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Avondale Shopping Centre
321 - 14 King George Road
Avondale Shopping Centre
0777 006823

 

Nandos should improve general food presentation 2012
Sunday 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$10.00 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 whilst 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 realize 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.

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 takeaways, 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.
Speciality  Restaurant
3 Plates
Expect to spend $10 to $15 a head
Avondale Shopping Centre, Avondale, Harare

 

Nando's - gastronomical delight, but unusually - service should slow down! 2011
With an intriguing new reviewing assignment, we ventured forth to Avondale to indulge in some peri-peri chicken for lunch.  Nando's, once simply a fast-food outlet, now aspires to be a full-blown restaurant, along the lines of its sister chain by the same name in South Africa.  Accordingly several of their branches nationwide recently entered this competition under the Speciality banner, with their Afro-Portuguese heritage and popular flame-grilled Peri Peri Chicken.  This was going to be a very different and interesting experience for us all. 

We had to go to the counter to order our food and this was the start of the breakdown in our usual restaurant experience.  We had to order all our food at once and then proceed to our table.  Once seated, we waited for our food with great anticipation while taking in the happenings in the busy Avondale shopping centre.  There is plenty of seating, inside and outside.  There are many service personnel but these are not your typical waiters. After informing the cashier that we were dining in situ, we proceeded to order. 

When my starter of chicken livers was delivered, it looked and smelt delicious but it was SO hot!  When I questioned the waiter about this he informed me that the mild was the same as hot.  Bizarre!  Of course I simply could not eat this, it was over the top, so I sent it back and it was returned much milder, having had a Prego sauce added, to tone down the spice.  It was now delicious, and very filling!  We waited for my partner's starter but a couple of employees started mopping right around our table.  I found this odd, since it was 12.45, and surely they had been open long enough to clean the floors?  Our drinks arrived shortly after and I noted that one was missing so he went back for it.  There were very few customers seated outside, it being chilly.  We took the time to observe passers-by and quietly discuss their attire amongst ourselves, from the comfort of our position, a highly amusing pastime!

The waiter then apologised for a delay with the chicken wings.  We were not in a hurry so were not concerned.  Imagine our surprise when he returned post haste with my partner's chicken salad - her main course.  She would not have minded waiting to eat her starter first but now she had no choice.  So she proceeded to devour her salad, which was scrumptious.  The lettuce, onions, cucumbers and tomatoes were fresh.  The olives were delicious.  The chicken was grilled to perfection, spicy hot and well apportioned.  She did order it with feta but this was sadly missing from the final ensemble.  Halfway through her main course her starter arrived.  It sat cooling in the wings whilst the main course starred.  By the time she got to eat the wings they were quite cold and clammy and not too appetising.  So she doused them in wild herb sauce to make them palatable.  My Chicken Espetada, another well known Portuguese speciality dish, was a sight to behold!  It comprised chicken thighs and green peppers on a skewer on an iron stand.  The presentation was a work of art and the taste was fabulous.

We were quite stuffed but I really wanted a sticky toffee pudding.   We were told they were all out except for hot chocolate, no cheesecake etc.  But when we asked him to double check on the toffee pudding, to our delight it turned out to be available after all!  This dessert was heavenly; soft sponge cake smothered in sticky toffee sauce.  My mouth had been tingling from the hot peri peri and the super sweet dessert was the ultimate balm and contrast.  I thoroughly enjoyed the dessert.

Whilst we really enjoyed our food, the whole experience was a little off-kilter.  At some point, our whole table was full of various dishes.  There was no point in ordering starters, mains and pudding, as such, as they all appeared at the table within minutes of each other!  Nando's needs to train their staff anew if they are planning both to continue to be a successful fast-food joint but ALSO, to cater appropriately for diners, as an actual sit-down speciality restaurant. 

The potential is all there but they must get to grips with the fact that courses of restaurant food need to be served at roughly ten minute intervals, unlike fast-food which is delivered all at once.  The food was delicious but the service questionable.  Nonetheless, we wish them the best in this new venture - all that's required is some re-training of their staff, the food is definitely well up to scratch and meets the Afro-Portuguese theme!
Speciality  Restaurant
3 Plates
Expect to spend $15 to $30 a head
Avondale Shopping Centre, Avondale, Harare