To not understand why nandos is so popular

[Clappingforjoy]

That really opinions please

I went once, would NEVER go again, despite being offered a free meal because our first meal was so awful that I emailed and told them. (sat at a table then had to figure out what to do after never being there before, chicken was lukewarm, not asked if meal was ok, didn’t eat half of it as it wasn’t hot and so said it was awful but presented with full bill, then had to go up to pay which we shouldn’t have had to as they take payment at the table )

The manager phoned, apologised profusely and asked “could I offer your family a free meal to make up for you disappointing experience?”
When I replied “no thanks, I really wouldn’t want to eat there again even if it was free” he was dumbstruck.

It use to be my number one place to go.

Either my taste buds have changed or they have, but its just not as good, we have given our local one 2 chances and won't be doing it again for a while.

Having said that it could be our local area as our KFC is shit as well, but its right next door to the supermarket and it smells so good everytime we go there

YANBU. It’s overpriced, dry, unappealing and generally underwhelming.

I met my husband there 😁 but apart from that I'm not keen. Wasn't even there that day by choice 😁😁😁

I do like Nandos. I don't mind spending a huge amount in there because YUM! You can see them rubbing their mits together when our family of 10 rock up in there lol.

Don't know why you think you don't get chips. They do a combo thing like a burger and a side (not just chips!) for something like 8.95 so not hugely expensive. Plus drink of course (free refills). Good veggie options. It's quite a reliable, quick, place for a sit down meal. I like it, it's fine! I don't eat chicken tho!

I like it. I like not having to sit and wait for wait staff but not having to stand and wait for the food at the counter, and I like building my preferred meal from the options. All my middle class middle aged peers think it’s crap so I just take a young person who’ll enjoy it. I like proper restaurants too, but I don’t like KFC, McD’s etc.

I like it, have been several times. It's not at all like KFC except for the chicken. There's a fair choice of menu too, very tasty and nutritious.

However we don't all enjoy the same things when it comes to eating. I knew people who liked school dinners :-).

@Nothingcomesforfree Every one I've been in sells alcohol.

YANBU. people rave about it. I have been, once, for a colleagues birthday lunch . Incredibly overpriced. I'd rather go to kfc

I don't mind a Nandos occasionally. About a decade ago I used to be a mystery shopper, and Nandos was one of the company's clients, so I went to quite a few: the one thing I would say is that the food varies from specific restaurant to specific restaurant.

It isn't good value it's cheap chicken and chips sold at silly prices, it's a triumph of marketing over substance.

You can get a couple of proper meals for a lot less.

I really like it, though I've only been to the one near us and maybe they vary? I think that it's tasty and you can order quite interesting sides (I like their grains and greens one); it's fairly healthy if you don't choose chips. I like that it's clean, not noisy and not interrogation-lamp bright, which IME is relatively rare for child-friendly places.

However, confused why @Jsmith99 thinks it's an alcohol-free environment? Ours definitely has alcohol on the menu and usually there are people drinking.

when I wanted to go across the road to the sizzler and get a decent meal and decent price

Ha! I’ve had a crap experience at a sizzler too (but do wonder if we are on about the same chain? ) they refused to take our order for ribs because they’ve run out but when we ordered the sharing platter ((which had ribs on)) they served up rock hard inedible ribs that were so hard they, when bashed against the plate, could chip it. We left there hungry and went for a bag of chips. DC was really unhappy.

We shouldn’t ever eat out

I like Nandos because (ironically) they have a fantastic vegan menu.

And their hummus with peri drizzle is heavenly. I find it hard to eat hummus from anywhere else now because I always end up thinking about the one in nandos.

My 18 year old daughter had a trial shift with them a few weeks back, this being after her interview. 4 hours she worked for them, including cleaning up food and salt that teenage boys had left all over the table, and carrying plates so hot that her hands blistered (she did cotton on in the end and use napkins to cover them!). She's such a lovely girl - just lacking in confidence a bit - and I felt so bad for her when they phoned to say she hadn't got the job. Never mind though eh, as at least they got their pound of flesh for free. I'll never eat there now out of principle, if that's how they treat our young people. Sure, invite them on a trial for an hour or two, but not four hours of unpaid bloody work

Also pretty sure the rice and a lot of the veg comes in pre cooked and they just zap in the microwave. I am still quite fond of the spicy rice though .

DS2 was very ill as a 10 day old baby and I had to stay in hospital with him. After a few days the nurses suggested DH and I popped out for a meal as I hadn’t left the hospital. We went to Nandos. That night DH was sick and couldn’t come into hospital the next day. We’ve never been back.

I personally don’t like the whole “Nando’s ordering” , nothing against the food as it’s pretty tasty or the staff but if I’m going to a restaurant then I want to relax and sit down and be waited on.So Nando’s is a No from Me

I bloody love Nando's! @hazandduck I think the ordering system is one reason it's so successful, as you can go in groups and just order what you want and pay for it with no bill splitting hassle. Appealing to youngsters and anyone on a tight budget particularly, but given the bill splitting threads on here it has universal appeal. I think the food is delicious, fresh and reasonably priced, and the atmosphere is congenial and fun. It's British chicken so the welfare standards are no more 'grim' than anywhere else unless they're specifying organic and suchlike which not even top places like Claridges do. I'm a middle aged old bag so they must be doing something right if I like it. DH and I go regularly and we are usually the oldest there

No idea why it's so popular. Whenever i go past there are queues out of the door. I've been twice and my experience was that the chicken is drier than ghandis flip flops. I can only assume people love the sauces and drown the chicken in them to get a hint of moisture.

@Sorrysorrysosorry

You pay in advance at Nando's?

I love nandos, so does everyone I know! Never had an issue and I've bren to loads lf different branches lots of times. Probably been going for ablut 7-8 years now. I have extra hot too. Unless you get plain its definitely not unseasoned . Certainly don't see a problem with portion sizes as you can get your chicken/burger/main with 1 or 2 sides. I have the butterfly chicken or sunset burger with creamy mash and rice and can never finish it all!

I like the ordering, I like not having to track someone down to pay and being able to leave when I'm done.
To me it's a cheap option on the way home when I've worked late.

@Sorrysorrysosorry

Are you sure it was Nando's? You pay when you order at the till, not after you have eaten!