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A candid review of Chicken Inn, covering its strengths, weaknesses, and how it compares to the competition. Find out if it’s worth your money.

So it’s a Sunday, 10:38 in the morning, just woke up, eyes barely open and I’m feeling like a used diaper. Wanted to type up this Chicken Inn review… it’s been long overdue.

But not a way to start a Sunday, so I’ll go make breakfast and I’ll see you in the next paragraph, and by breakfast I mean black plain tea because I spent all my money at Chicken Inn….

What Defines a Good Fried Chicken?

The best fried chicken has an aroma that summons neighbors from three apartments away…I know anyone eating fried chicken probably lives in an apartment anyway. It should have a “golden tan” just light, not too dark or burnt, and neither too pale

Taking a bite should make a crunch that can be heard across your apartment. Yes, again; fast food fried chicken is for apartment dwellers. The crust should be so crispy and light (thin), not too thick and “cakey“..This is not a pastry item, it’s chicken at the end of the day.

The flavor should punch your palate. No bland nonsense here—every bite should have just the right amount of salt, spice, and whatever secret ingredient is used. If the chicken only tastes good because of the sauce, something has gone horribly wrong.

Dry chicken is a crime. Chicken is only supposed to be dry on the outside and juicy on the inside, and by juicy I hope you don’t confuse that with “oily”.

I mean, yes, this is a fried product, so it’s gonna have some oil, but not too much oil that makes your hands look like they were submerged in a deep fryer themselves

If you had good chicken, the last nail on the coffin is: Licking your fingers at the end, did you even eat GREAT fried chicken if you don’t go caveman mode?

Alright with our expectations of a GREAT fried chicken, let’s see how good or terribly Chicken Inn delivers…

Chicken Inn’s Actual Review

Alright, let’s get this out of the way—I’m not exactly Chicken Inn’s biggest fanboy. Scratch “biggest” even a fanboy on itself is an ask. I think their food is average, never great, never been wowed.

But fair is fair, I feel morally obligated and I’ll give credit where it’s actually deserved. Cool? Cool.

Now, that was my segway to saying I’ve had Chicken Inn before… somewhere between four and six times (but who’s counting? Certainly not me).

So yes, I know what I’m facing, but I’m judging what’s in front of me today, not whatever I had probably back in 2021—or whenever. So what you are hearing is a lack of faith

Fries

Chicken Inn fries have always had the same weirdly persistent thing about them—like a bad habit they refuse to break. They’re waxy.

They’ve always been waxy. They’ll probably die waxy. Instead of crisping up like a respectable fry, they just… gum up on the outside while staying soft inside. It’s like they started the frying process and then got bored halfway through.

And look, I’m not being unreasonable. A good fry should have a crispy shell with a fluffy interior—this is basic fry law.

But these ones? These ones are out here breaking the fry law.

So I did some digging, and apparently, it’s the potatoes’ fault. Some varieties are just too waxy for deep frying, and yet, someone at Chicken Inn looked at them and went, “Yep, these are the ones.”

Honestly, it makes sense why KFC used to import their potatoes. They understood that good fries come from specific varieties that maybe just don’t grow here. But did we appreciate this? No. We got mad at them.

And let’s talk about texture for a second—because texture can ruin everything. Sometimes, it’s even more important than taste. So when fries fail at both? There’s no saving them.

To make matters worse, the portions feel even smaller than I remember, which, in this particular case, is a blessing in disguise. Less of a bad thing is, well, still a bad thing, but at least you suffer for a shorter time.

What’s confusing? Bakers Inn—their own sister brand—somehow makes some of the better fries in Nairobi. A bakery. A place that specializes in bread. How does that even happen?

Coleslaw

I went in with low expectations because, well, last time the Chicken Inn coleslaw didn’t exactly wow me. It wasn’t bad, just not exciting.

But today? Today, it somehow managed to fall even further. Everything was the same as before, except the shredded cabbage had gained an unexpected new trait: toughness.

No, not a pleasant crunch—actual toughness. Like, I don’t know what happened here, but I was halfway to wondering how this happened, never had a tough cabbage, I’m aware of sukumawiki toughening up, but not cabbages

It still wasn’t creamy, still wasn’t well-mixed, and somehow leaned even more into that slightly watery, mayo-separating situation. At this point, I wasn’t eating coleslaw—I was investigating it.

For contrast, one of the better coleslaws I’ve had was from Galito’s, another Chicken Inn sister restaurant. It was a solid 5/5 (for a fastfood restaurant). Then again, maybe I just caught them on a really good day.

Chicken

I realize I’m nowhere near a clean slate with Chicken Inn after trying their chicken again hoping for redemption.

As if suffering through leathery fries wasn’t punishment enough, now I’ve got to battle with a hard-crusted chicken too? Look, I’d let the sides slide—it’s literally called Chicken Inn, so the main act should be the redeeming factor. But nope, even here, they drop the ball.

Let’s get straight to the issue: the crust. And oh boy, do they love their crust. It’s thick, hard, and not in a good way. Instead of a flavorful, well-seasoned coating, you get a mouthful of salty breading—just salty, not spicy, not interesting, just… salty to my palate. If there is seasoning in there, then it’s probably muted by the salt.

And before you ask, yes, this was a fresh batch. It didn’t sit on a wire rack all day hardening into a fossil; it was like this straight from the fryer.

To make matters worse, the breading doesn’t even coat properly. It’s there, it’s thick, but it’s patchy and clumps up together sometimes.

Chicken Inn crust tastes like a thick salted dry mandazi. Not to slander mandazis, they didn’t ask for this comparison. But that is the closest way to explain this

The only upside? The actual chicken is well-cooked, falls off the bone cleanly, and stays juicy. Something KFC still struggles with. Their chickens are not even 50% juicy in comparison to Chicken Inn…so at least Chicken Inn gets a win here.

Portion-wise, I do feel like I get more chicken at Chicken Inn compared to KFC. But at what cost? I guess I leave feeling full, just not necessarily happy about it.

Thoughts?

While Chicken Inn isn’t the greatest, it does have some solid traits that make it stand out against the competition. The chicken itself is juicier than KFC’s, and the portions are bigger, making it a decent choice if you wanna switch things up. Sometimes, I’m in the mood for KFC; other times, Chicken Inn.

Read Full Comparison: Chicken Inn vs KFC: Which Chicken Restaurant is Better?