The Kro’s Nest: Back and Better than Ever

After complicated legal drama, Kro’s Nest is finally back and it’s even bigger and badder (bad as in bad-ass) than the original.

Fulfilling the same reputation it had before, Kro’s Nest is still the place in Beijing to gather a big group and pig out on pizzas and beers. With RMB 20 pint-sized draft beers and the biggest pizza pies in town, you’re guaranteed to leave like stuffed Humpty Dumpties and still have plenty of left-overs to take home.

That being said, there have been both improvements and a few let-downs with the new Kro’s.

No longer printed in newspaper style, they now have a full-on menu packed with personality and a wealth of options to choose from.  More than just pizza like the “Artery Clogger” and “Cheeseburger in Paradise”, they’ve also got a large range of starters, salads, desserts like funnel cake and Rocky Road Rice-Krispy Pie, and a large selection of both fun cocktails, milkshakes and beers.

For a complete Kro’s Nest experience, we were ambitious enough to start off with a round of cocktails (in order of L to R): Beach Tea (RMB 50), Hop Skip Jump and Go Naked (RMB 45), Strawberry Daiquiri (RMB 50) and Mudslide (RMB 40).

While all 4 drinks tasted OK, they were tiny for their price tag and the general consensus was that all the drinks were pretty weak in pour.  After we each finished off the cocktails in a few slurps, it was a no-brainer for us to switch to draft beers, which was a much better choice at only RMB 20 for a pint.

To go along with our drinks, we also couldn’t resist the urge to try a few items from their fun range of starters (as we had heard their kurly fries and onion rings were off-the-hook).  Kro’s signature kurly fries came in 3 options: with spicy chili salt (RMB 25), Mozzarella and Cheddar cheese (RMB 28), plus bacon (RMB 30).

We tested out their kurly fries with spicy chili salt, their onion rings (RMB 25) and buffalo wings (RMB 42). While Kro’s kurly fries were OK, it was pretty weak in comparison to the curly fries I know (Jack in the Box aka the KING of curly fries) and the flimsy onion rings were also quite a let-down compared to the thick, golden whole onion rings I’m used to.  And while the buffalo wings looked great, they also missed the mark as they had a strange sauce that left an unpleasant taste.  Unfortunately, all the starters were overall disappointing.

Kro’s Signature Kurly Fries with Spicy Chili Salt (RMB 25) / Onion Rings (RMB 25)

Buffalo Wings (RMB 42)

The cocktails and appetizers got us off on the wrong foot, but on the plus side and most importantly, their pizza is awesome.  Their pizza is enormous, thick, greasy, tasty, loaded with toppings and you’re spoiled with choice for creative combinations. They even come with a selection of dipping sauces from garlic butter to pesto, ranch, marinara sauce, etc. More sauces for your pizza – what a brilliant concept.

We ordered a medium size of half Pepperoni Explosion and half Steak n Cheese (RMB 115) which was big enough for 4 big eaters to share.  The Pepperoni Explosion was the winner out of the two with its classic flavor generous pepperoni portions. While the Steak n Cheese was good, there was hardly any steak and to be honest, it looked more like a vegetarian pizza than it did a “Steak n Cheese”.

Medium Size Kro’s Nest Pizza – half Pepperoni Explosion & half Steak n Cheese

Overall, Kro’s remains the place to go with a big group to enjoy greasy, tasty, giant American-style pizza that’s easy to share and fun to order.  While their other menu items win points for creativity, they do not follow in the same suit as their pizzas in terms of portion or taste.

Another bonus is that Kro’s Nest has matched their gargantuan-sized pizzas by moving into a colossal space (over 1,000 sq m) with a massive open kitchen, brick pizza window and a 2-story back space perfect for events, parties, shows, etc.  With a bird theme prevalent throughout the venue, you can find trees and crows around the venue as decor and they also have wifi and free video arcade games!

LumDimSum Snapshots of Kro’s Nest:

Kro’s Video Arcade Games ROCK (and they’re free!)