Nandos should improve general food presentation

Wining & Dining
By Le connoisseurSunday lunch time and nothing to eat. It seemed like the ideal time to try out Nandos at Avondale. It’s a “happening” place, and there always seems to be plenty of activity in and around the restaurant. Sunday was no exception and Nandos was agreeably busy, we didn’t have to wait for ages to place our order, but there was a good crowd savouring the chicken delights and also providing light entertainment for people waiting in the queue.

Fast-food dining is something of an art. Yes, I know that seems a contradiction in terms, but think about it . . .you join the order-placing queue and feverishly scan the menu displayed above the cashiers’ heads. Quite frankly, I couldn’t work out if the US$10 chicken and chips included a drink and coleslaw, and furthermore, what if I didn’t want the coleslaw? All the while the queue is steadily building up behind you, people rolling their eyes at my indecision and making me feel more anxious. It’s my turn! “So what do you want?” I ask the kids while skilfully avoiding making my own decision. “I don’t know,” comes back the standard response. We shift nervously from foot to foot. I graciously let the five people behind me surge forward and watch, amazed, as they rattle off their orders as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Well, if they can do it, so can I. Resolutely, I make eye contact with the cashier and boldly ask her my coleslaw question. Unfortunately, I can’t hear a word she says, but eventually realise that it’s coleslaw or nothing. I fling my order at the poor woman and she fires back with another incomprehensible question. It was at this stage that I turned and looked beseechingly into Rupert’s eyes and said sweetly, “I’ll find a nice table. You can place the order.” I turned swiftly on my heels and basically ran away leaving Rupert and the kids gasping like fish out of water. It was a cowardly and nasty thing to do, especially considering that Rupert is hard of hearing.

 

I did find a nice table in the outside seating area, which was cool and shaded and very pleasant, except for the bees busy investigating soft drink cans. Rupert sauntered out to join me, victory clearly showing in his eyes. “Nothing to it,” he commented nonchalantly. According to the kids, you simply need to know what you’re doing, and then it’s easy. Out of the mouths of babes . . .I suppose, in a way, they are right. I think you need to go to Nandos with a clear idea of what you want.  chicken burgers, chicken wraps and pitas, quarter chicken and half chicken all with your choice of lemon and herb, mild peri peri or hot peri peri marinades. At our table there was an advert for a chicken espadata (a delicious looking chicken kebab), but we couldn’t find it on the menu inside.

Our meal was served quickly and Rupert’s choices were well-received. I would like to say that the actual meals were as good as they looked in the pictures, but they weren’t. I know that Nandos’ emphasis is on takeaway meals, but I think that a little more effort could go into the presentation of the “sit-down” meals. The boys chose half chicken and chips, one with the mild peri peri marinade and the other with the lemon and herb marinade. The chicken was tender and tasty, although the lemon and herb marinade was very similar to the peri peri in taste. The chips were disappointing and tasted as though they had been re-fried. The chicken pita was delicious, with chicken strips and chopped salad vegetables packed into the pita and smothered in sauce.  This meal came with chips as well. My grilled chicken salad was very rustic in appearance with large rounds of onion, quartered tomatoes, lettuce, olives and a scanty portion of chicken strips. I tried to make the chicken last, but it was finished well before the rest of the salad. The salad dressing was overpowering and I wished that I hadn’t put it on my salad.

Speciality Restaurant3 PlatesExpect to spend US$10 to US$15 a headAvondale Shopping Centre, Harare.

 

Nandos cappuccino lacked flavour

Seeing as it was Sunday, we decided to try the desserts, which, once again, looked enticing in the advertising pictures. The strawberry cheesecake and lemon cheesecake came in individual, pre-prepared and sealed containers. I know this works for take-aways, but for a sit-down meal it felt rather like being served in-flight food and tasted like it too. The sticky toffee pudding was marginally better and the duo chocolate mousse was the best of a mediocre selection. The cappuccino is best avoided as it is weak and lacking in flavour.

If you go to Nandos, you’ll have a fun meal, but it’s wise to stick to their speciality of peri peri chicken. The other dishes seem to be “add-ons” and don’t quite come up to the standard of their “core” chicken meal.