THE DISH: Great bang for your buck at Uncle Nene's

The Uncle Nene’s Classic Beef Burger. PHOTO| ABIGAIL ARUNGA


What you need to know:

  • I was also sacrificing not just my pride and prejudice, but also my fries schedule.
  • You see, due to my waru addiction, I limit myself to fries once a week. That’s how deep this as going.

After getting a whole lot of flak or my favourite spots, which is, of course, entirely understandable, I also got a whole lot of recommendations. Which honestly is a win-win for me, you see? It means y’all are actually reading my posts! Whether to agree or disagree is a whole different discussion, but now we can discuss what is actually the best food ever, in this city, yes? And now I have a bunch of new places to try. I love a good conversation!

One place that has been suggested to me multiple times for a good burger is Uncle Nene’s (which I discovered I have been pronouncing wrong the whole time.

It isn’t pronounced like the lady from Real Housewives of Atlanta. LOL). I really like the sit down experience of a burger – of indeed, going out to eat, because you’re going out for the experience, you know? To be welcomed in, shown a table, told to sit down, relax, be served, not have to wash dishes…you know the drill.

And so, an eatery that caters specifically only to takeout lovers was a bit of a reach for me. But the recommendations were so many, I decided to put my pride and prejudice aside (HA!) and call them up.

But first I looked at the menu on their (readily available and clear) Facebook page. The menu is super reasonable, at the cheapest burger weighing in at 650 for the Classic Beef. In my opinion, for a burger in Nairobi, that’s good eats. Plus fries and coleslaw? I was in.

I was also sacrificing not just my pride and prejudice, but also my fries schedule. You see, due to my waru addiction, I limit myself to fries once a week. That’s how deep this as going.

VERY FRIENDLY

So I called them up, and they’re very friendly. They asked if I wanted extra cheese with my burger, and I said yes.

For me, the sign of a true burger is one that comes with pickles on it – which they do! But they don’t put on any tomatoes or lettuce, even for an added price, which I wish was a thing, but it isn’t my establishment. But PICKLES are a winning sign for me (come on, Sierra. Come ON!).

They do put on a special sauce and caramelised onions, though, which helps.

Delivery was done in half an hour and I was pleased because I thought it was at least going to be an hour long wait, as they had said, and I was starving. I opened and ate that burger so fast, I didn’t even really have time to take a photo.

The fries were totally worth it – so much so that I only noticed that there was ketchup and salt in the napkin that came with the delivery after the takeaway box was devoid of any food. The patty was good, and the burger was a good size.

The fries were crunchy, and a very good portion next to the well-sized burger, which I appreciate. I am a salad lover by nature, so of course I wish that the coleslaw portion was a bit bigger, but I guess you can’t have it all?

Speaking of not having it all, I can’t wait to be at an event where Uncle Nene’s is catering so that I can have that experience I was talking about earlier, of going somewhere to eat something fresh off the grill. The burger in the box was good, but takeaway is always, indefinably, different from something you get on a plate.

And that’s ok – Nene’s still maintains the freshness and the standard and the size of a good burger – I just think if it was so good in a box, it’s going to be even better when I go see it being made.

I definitely agree that Uncle Nene’s is great bang for your buck. That burger filled me up and I didn’t have to eat again…for like, 5 hours. Hehe. I will also definitely be ordering from them again.

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Wondering where to get the 411 on what's happening in and around Nairobi's foodie scene? There's a lot of places you could go, but here's where we want you to be – getting the dish on the dish. Get it? We knew you would.