Big Arc Chicken

Not the best chicken I’ve personally had (arc chicken sandwich) but my roommate and friends loved the ¼ chicken. I’d come here just for the old man who runs this place. He’s seriously like a grandpa, caring, attentive, and really nice. Place isn’t the cleanest either, but it seems like a family owned hole in the wall place that is great for late night snacks. Open very late!(:

On a late night I ordered the half grilled chicken combo with babaganouj, rice and salad. It was freaking great. I’ve walked past this place with all those chickens on the grill in the window for years and never dared go in. Today, I did go in, and I got the chicken kabob dinner combo. This time it was more of a miss. I definitely recommend the grilled half chicken.

The food was edible. The delivery was slow and they forgot my fries in the order which I paid for. I called back to inform them, and they told me they would send somebody to bring it and nobody came. It was an overall bad experience.

In A Nutshell:
–My well-​traveled partner had a single mission in mind while traversing the «Lower East Side» of New York City — find and devour Koshari.
–Real quick, koshari is considered the national dish of Egypt.
–We found Big Arc Chicken via Unilocal,gave ‘em a ring and they said to «come on down!».
–You won’t find koshari on their menu, so they made it for us :)
–It was my first time eating this awesome dish filled with rice, lentils and macaroni — COMFORT FOOD at it’s finest.
Overall, if you are kicking it in one of the coolest, hippest neighborhoods in the world — Lower East Side, NYC make sure you come to Big Arc Chicken and request Koshari! It’s the shizznit.

After a workout I need a place that has protein and carbs, with some kind of vegetables for added nutrition. Halal Guys used to fill this role, but their rice and white sauce is just way too greasy, and without sauce the chicken is unbearably dry.
The 9 $ ½ chicken special with rice, salad, pita is the answer to all my problems. Grilled, moist, chicken tastes better and cleaner. Rice is fluffy with beans too. Good variety of veggies in the salad. and pita for an extra fill up.
Never had problems with service. The most I ever ask for asides from ordering and paying is extra napkins/​sauce so there’s not much room for error.

It’s not a clean atmosphere but it’s cheap and responsibly priced with good food and nice middle eastern authentic flavors! I just wouldn’t give this place 5 stars because it’s not sanitary and the bathrooms are grotesque!

On a cold, Tuesday night, I was coming back from my friend’s apartment when I saw this spot next to the L train. Anytime you see the sign for ‘Halal’ you know it’s authentic cuisine. Walking in because falafel was on the sign, I saw many middle eastern people, a sure sign that the food is legit. And it was!!! The prices were ridiculously cheap, you can get a half chicken for $ 9… With a plate of rice and salad too. I got a falafel sandwich, which is $ 4.50. The prices had been taped over, but were still decent nonetheless. Their falafel gets an 8.5÷10 on my scale, maybe even a 9. Fried dark brown, extra crispy, full of spices, delicious. The sauces that I put on it made it even better, hot sauce and some BBQ sauce. I can’t wait to come back– I’m not in Stuy town too often so I’ll be sure to come back to Big Arc Chicken.

Great food. Their chicken is really good. Their rice, beans and baba ganoosh is good as well. They give you a lot of food for a good price. A must stop for New Yorkers.

Great kushari, Great chicken. Very authentic tasting. Friendly service.

Came here late on Saturday looking to get some good late night food. Got a chicken sandwich from here which was a-​ok. Definitely have had a lot better, specially in NYC. Biggest problem however is the customer service and attitude. The guys working at the time were extremely rude and unwelcoming. I will probably not be back to this place and would much rather spend the $ 6 at Vinny’s next door.

I pass by this place all the time and am always drawn to the rows of chickens sitting on the grill — if they’re making rows of chicken, they must be selling quickly…
I finally decided to step inside, I was surprised that it was middle eastern food and was tempted to leave due to my lack of fondness to middle eastern cuisine.
What kept me there was the seating area looked like an old outdated cafeteria filled with people (looked like taxi drivers, pimps and hookers) enjoying their plates of food so I went ahead and ordered.
The pricing is a bit high with the chicken being small — $ 9 for half a chicken with fries and $ 1 for a can of soda. The chickens are small but taste great, they have a good amount of char, with fries being made to order.
The staff is attentive — they greet you and work on your order personally after taking it.
The food is definitely good and I see myself being a regular.

Food is good. 2 star down for having horrible customer service.
1. Ignored me as a customer
2. Ignored my student discount on their menu.

I came here for my lunch break today, and ordered the dinner special. Service was fast and efficient. The price is indeed reasonable for the portion, but the quality of the meat disgusted me. It was extremely dry and difficult to eat. Furthermore, the place was pretty dirty. There was a fly around my table the entire time I was eating, and I felt uncomfortable. I only had thirty minutes to fill myself up; I wasn’t about to share my meal with the fly. Also, there was a TV right behind my seat, so when people were watching, I felt a bit paranoid that they were watching me eat. Overall, I just finished the dinner special quickly and escaped. I will never come back here again.

Delicious. The sandwiches are better than the platter. But that ¼ or ½ chicken is excellent too. I wish the place was cleaner and more presentable. I felt like everything but the food needed to be disinfected. Friendly staff.

The décor is so utilitarian that maybe that should disqualify it for 4 stars, but if a food truck can get 4 stars, so can this.
It’s a place the taxi drivers go so the atmosphere is pretty gruff but they seem pretty welcoming to civilians as well. I suspect if you go when it is busy and you don’t know what you want, they’d be less welcoming
The chicken itself is almost surreal. They marinate it in something and grill it right there in front of you. The whole chicken is $ 10.99 and they give you two pieces of Pita. They are open really late too – good for taxi drivers and hipsters going to the L train.

I go to the gym at the 14^th street Y and 100% of the time, after I leave the gym, I pick up take out before returning home. As of late, Big Arc Chicken has been added as a consistent «player» within my rotation of post gym meals.
The only dish I’ve ordered so far is the chicken kebab platter. This is marinated chicken with rice pilaf and some lettuce or as they call it «salad.»
PROS:
Delicious chicken:
It’s well marinated, juicy pieces of cubed chicken that’s not only tasty, but prepared right in front of you (as observed by the dozens of roasted chickens perpetually roasting on the grill).
Generous portions:
They give you quite a large meal.
Cheap:
It’s extremely inexpensive for the amount of food you get. The chicken kebab platter runs $ 10.50 which is a steal considering the amount of good you get.
CONS:
The service:
A few of the guys that work here have a shitty attitude and I’ve had numerous encounters that were unnecessarily rude. For example, ON THE MENU it says «10% discount for hospital staff and students.» Yet, anytime I have shown my hospital ID or school ID they get all pissed off like I’m breaking a rule. If you don’t want to give a discount that’s fine, but don’t advertise it on your menu.
Venue — This is no place to sit down and eat. It’s uncomfortably hot inside and dilapidated, but you CAN sit down to eat if you desire.
OVERALL:
This place makes undeniably delicious food at bargain prices. Give it a shot.

Step inside big arc and you’ll feel transported to another world. On a packed late night their clientele is nearly all male watching Al Jazeera eating chicken, a brotherly ambience. Their grilled chicken special is what I come for, half a halal chicken with rice beans and salad. Grill masters working here.
Update: from 4 stars to 5 stars. Can’t beat the price here, what a great meal for 9 bucks cash.
Lamb shank and grilled salmon steak are favorites here too.

Great place for cheap and flavorful meats. Their fish is also really good as is their beef stew. I usually get baclava for dessert. The same guy is always working the cash register and he is nice. Go to this place if you’re in the East Village!!!

Like everyone in the world, I love carbs.
A lot.
But also like many, I get fat eating them.
Go to Hell, genetics.
During those cycles where I push carbs aside in favor of meats and veggies (It’s almost beach season, y’know), Big Arc becomes a staple. This Egyptian joint is a bastion for grilled and meat-​rich delights.
From tandori and simply grilled styles of chicken to kofta lamb options, there’s a lot to choose from. They totally make pitas and have side dishes like mac ‘n’ cheese, but you can also choose to toss a ton of meat over a bed of lettuce instead. For somewhere between $ 12 and $ 15 you can get enough meat to last you a whole day. The portions are huge.
If you have trouble finding it, just look for giant grill with like 800 whole chickens being grilled from the window. You can’t miss it along 1^st Avenue. It’s a bit divey, but they do accept credit cards if you don’t have cash. Always a bonus.

I was «homesick» for koshary (Egyptian vegetarian food made of rice, macaroni, spaghetti and lentils mixed together, topped with a tomato-​vinegar sauce and garnished with crispy fried onions. Add hot sauce) and found it at Big Arc Chicken via Unilocal!Koshary is not on the menu at BAC but if you’re craving this little bit of heaven then ask for it at the counter and you’ll have the option of a small bowl or a large plate of koshary. It’s delicious and just like I had in Cairo at the famous koshary restaurant Koshary Abou Tarek.
They also have great traditional desserts, the baklava was a perfect sweet treat.