Had the pleasure of dining at Nando's last night for my birthday. Upon entering, we were greeted by…read moreHolloway, who was friendly. He asked if we had dined there before, to which we responded that we hadn't. He then told us to pick where we wanted to sit, and he would follow. My kiddo picked out our spot, and Holloway handed me my menu and then opened up my husband's menu and gave us an explanation of the menu. He then gave us a few suggestions for our meal as first-timers. He informed us that we could get the sauces at a counter in the back, and we were free to bring all of them to our table to try. He then let us know if we needed anything to let him know. My husband and I decided to go with Holloway's suggestion of the Family Platter. The sides we chose were Portuguese rice, red-skin mashed potatoes, and garlic bread. My husband also got an additional side of Peri Honey Sweet Potatoes. For our beverages, we got a pineapple lemonade and Rubro Peach Iced Tea. My husband ordered through the app, and our drinks got there first, and then our food was brought to us within 10ish minutes. At that point, my husband had already brought all the sauces available to our table, and we started eating. There are 8 sauces available (I should note we ordered our chicken plain-ish), so we could figure out which sauce we liked for the future.
Like I mentioned, we got the chicken plain-ish for our first time. I tried it as is and it was great on its own. The meat on the inside was moist, I personally wouldn't mind eating it plain-ish. My kiddo who is picky loved his portion and was asking for seconds. So that to me was a good sign. The skewers were just as good, obviously with the skewers being dark meat, they were more moist and tender pieces of chicken. 9/10
Garlic bread was excellent; it was crunchy on the outside and nice and soft on the inside. The flavor wasn't overwhelming nor was the bread too oily or greasy. 9/10
Red-skin mashed potatoes were also a great side. The potato skin also added some nice texture. 8/10
The Portuguese rice was good, but it reminded me of Mexican rice at a Tex-Mex restaurant. It tasted like it was a tomato paste base, which isn't my favorite. 6/10.
The Peri Honey Sweet Potato was savory, salty, and sweet. At first glance, I noticed a red powder sprinkled on the top, and the sweet potatoes were cut into small cubes. Of course, the seeds were sprinkled on top with the feta cheese. It had a nice texture/ crunch from the pumpkin and sesame seeds. The feta was very flavorful; it was soft and had a more acidic taste than store-bought feta. The red powder on the top added a salty and subtle spice flavor. 8/10.
Peach tea was very good; the peach flavor was strong and lingered at the end. 9/10.
Pineapple lemonade was great, not too sweet, very pineapple-forward taste. 9/10.
Naughty Nata was like a fusion between churro and egg tart. I got the smell of cinnamon at first, and it reminded me of a churro. The crust was very flaky and buttery. The custard inside was nice. 10/10.
Nando's was a very nice restaurant to dine at; it was definitely a different experience from most restaurants as you're able to choose your seating, and you are able to get your plates and sauces and whatever else you need on your own without needing to wait for your server. The vibe is very much chill and laid back. I also noticed that everyone on the shift for last night was working as a team. There was Holloway and two other people working the front ( a young lady and an older gentleman). The young lady brought us our drinks, and then the older gentleman brought us our food as Holloway was busy with other customers outside. I loved how the menus were unique, and the artists are credited. I also liked the decoration and how there were so many bright and vibrant colors on the chairs and just all around. I will be back in the future to try more of what Nando's has to offer.
Sauce reviews: -favorite out of them all
Medium Peri Peri with Garlic: good, mild heat, and tangy
Peri peri Medium wild herb: vinegar-forward good flavor
Lemon herb peri peri mild: can taste lemon but flavor doesn't linger.
Saka medium: sweet comparable to BBQ sauce reminded me of a more subtle Rudy's sissy sauce
Peri peri medium: lots of vinegar, not too strong spice kinda like Cholula
Peri peri hot: more vinegar-based, tolerable spice, reminds me of salsa roja taqueria
Peri peri extra hot: tolerable spice just a notch up from hot, lemony and herby aftertaste
Extra extra hot peri: good spicy, maybe different chilies?
Most bottles had little excerpts on the back, and some even said what chilies were used to make the sauce. Also I noticed all the sauces were acidic either from lemon or vinegar. Which pairs well with the chicken.