The first Kro’s Nest pizzeria was opened up in 2005, in a quiet corner outside the west gate of Peking University, selling American style pizzas. A further seven pizza restaurants were subsequently opened across Beijing, making The Kro’s Nest one of the big players on Beijing’s pizza scene. They were winners of The Beijinger’s Pizza Cup, in 2011. The Shunyi crowd will be pleased to hear, that their latest restaurant has opened up in the new shopping center Shine City. Even better news is that they do take-out and delivery. The delivery menu features some interesting pizza flavors and toppings, different from your usual margarita and ham and mushroom. The main thing I’d heard about The Kro’s Nest is that their pizzas are gigantic, thankfully they serve up a range of sizes.
I ordered a small Honolulu Hurricane RMB 58, with tomato sauce, Canadian bacon, pineapple chunks, diced onion, red peppers, and finished with Kro’s herb mix. The bacon was plentiful and crisp, the pineapple a good firm texture. I especially liked the tanginess of the tomato sauce. The medium Chicken Alfredo RMB 130 was heavy on the garlic, but a good ratio of base to cheese and sauce. For a medium it was huge, so I can only imagine how vast the large must be. The pizza bases at Kro’s are thick and doughy. My kids love this kind of American pizza, whilst I prefer a thinner and crisper pizza base. The toppings were tasty and everything seasoned well, but there could have been more toppings, especially more chicken on the Alfredo.
The unique selling point of their pizzas is their size, which makes them ideal if you have several people round to share, or a very hungry family to feed. The small are priced at RMB 54-85, but not all flavors come in the small size. For a large you’ll pay RMB 138 up to RMB 218 for the Kitchen Sink pizza, which has a sprinkling of everything. Other flavors include shrimp, vegetable, cheese, pepperoni, and steak. The only soft drinks are coke or diet coke. I tried to order a Corona which is on their menu, but they didn’t have any left for delivery.
To go alongside the pizzas I ordered The Farmer salad RMB 35, consisting of herb baked chicken breast over fresh lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onions, and orange slices. I opted for the salad without the mozzarella and cheddar shred mix. It came with a side pot of thousand island salad dressing, and was a very generous portion size. The ingredients were nice and fresh, although sliced a little on the large side. I loved the sprinkling of sunflower seeds, which added a nice contrasting texture to the dish. Other salads include Caesar, in the garden, and fruit. Sides include French fries RMB 22 with salt or spicy chili salt, and wings with four different sauces BBQ, garlic and chili, buffalo, or sweet chili RMB 33.
The Kro’s Nest
Shine City No 8, Room 109, Shunyi District (4008 777 707, 6040 1866) www.krosnest.com/en
beijingkids Shunyi Correspondent Sally Wilson moved to Beijing in 2010 from the UK with her husband and son. Her daughter was born here in 2011 and both her kids keep her happily busy. In her spare time, Sally loves to stroll through Beijing’s hutongs and parks. She is a (most of the time) keen runner and loves reading: books, magazines, news, and celeb websites – anything really. Sally is also a bit of a foodie and loves trying out new restaurants.
Photos: courtesy of Kro’s Nest, Sally Wilson
