Nandos is not nice!

[biggirlknickers]

I had a voucher for £25 so took the kids. Thought I might actually enjoy it too as everyone seems to love Nandos, right?

Major disappointment. The only nice things were the halloumi strips starter (can’t go wrong with halloumi) and the ice machine next to the free water.

Chicken - don’t know as I’m veggie. DD ate hers.

Veggie options - v poor. Choice of bean burger or pea protein burger. I had the latter. Tasted of grey sadness with the texture of tripe. Partner had bean burger and said it was rubbish.

Chips - undercooked, underwhelming.

Hummus - cheap and lacking in flavour. No evidence of olive oil or garlic present.

Frozen yoghurt- synthetic vanilla frothy nonsense. Really unpleasant.

Service - ok but there were no actual menus and I was the only person with a phone so I had to read out the whole menu to everyone, with endless requests for repetition and clarification.

I went to Nando’s a couple of times pre-kids - maybe 10 -15 years ago - and I thought it was nice! Has it gone downhill? I’m sure they used to have better veggie options too.

Grump.

I tried it once many years ago. Wasn't impressed, not been back, doesn't sound like I'm missing anything!

It’s food for people who hate food.

I went once, never again. So underwhelmed.

It's a chicken restaurant and you are veggie.

It's not rubbish, you just went to an unsuitable restaurant for your needs.

I wouldn't go to a vegan restaurant and complain it's crap cos there is no steak.

It used to be better. Like everything!!

@biggirlknickers
@MasterBeth

Chicken restaurant is disappointing to vegetarian!

I didn’t comment on the chicken. Everything else was disappointing too!

but it is a Chicken restaurant

Nando's makes me violently ill
Which is gutting because I used to love it 😢

Nandos vary massively.
I don’t eat meat but have the sides
The rice is great, sweetcorn and I love the peas.

It's expensive and overrated in my opinion. And the chicken is dry 😖

DH loves it, however!!

It’s speciality is chicken. Tempting Vegetarian dishes will never be more than an afterthought.

I'm veggie and i love it.

I like Nandos. But if you don't eat chicken it's probably not the best place to go, as peri peri chicken is their speciality.

It's nice if you're not vegetarian

I'm not vegetarian and I don't think it's anything approaching nice.

I mean, really it's all about the chicken and piling the extra sauce on. Of course you were going to be underwhelmed. That said, I think the field mushroom and halloumi works really well as a veggie option.

I'm veggie and love nandos. The beanie wrap is imo the best main on the menu. The new fake chicken thing they do is naff

Pre pandemic the veggie options were much better. I went the other day for the first time since lockdown and the menu has shrunk significantly. They don’t even do premium sides any more. Was really looking forward to sweet potato fries! I had the beanie thing, it was ok and better than the hideous fake meat most restaurants wheel out, but it wasn’t as good as it used to be. Dp said his chicken was dry and tasteless.

YABVU to be veggie and expect excellence at a basic food outlet specialising in chicken.

If you want fine dining, gift the voucher to someone else and spend the bucks

Places like Nando’s can vary wildly from branch to branch. Fires for instance - it’s all in the cooking - and the success of a fast food meal is often all in the fries.

But the chicken isn't that nice? Or the sides. Or anything really. If I was hungry and Nando's was the only option I'd eat it, but not rave about it.

They used to do halloumi burgers/wraps which were delicious, but used covid as an excuse to ditch them in favour of catch-all vegan options. As a vegetarian I hate this "plant-based" trend - so many companies have decided that since we can eat vegan they might as well only bother with vegan, healthy options for non meat eaters and bollocks to those of us who occasionally want a bit of cheese.

I wouldn't go to a vegan restaurant and complain it's crap cos there is no steak.

This. I really like their supergrain salad but have to admit it's way nicer with chicken. So they do veggie stuff, but there's no getting away from the fact that it's a chicken restaurant first and foremost.

I think it's alright if you just get some chicken, chips and coleslaw. Certainly nothing special but it's nice enough and the service is very quick so it's good with young kids.

I'm in Australia so maybe it's different over here.

Pea protein burger sounds fucking awful. Why does that even exist?

@Justcannotbearsed

But the chicken isn't that nice? Or the sides. Or anything really. If I was hungry and Nando's was the only option I'd eat it, but not rave about it.

It's almost like taste is subjective

The chicken was weirdly water, with anemic chips and flavourless hummus. Eaten there once and that was more than enough, thank you very much.

Anybody I hear raving about it now will be given the side eye of suspicion.

YADNBU, OP!

Haven’t been in years and I never thought it was amazing, but the vegetarian option (some sort of thin vegetable pattie iirc) used to be nice. Last time I went it was not nearly as good and I haven’t been back since.

I agree that pea protein doesn’t sound great and I’m a bit fed up with pretend meat as the default option. Bean burgers though... nice for the first few mouthfuls and then I’ve had enough. I find them a bit of a chore and they always have a generic spice flavour. Give me a good veggie burger made with a mix of vegetables any day.