No Table Manners Required (Nandos)

Member Name: LauraElliott

Product:	Nandos
Date:	22/10/02 (5421 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gorgeous Food, Relaxed Attitude, Friendly Staff

Disadvantages: Wish I had enough room in my stomach to of eaten more!

It was my friend's birthday last week and we all decided to go out for a meal, about four of us. There are so many locations where Nando's can be found. There are restaurants all over England - in The North, Midlands, South and Greater London. In the North, the main restaurants are in Leeds, Manchester and Cheshire Oaks. In the Midlands the main restaurants are in Nottingham, Leicester, Birmingham, and one soon to be opening in Cambridge. In the South restaurants can be found in Milton Keynes, Oxford, Slough, Reading, Bristol, Basildon and Bluewater, as well as some opening soon at Basingstoke, Luton and Brighton. Where I live, in Greater London, is where most of the Nando's restaurants are situated. A few of the restaurants include ones in Romford, Enfield, Kentish Town, Camden, Wood Green, Islington, Dalston, Bethnal Green, Camberwell, Greenwich, Croydon, Brixton, Elephant and Castle, Sutton, Wimbledon, Battersea, Epson, Shepherds Bush, Kingston, Richmond, Putney, Staines, Hounslow, Earls Court, Ealing, Bayswater, Uxbridge, Harrow, Edgware, Kilburn and Soho. New restaurants are opening soon in Fulham and at Stratford.

Nando's is not only big in the UK, but also in other countries throughout the world such as Australia, America and South Africa.

Anyway, the restaurant that I visited this particular time was my nearest one, in Ilford. It is positioned in an entertainment complex, close to a cinema, swimming pool and a library, right in the heart of the town centre. As I walked in, the smell of the spicy chicken smelt fine. I couldn't wait to sit down, order my meal and tuck in. The menu's came up - such a selection and choice, me and my friends spent ages divvering over what we were going to have, what we could share, and what new types of food we could possibly try. The girl whose birthday it was is called Francesca. She is half Caribbean, and most of the people who work in Nando's are black, like her.
Lots of th
e cuisine is suited to the Caribbean origin, so she knew what was best to choose and what wasn't, although I can't say that there was anything on the menu that I didn?t fancy.

The cutlery was all set out on the table, and at the bottom of the menu it said that you had to help yourself to drinks - you pay one set price and then you can keep going up to get refills whenever you like. These are known as 'bottomless drinks' and cost only £1.40 for as many soft drinks as you fancy. Mineral water (500ml) is a tad bit pricey at £1.50, but 200ml of pure nectar fruit juices (apple, orange, pear, peach, mango) cost only £1.20. Wine is sold either by the glass or by the jug - and they have a great selection of red and white wines to choose from, whether you like sparkling, medium, sweet or dry, there is definitely something for you. To add a Spanish touch to your meal you could always opt for the jug of sangria - delicious! Hot drinks start at £1.20 for a standard coffee and work up to £1.75 for a luxurious hot chocolate.

There was also an ice-dispenser and straws to use. Lots of condiments such as tomato sauce, spicy sauce, barbeque sauce etc. are on offer, none of that 10p a sachet thing, just as much as you like, seeing as you are the one who pours it out of the machine into little cups - an excellent idea if I may say so myself. What I didn?t like so much about Nando?s was the way that to order your food you had to take the menu up to the bar or till and then place your order, instead of a waitress or waiter coming over to the table. I liked the way that Nando's was very informal though - anything goes basically, I'll tell you about the 'House Rules' later on.
Back to the menu, the starters aren't exactly the range that I would expect, but as the menu says - they don't want to put you off your appetite and want you to leave room for the main course. The only choice you have is between the spicy mixed olives and
th
e Peri-Peri nuts (which we had, and I would definitely recommend).
For the main course, maybe there was too much choice! I spent about fifteen minutes trying to make up my mind on what to choose! There is a combination menu where you can have half flame grilled chicken and two sidelines, quarter flame grilled chicken and two sidelines, chicken breast burger and a sideline, chicken breast in a pitta and a sideline (you can have a slice of cheese or some pineapple in your pitta or burger if you wish), five chicken wings and two sidelines, veggie burger and a sideline, veggie pitta and a sideline, 5 chicken wings and a green salad.

They say that chicken is the best meat they can offer, although if you are more of a red meat person, there is only one other option for you - Prego Steak Roll with chips. You are probably now wondering what the sidelines they have to offer are. These include: famous old style chips, spicy rice, corn on the cob or coleslaw. They also just do chicken meals which include: chicken wings, half chicken, whole chicken, chicken breast burger, chicken breast in pitta and chicken livers and a crispy Portuguese roll (doesn't sound too appealing!).

A joke that made me laugh on the menu was under the Vegetarian options, it said 'We love vegetarians at Nando's, all of our chickens are vegetarian.'

The Vegetarian menu consisted of: veggie burger, veggie pitta, organic bean burger and organic bean pitta. All of the veggie items come with Nando's special mayonnaise.

Another comment on the menu, which was quite good, was 'Ms Manners says 'Birds are not eaten with the fingers in company' The way at Nando's is to 'Use your hands, get messy! Fingers are better than knives and besides, it saves us on washing up!'

Nando's also offer a great platter selection, for if you are feeling extremely hungry. For £29.95 (woah!) you can get a Jumbo Platter. This is m
ade up
of a family feast of two large chickens, two old style chips or spicy rice, two green salads and some coleslaw. You can get a smaller version of this for £13.95, which only had one chicken, and is called the Meal Platter. The Full Platter is £13.95 also and is similar to the Meal Platter.

For the healthy ones amongst you, they have an amazing range of salads to pick from. Fresh Green Salad, Mediterranean Salad loaded with mixed lettuce, plum cheery tomatoes, peppers, cubed feta, marinated olives, all dressed in Nando's quality vinaigrette (with strips of grilled chicken breast). Caesar salad is plied with Cos lettuce, Caesar dressing containing anchovies, grated parmesan, sprinkled black pepper and croutons.

Just so you know the average prices, I would say that it costs about £12 to £15 a head, which seems pretty reasonable to me. Quarter of a chicken costs £2.60, three chicken wings is £2.10, Portuguese roll, 40p, and Toasted Pitta Bread, 40p.

If I were you, I wouldn't stuff out on the main course either, because the 'sweet endings' dessert menu is very tempting! Crunchy lemon Pudding, Chocolate Mousse, Custard Pastries, Portuguese coconut tarts, Strawberry, Chocolate or Vanilla Ice-cream (for the less adventurous) and bottomless frozen yoghurt (as much as you want - like with the drinks). The good think about the yoghurt is that it is 97% fat free, so you are able to eat as much as you want, and are also entitled to.

Nando's isn't just a grown up's restaurant either. It is very appealing for children, and the food on offer would definitely be of their liking, I'm sure. 'Only Nandino's is the menu for children under the age of 12. It contains smaller portions than the adult meals. And is also good for the prices. Children's meals range from £3.79 to £3.95. That's not even double the price of a McDonalds Happy Meal. The children's menu has chicken burger, chips a
nd frozen yoghurt (as a set dish), three chicken wings, chips and yoghurt of chicken breast strips, chips and frozen yoghurt. (Not much variety for children, especially if they are vegetarian).

What I like about the chicken they cook in Nando's is that you can choose how spicy you want the coating (or marinade) to be. Hint, Mild, Hot or Very hot are the choices you can have. Hint is lemon and herb and Very Hot is excessively spicy (not for the faint hearted they say - it can evoke tears of joy and pain!).

If you liked some of the sauces that were on offer in the restaurant, you can even buy them to use in your cooking at home, they are quite addictive, so it might be best! 125ml of Peri-peri sauce is £1.29, 250ml of marinade is £1.69, at £1.89 you can get 390g of cooking sauce and for only 99p you can buy the refreshing 125ml salad dressing. You can buy these products on the website if you forget to purchase them after your meal, and I found out recently that they have started selling the stuff in supermarkets such as Sainsbury's and Tesco's!

I said earlier that I would tell you about the rules of the house...

They are split into two sections, right and wrong.

Here are the 'do's':

Do strut up to the counter and place your order (including your drinks order).
Do mark your territory by placing your numbered cockerel on the table (you are given a number so that the waiter/waitress knows where to bring your meal)
Do grab some knives, forks, spoons, plates, and sauces and take them to your table.
Do start eating when your food arrives. Orders are served as they are cooked, so first come, first eat.
Do have fiery discussions, use your hands to eat, get messy, feel the heat, laugh, eat as much as you can, put your elbows on the table, lick your fingers, in general have a Peri-Peri good time!

Here are the 'dont's':

Don't be too chicken to ask N
ando's staff about the
ir unique service style.
Don't be shy to ask for help in finding your table
Don't concern yourself about which piece of cutlery to use
Don't wait for everyone to receive his or her food before eating
Don't (please pay careful attention here), keep your hands folded in your lap, speak quietly, avoid getting messy, feel you have to use a knife or fork, not react to heat, be afraid to ask for more!

I think that I would choose this location for a birthday party of mine in the future, because they even cater for parties by having a party menu. If there are ten or more people in the group, then it only costs £9.99 per head for a three-course meal each.

Nando's is quite well advertised; they have had several commercials broadcasted on TV, considering the short time that they seem to have been around. In fact, from one of these I found out the reason why the restaurant was called Nando's - because the many who came up with idea was called Fernando!

You can visit www.nandos.co.uk or ring 0800-975-8181 for more information about this gorgeous restaurant.

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