I HAVE always wanted to eat in a Nando’s for what is, possibly, the geekiest reason ever.
Some time ago I read a piece about Doctor Who, which waxed lyrical about David Tennant and Billie Piper disappearing off to the nearest Nando’s for a feed and a laugh during filming in Cardiff.
Well, if it’s good enough for a Time Lord it’s certainly going to be good enough for me.
So when Nando’s opened its doors in Union Square I hauled the family along.
Funnily enough, the eatery is bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside, giving way to an airy and funky space as our friendly waitress led us to our seats.
It’s all wooden tables and chairs – fine dining this isn’t – softened by funky art works and glowing chilli-shaped lights.
And chilli is at the heart of the food here, built around chicken and fiery Portuguese peri-peri sauce.
But Nando’s leaves you in control of just how hot you go, with marinades ranging from medium to extra hot. You can even opt out of the flame wars with lemon and herb or mango and lime marinades.
We’d been piggy and gone for starters of houmous with a peri-peri drizzle (£3.01) and red pepper dip (£3.01), both with a stack of warm pitta. The houmous was garlicky and creamy, with the drizzle giving it a kick. The red pepper was, to my tastes, like a salsa with delusions of grandeur – a bit under-whelming – but Mrs B loved it.
Almost as much, in fact, as she loved her pitta (£6.39 with a side order of crispy fries). It was stuffed with a tender chicken breast in a medium peri-peri and salad with a spiced mayo. Her face lit up as the first bite through soft, warm pitta led to crispy peppers and shredded cabbage then tantalisingly zingy chicken. The loon gave a big thumbs up to his medium chicken wrap (£7.41 with chips), an identical dish with, you guessed it, a soft tortilla wrap instead of pitta.
Even the youngest member of the party, our eight-year-old princess, loved her choice from the Nandinos kids’ section, plain breaded chicken strips and garlic bread (£4.04) plus an ice lolly to go at the end.
I must have been hungry, given that I demanded a half chicken – hot peri-peri for me, ta – plus two sides of spicy rice (fine) and peas with mint and chilli (really fine) at £8.79 for the lot.
And it was delicious. Perfectly cooked chicken that melted off the bone yet delivered a blast of spice to wake up the taste buds.
I boosted that with extra hot sauce from the condiments on offer to help you get your food to exactly how you like it.
My only quibble would be that the dish comprised two separate quarters of chicken, which isn’t really the same as half a whole chicken.
A minor niggle, and one to be overlooked given the fact we fed the four of us, including soft drinks, for £40.61 in total.