35,000 Google reviews is no joke. Thirty-five thousand! For a chicken place that until recently was only located in Western Saudi Arabia. And this is just one of their numerous branches. Started back in 1976, this humble spot went onto conquer Saudi Arabia and the hearts of those who visit this part of the region. They were the first to introduce broast chicken in Saudi Arabia, and since then hundreds imitated them. Trend setters! For those unaware, broast chicken is similar to fried, but healthier and uses up less oil.
West Saudi Arabia only
Since the beginning, they have resisted expanding away from this part of the country (West Saudi Arabia). There are rumours that princes of other parts of the country and powerful people had tried, but failed. Their original branches are in Western Saudi Arabia, which is primarily Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah. And they were in no other part of Saudi Arabia nor the Arab world, until recently. Despite the pressure for years they did not venture out.
Everyone has an Al Baik story
Whether local or a tourist, everyone seems to have a story about Al Baik. There are stories of people driving down from Riyadh (10 hours) to consume an Al Baik meal. Not only that though – they would then fill up their boots to take it back to their families. Not only that though – I’ve even heard people coming all the way from Dubai to do that. Madness! It has become so iconic that your umrah/Saudi Arabia trip will be near incomplete with an Al Baik meal. In Makkah and Madinah, you’ll get people asking you about the whereabouts of a particular part of the mosque, or a particular entrance of a mosque, or a hotel or Al Baik. If you’re seen carrying around an Al Baik bag, you’re guaranteed to get looks and questions as to where you got it from. Guaranteed. To cope with this popularity, they even have non-standard branches. What does this mean? A standard Al Baik branch is a typical eat in restaurant where you can order from the full menu and dine in. But they’ve recently opened up like an express version where you can get one item to take out (more details below). And what’s even more non-standard is if you’re in the famous Clock Tower, you’ll know that unfortunately there isn’t an Al Baik in there yet, a quick Google maps search will give you a phone number of a dude. What does he do? He’s an independent guy who takes Al Baik orders, picks it up and delivers it to your hotel room in the Clock Tower. Talk about non-standard! This kind of hype is strictly reserved for Al Baik!
Busy busy busy
They are notoriously always very busy. Every branch I’ve ever visited has always been busy. The Madinah one is as busy as the black stone in Makkah (pilgrimage reference). It literally is. The best one to visit if you want to avoid the big crowds, is the one in the service station between Madinah and Makkah. However, even this one in the middle of nowhere you’ll see people queuing up. The ones in the mall food halls, you’ll see all the big names lined up – McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King. But it’s always Al Baik with the queues. Love seeing the big hitters defeated like that lol. And this is all way before queues became a thing for places that are famous due to TikTok or Instagram. Queuing up for 30 minutes to an hour is literally a part of the Al Baik experience.
What you have to order
The thing you absolutely have to order here is the spicy chicken nuggets meal. Get extra garlic sauce too as the sauce is literally something else. As you dip into that garlic sauce and take a bite, you’ll see the spice that is embedded each nugget. Wow. Cheap, cheerful and very delicious! You can also try their famous broast chicken as this is also what they’re known to have been the pioneers of. Now, you’ll find a broast chicken spot in Saudi Arabia on every other corner. As of late, they also have some interesting menu items such as burgers, so feel free to have yourself a feast.
Dubai
Some of you may have heard, they’ve now ventured out into other parts of Saudi Arabia as well as outside the country. They started out in Dubai and then other parts of the UAE. You can find their first UAE branch in the Dubai Mall as of a few months ago. On one hand, I like that it’s more accessible now. But on the other hand, I feel the novelty is gone. There’s a small shop charm they had being only located on one side of a country – now they’re in the most cosmopolitan and tourist hotspot city in the world!
Is it worth the hype?
This is like asking does McDonald’s live up to the hype. Don’t get me started on “the hype comments”. The supposed “hype” started a few months ago. Al Baik has been in existence since the 70s!! Al Baik has been a “hype” for the real Saudi foodies well before we, in the west, had even heard of it. And for good reason. Before many of us were even born, before the idea of TikTok and Instagram was even born (let alone the application itself), Al Baik was dominating the fast food market. So, it’s a place that is beyond “the hype”, which is always a temporary thing anyway. It’s been big since back then in this part of the world and it didn’t need TikTok or “the hype” to boost any sales or popularity. To be around since the 70s and to start the broast chicken revolution and to be the only place that ever has queues in Saudi Arabia (over McDonald’s, KFC etc), it has to be doing something good. I’m sorry to have gone all philosophical lol, but I hate these TikTokers who were born yesterday and come and claim “this ain’t worth the hype”, girl this existed before the word hype was even a thing!!! It’s literally like asking is McDonald’s worth the hype.
The secret location that has no queue
Al Baik and no queue just doesn’t belong to one sentence, but I kid you not there was literally no queue at this branch. We walked in, ordered and were out within minutes. The catch is that this branch is more like an express version where you can only order one menu item, which happens to be the most popular item on the menu (chicken nuggets meal). All you do is choose spicy or not. It is also a take away only spot. With this meal, you get 7 nuggets, chips, burger bun (to make a nuggets burger if you want), nuggets sauce, garlic sauce, a drink and Ma’mool (an Arab dessert/biscuit – basically a biscuit with a date filling). This is the closest Al Baik to the Clock Tower and the Mosque in Makkah. It is literally on the road next to the Clock Tower, opposite Swissôtel. Conveniently located and no queue, can’t go wrong really. If you want to try their famous meal and don’t want to queue up, I’d strongly recommend stopping by this branch.
Google Maps location link.
Fun fact:
They give 1 riyal in charity for every meal they sell. #Blessed
