Nando’s

I’ve read about Nando’s but have never had the chance to eat at one. This one happens to be right next to my hotel in Reading UK. If you’re in to hot and spicy chicken, this is the place. I’m pretty snobbish about chicken livers, but these were as good as they get. The «hot» level was enough to give me a rush, I’m not sure this chilihead is ready for the top level (i think they call it extreme) version. Seriously excellent chicken. And the staff was very nice to this Yank.

«This chicken is so f**king good».
(That would probably be my suggestion as the new tagline for Nando’s…beat that KFC!).

Hands down, the marinade on their grilled peri-​peri chicken alone makes this one of the better chicken joints here in the UK or stateside. This restaurant may qualify as «fast food», but the quality of the food is great and it is reasonably priced for the area.
Couple of interesting notes:
1) Self-​Service soda fountain drinks. If you are an American like me, and you were looking to have more than 2 cubes of ice being placed in your glass, rest assured, you can now have all the crushed ice and refills on drinks you desire with their soda fountain.
2) Heat level. In addition to the marinade that is soaked into the chicken prior to grilling, they also apply a layer of peri-​peri sauce during cooking that ranges from a mild heat to a more intense heat.
I am a chili head that likes good kick and was leaning towards getting the «extra hot» but being that it was my first time there, I didn’t want to get something that may potentially be more painful than pleasurable.
Rest assured, all the peri-​peri sauces are available in bottles that you can take back to your table (in the area that is used to get your fountain drinks and silverware)…so I opted to order a ½ chicken with a milder heat scale and then grab the bottle of «Extra Hot» to pour onto the chicken.
3) The restaurant is swarming in the height of dinner time (5:00 to 6:30pm time mid-​week). The line to order was nearly out the door, but you are seated at a table by a host/​hostess prior to ordering so you can have a designated person in your group go up to order while the rest of your party is seated or have people hang back at your table to avoid having everyone queue up. When each order is ready, they bring the food to your table number.
Good stuff.

This was my first time trying Portugese food and peri peri chicken. I have had Peruvian chicken back home in USA and had a general idea of what I am going in for, but this ended up being better than what I had expected.
We had the peri peri chicken with a variety of sauces and had the following for sides:
Spicy Rice — 3 stars
Corn on the Cob — 4 stars
Macho Peas — 4 stars
Ratatouille — 3 ½ stars
Main course chicken was awesome — juicy and tender and cooked just right! Of the sauces, I loved the hot sauce!
I am a fan of this food and am happy to know there are a few Nando’s in the DC area!

Called on a Wednesday night, so not too busy.
‘cheap and cheerful’ sums it up best: you look at the menu, then go and queue to place you order for everything at the till. Your order is at least delivered to your table.
The signature «hot» chicken was tasty and quite hot, served with a choice of accompanyments, I chose peas and corn on the cob.
It was OK, but not terribly suitable for those travelling on expenses (guilty) because everything, including pudding and all drinks, would have to be ordered up-​front to get them on one bill.
Having said a that friendly & cheap.

Darned good. A hostess brought me to a table and in a very friendly manner explained the menu and the ordering process (standard British — order at the counter and pay there, they bring it to your table when it’s ready). I went with the hummus starter, which came with a large pile of perfectly sliced pieces of pita for dipping, and a small bottle of their peri-​peri sauce. Plenty of garlic and good solid consistency, I poured about half of that sauce into it and mixed it through, which kicked it up a notch. BAM!
My entrée was a quarter grilled chicken with chips (fries to us Yanks) and a grilled ear of corn. You also get to choose the sauce here and I went with the Medium, feeling threatened by the Hot and Very Hot. The Medium was a little spicy with a good flavor. The chicken was moist and sliced up easily with knife and fork. Chips, perfect. Corn, excellent!
Outside seating as well as two– and four– top tables and booths inside. Chicken is their specialty, but they also have burgers and other stuff, all of which looks and smells great. I like that you can see right into the preparation area.
They have a soda fountain with Coke products. At £1.95 for a refillable glass, this is expensive unless you drink gallons of the stuff. What should have been an inexpensive meal turned out to be £11, which was more than I really wanted to spend. I’ll know for next time, because I will absolutely be back. Yum!

Love going to Nando’s except it’s ussually packed on saturday nights when i go, but nevertheless the food it still great and mouth watering, with a large variety of chicken to choose from.

I worked just outside of the town centre and used to regularly visit both the Friar street Branch and The Oracle Branch.
I always received a pleasant welcome, The wait for food was rarely long and the food always tasted great.
The chicken was succulent and the hot peri-​peri sauce was sufficient to augment the meat but there was not too much that it swamped the taste. The chips were always hot and the refillable soft drinks meant that it was great for the kids too.
The loyalty card that gives you freebies every now and then is a great idea.
If you are looking for value for money then it is a good meal. But it is not somewhere to go for a cheap meal.

Love this branch of Nandos. Small but never have to wait long for a table. Lovely little seating area ouside which with the music going on a sunny day can feel like your abroad (if you can ignore the buses!!!) Excellent service and fab food! Definately my favourite branch of Nandos!