Restaurant Review: Try Peri Peri Flame Chicken at Nando’s

I was recently invited for a food review at Nando’s. I had heard about Nando’s opening outlet in Bangalore. But apart from that I did not had much idea about what they offer and their history. I had been to their Church street outlet in Bangalore. The look and feel was bit rustic and pretty comforting. As my affable host Shambhavi started narrating the story of Nando’s, I slowly got a feeling that the food also going to be interesting.

Nando’s started in 1987 in South Africa and now they have outlets all over the world. They mainly dwell in Afro-Portuguese food. And their strike product is flame – grilled chicken made with peri – peri sauce. Nando’s entered India in 2010 with two restaurants – one in Bangalore (Church street) and another in Chandigarh. As of now they have 7 restaurants in India – 2 in Bangalore, 2 in Punjab, 2 in Delhi and 1 in Chennai. I understood that Nando’s makes it a mission to provide the same experience across all its outlets through the world. In this regard, they have decided to keep the look and feel pretty similar. One of the visible things you would see is that they use a lot of wood in their interiors. Also, the menu and the taste of the food remains almost same throughout its outlets.

My host helped me understand how to order, like their customer service reps do for their patrons. I started with their Portuguese lemonade which was sprinkled with PERI-mix cube. I must say, it was one of the best lemonade I ever had. In starters it was chicken wings, Altogether Now- For 3-4 people to share. Keeping company was Spicy mixed olives, Roasted veg dip, Hummus and warm pita. Then we went for a walk around the outlet and see how the A grade chicken which are sourced from a reputed vendor of the region and handled in their customized machine. To put in short, most of the preparations are done in machine.

After we were back to the table, it was time for the main course and the peri – peri flame chicken. We started with some peri peri liver chicken and Portuguese bread. The gravy of peri peri liver chicken had a slight taste of tangy lemon and it tasted awesome. Now it was the turn of the showstopper – the peri peri flamed grilled chicken. As Nando’s hype it as their main USP, it lived upto its expectations. I would not have any problem suggesting one to go to Nando’s and try their peri peri flamed grilled chicken.

Music is actually planned in South Africa in their head quarters and is relayed to all the branches in the world though internet. Nando’s support artwork and one can see artwork in their outlets.

Nando’s has a wide range of chicken items but keeping in mind that in India there are many vegetarians who come along with their non – vegetarian friends, they also offer a small line of vegetarian food. Click here to check the entire menu of Nando’s India.

In deserts, we went for the creamy cheese cake. It has Muscovado Sugar, Smothered in rich and Creamy caramel. Yummy to end the lunch with it.

Nando’s address in Bangalore:
1. 1 A, Church street, ph – 080 25550707
2. Parksquare mall, ITPB, Whitefield, ph – 080 28026668
website: http://www.nandosindia.com