA Yellow Sticker (Tanzania and Zambia third party insurance. Botswana may require local bond. Namibia doesn’t require insurance) Logbook Processing with KRA Copies of your logbook for temporary import permits in other countries Passport Yellow fever vaccination proof. COVID vaccination proof may be required Warning triangles and 1 litre fire extinguisher
Post a Comment
Read more

Beers of Kenya. The Ultimate 2019 Guide

Four years ago, precisely in 2015, I wrote about beer in Kenya in what has gone on to be my most popular post this year with more than 5,000 people reading it. It seems that there is a lot of interest in exploring beer in Kenya, which is understandable. The brewing sector has grown since then and we now have lots of options, which means it is time for another review. Back in 2015, Kenya had one major brewer - EABL/KBL, challenged by Keroche and Sierra which is more of a small volume craft brewer, and arguably Kenya’s first craft brewery. It had also been joined by Brew Bistro which mostly sells its malted stuff at its outlets in Nairobi and later by Sirville, a bar located at Galleria Mall. Sirville was later sold to Brew Bistro and converted to the latter for a while, before shutting down in what is alleged to be a tax dispute.
Post a Comment
Read more

Visiting Watamu

Getting to Watamu: Flight to Malindi Airport. Jambojet flies here and so do other airlines from Wilson. You'll then need a Cab to Watamu (KSh. 1,700 to KSh. 2,000 - many apps are inaccurate) or matatu just outside the airport (KSh. 100) SGR to Mombasa, then shuttle to Watamu. There are about 2 regular shuttles and they charge KSh. 1,500 to KSh. 2,000 one way  Bus to Watamu. Tahmeed and other buses operate regular schedules to Total Watamu  Drive: It's faster branching through Mariakani to Kaloleni then to Kilifi. The route through Tsavo is not any faster and has park fees. Takes 9 hours  Things to do  Beach Sunbathing : Watamu has some of the world's best beaches, with white sand. The left side from Watamu Village has a bay with shallow water during low tide,  you can wade and swim in the ocean even if you don't know how to swim! Ocean is warm in July - August but very windy. Watamu beaches have lots of seaweed but this shouldn't deter yo...
Post a Comment
Read more