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Nando's, A South African Spiced-Chicken Chain with Numerous Area Locations


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We had takeout from the Bethesda location last night. Service was a little slow and unorganized but they just opened.

Food was meh - not rushing back to get again. I agree the sides are nothing to right home about. Luckily, a groupon recently purchased softened the blow.

Think we will stick with Don Pollo's - better sides, better value and not to mention easier parking.

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We've tried the Gaithersburg location twice. The service is terrible. Both visits have required the intervention of a manager to right things. The sides are unappealing and not very diverse.

I had the butternut squash and grilled corn side at Gaithersburg last week and thought it was better than the chicken breast sandwich I had as part of a take-out lunch. Other than that, I agree that none of the sides look particularly intriguing on the menu. The hot sauce added some heat but not much flavor to the sandwich and its overcooked chicken. Check out their menu analysis. These folks do love their salt. With the daily recommended sodium intake at 2300mg, it looks like I got all of that at lunch. This probably explains why I had an unquenchable thirst for water all afternoon.

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Answered my own question: walked by it with the missus. Packed - you'd think people in Bethesda never seen a new restaurant before.

This made me laugh. Would have to agree. :D

We tried it tonight. Aside from the zoo-ish environment, we had mixed reactions but will return.

HEADLINE

Decent chicken with some good sauces and rub for a healthy quick-serve concept. Just OK on the value meter. Generally uninteresting sides but with a couple of exceptions. Friendly, earnest and somewhat inefficient service that was eyebrow-raising on occasion and hopefully improves with time.

VENUE

I like that there are plenty of table and counter options. Also that the fixings/sauces/drinks area is large and thus accommodates several customers comfortably. Didn't as much like that it's crazy noisy. Kind of feels like eating in a club. If there was anything on the walls (i.e. Zulu warrior spears?, Nadine Gordimer covers?, Shakira WakaWaka photos?), I didn't even notice between the food and general raucousness. Nando Bethesda is a bit over-stimulating in terms of noise, motion, lighting and general chaos at prime time on a Friday evening.

SERVICE

The service was strange. At first I was getting annoyed but, by the time I left, I felt more positive and appreciative about it. First there was the bizarre popularity of the place as rockcreek noted. But that's not Nando's fault. More power to them. I like the table service aspects of the place including friendly hostesses, somewhat overly attentive servers, responsive managers and a logical but appreciated follow-on order process.

Explaining the above a bit further:

- overly attentive servers: we must have been asked by the same server four times whether we were "ok" and whether she could "do anything for us." Literally four times in maybe 30 minutes. But, she also got refills for us, cleared plates and was genuinely nice so can't be too disappointed with this. It was all a kind of strange mix of self-serve and table service but it generally worked.

- responsive managers: I'm admittedly not basing this on much but we had a problem with a sauce bottle. I'll leave the specifics to readers (and Don's) imagination but, since a manager was the first I saw, I gave it to him explaining the issue. His response to the very simple request was efficient and professional.

- follow on order process: we ended up having to order some additional food (this relates to my just "ok" on value as I'll explain below) and I was all ready to be disappointed and frustrated at having to stand on the entry line a second time to order some wings. I got the attention of a passing hostess and asked if there was an easier way. She surprised me and took the order right there, brought the wings to us and processed payment from our table. That's how it should be.

FOOD

My +1 prefers dark meat and they made her buy two quarter chickens rather than allowing her to spec all dark for a half chicken. This was about $1 more so not a big deal but kind of annoying given that the quarter dark is an undersized leg with no wing. That said, I got the half chicken and enjoyed it. The breast was moist and the rub tasty. I really like that they flame grill the chicken to order. And of the several sauce options, I especially enjoyed the garlic sauce.

I agree with others upthread that the sides are pretty uninteresting overall. Several starches. Just two simple side salad options (green and caesar). I spotted just one that appealed, a "chunky Portuguese medley salad" (or something like that) which contained 4-5 fresh vegetables including olives, red and yellow pepper and fresh feta all in a reasonably sized serving.

Because the chicken legs are undersized, we were still hungry and ordered five wings from a passing hostess as described above. These were very good and, surprisingly, nicely sized. Maybe two of our five wings had nearly as much meat as the leg/thigh combos.

VALUE

Just okay for quick serve. Line by line, we paid:

- 1/2 chicken: $8.95 (a quite good deal IMHO with nice quality and size on white meat and a leg/thigh)

- 2 quarter chickens for $9.90 (a bad deal since this was just two very undersized legs)

- fountain iced tea: $1.95 (a very good deal with free refills!)

- 5 nicely sized and tasty wings: $7.95 (I guess a fair deal but close)

BOTTOM LINE

To me, this is the only real alternative to Cava on Bethesda Row for a fast, healthy, inexpensive and mildly interesting meal. If I had to compare the admittedly different concepts, Cava would win hands down. But, I'll still return to Nando on occasion when in the mood for chicken. I would like to know more about their chicken sourcing. Someone once posted on a different thread here on dr.com about the horrors of the peruvian chicken places. Nando, of course, isn't Peruvian (it's South African) but I'd like to learn more about this since chicken, like beef, tomatoes, HFCS, ice cream, orange juice and most everything in our food production system, is produced under horrible conditions when cheaply priced at market. A final random thought. I've had very good chicken in South Africa but that didn't have much in common with this South African concept. That's okay though, as is Nando.

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We did takeout last night and had a mixed response.

The whole chicken was $16.95 with no sides. The half chicken included one side. We got peas and mashed potatoes Chicken was good, sauces were not well received. The chicken pita had a lot of vegies, not so much chicken. I hate the containers for takeout. The all tore when we opened them so I had to put the extra in new containers. They are paper so they kept nothing warm. Found one of the managers pretty rude. Said of my response about the wrapping "well we are not Five Guys" Well Five guys is quicker, food is warm and not as expensive. I also had a quality control issue with my mashed potatoes having something in them that did not belong. We will see if that gets resolved. Ordering was frustrating as they have no menus up front or posted so I had to go to the front door to get a menu. Some cashiers were pretty confused so the line to order took a pretty long time. Had to wait 15 minutes for the food.

I think they need to get the kinks out. would go back only for chicken and the peas.

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We did takeout last night and had a mixed response.

The whole chicken was $16.95 with no sides. The half chicken included one side. We got peas and mashed potatoes Chicken was good, sauces were not well received. The chicken pita had a lot of vegies, not so much chicken. I hate the containers for takeout. The all tore when we opened them so I had to put the extra in new containers. They are paper so they kept nothing warm. Found one of the managers pretty rude. Said of my response about the wrapping "well we are not Five Guys" Well Five guys is quicker, food is warm and not as expensive. I also had a quality control issue with my mashed potatoes having something in them that did not belong. We will see if that gets resolved. Ordering was frustrating as they have no menus up front or posted so I had to go to the front door to get a menu. Some cashiers were pretty confused so the line to order took a pretty long time. Had to wait 15 minutes for the food.

I think they need to get the kinks out. would go back only for chicken and the peas.

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Too true. Any idea where this ad is playing?

South Africa. And it's raising a bit of a kerfuffle--Bob's goons are boycotting the chain.... so I'm just going to eat more! (I'm going to South Africa in a couple of weeks, and I'm dying to see this thing air on TV.)

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South Africa. And it's raising a bit of a kerfuffle--Bob's goons are boycotting the chain.... so I'm just going to eat more! (I'm going to South Africa in a couple of weeks, and I'm dying to see this thing air on TV.)

I, for one, would appreciate a report back on what you find with this. There are people in Zimbabwe who can actually afford restaurant meals these days? Using what currency?

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I, for one, would appreciate a report back on what you find with this. There are people in Zimbabwe who can actually afford restaurant meals these days? Using what currency?

The Zim dollar has stabilized quite a bit from the days of seven- and eight-figure inflation, and while the poverty level remains shocking, the money is today actually worth something, and there is, as in most poor countries, a reasonable-sized upper class. No matter where you are in the world, you'll find heavily frequented chains--KFC, for instance, is one of the largest in east and west Africa (no pork for the Muslims, no beef for the Hindus). I haven't been to Zim, but Nando's website says it's "one of the largest restaurant groups there."

And you're welcome! It's one of the best things I've seen this month. :)

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Dined at the DC location before the Springsteen revival and really enjoyed it. The mango-lime sauce for the chicken was slightly spicy and maybe short on the lime, but really good. The side of butternut squash with corn was quite tasty. The wrap wasnt stuffed with tons of chicken but was a nicely balanced wrap, with pineapple that didn't overwhelm it.

Chicken is my new thing; been to Guapos, Don Pollos and now Nando in the last week or so. Here the portions were a little smaller but the flavor variety (I get that it's from another continent) was really nice vs the others. I should probably take a look at the salt intake associated with this diet.

Side note.... As we walked past Fado, we overheard "let's go back to Ruby Tuesday. Fado seems like it could be weird."

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I've known about this for a few weeks, but the signs are now up on the storefront: Nando's is coming to King Street in Old Town, Alexandria, in the space formerly occupied by Popeye's (right off Washington St.). Oh, happy day.

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I've known about this for a few weeks, but the signs are now up on the storefront: Nando's is coming to King Street in Old Town, Alexandria, in the space formerly occupied by Popeye's (right off Washington St.). Oh, happy day.

Also coming to Pentagon Row next to Thaiphoon in the near future

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It's odd that Nando's plays up the Portuguese angle but uses the spelling "peri peri". As far as I remember from my time in Portugal, the spelling "piri piri" is universal there.

It's great that Nando's is opening more stores around DC but the menu, compared to their places in the UK, is extremely limited. I wonder if Nando's US will eventually expand its offerings to wraps, soups, salads, etc.

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It's great that Nando's is opening more stores around DC but the menu, compared to their places in the UK, is extremely limited. I wonder if Nando's US will eventually expand its offerings to wraps, soups, salads, etc.

they do have wraps... the chicken breast wrap with chili jam and yogurt is my go-to when I am at Nandos. delicious.

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A couple of us stopped in yesterday for a free staff training lunch. The new space is impressive and quite a transformation from the Popeye's space. A welcome addition to the lunch options around here.

I think today is another training day with the actual opening tomorrow (10/24).

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Went to the Ballston location.  Matt and I both got wings- him hot, me half medium, half mango lime.  Side of macho peas and fries.  I REALLY like their peas.  I like the mushy peas with butter and mint.  I stole this dish and actually make it at home sometimes I like it so much.  It is something I always get at Nando's when I go.  I also really like their fries.  They are thick cut but the right amount of crunchy.  I like dipping the fries in extra hot sauce.  The medium wings were not hot enough for me, I should have gotten hot, but I forgot which ones I liked.  I like heat.  The mango lime though were really good.  I thought the wings were nice and meaty.  I like the fancy coke machines and that they have the sink in the middle of the restaurant.

The servers once we reached the table were really nice, but I always am confused by the order at the counter, find a seat process, and it wasn't helped as I think they were a little understaffed and the hostess/manager was doing multiple things.  But this is a general Nando's thing- not a Ballston thing.  Anyway I really love the wings here and am happy to have this place close by.

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Hubby, Mom and I split a family meal and add on of 6 wings- with peas and rice as our sides at Nando's the other day in Ballston.  I have to say the hot wings seemed hotter than previous.  I liked them, but warned my Mom as she doesn't eat things quite as hot as me, we got the family meal chicken medium and we all liked that heat, I thought the skin on the family meal chicken wasn't quite as nicely done, but it's just pieces, so they cook it the same way, maybe they just rushed our order, it was cooked, just not quite as crisp skinned as it sometimes can be, but nothing to complain about by any means.  We all love the peas here.  We ended up with an extra piece we took home and I ate later in a pita sandwich.  I thought the family meal was a pretty good deal.

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So Hubby ordered the Caesar salad at Nando's once and it was terribly boring.  So I was really debating between the chicken pita sandwich and kale salad this weekend, and it took till the last second to decide.  I got the kale salad and a side of garlic bread.  This salad is really good.  It has kale, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, chicken and was a very fun salad.  I think Hubby was a little jealous.  The garlic bread are just grilled Portuguese roll halves on the grill with garlic butter, but it's really good, and perfect with the salad.  The salad was a pretty big portion too, which is nice.  Anyway, really liked it.  

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Nando's bake their chicken and finish it on the grill.  If you ask, they will grill it skin on or off, give it extra time on the grill (or probably turn it into a hockey puck if you wish).  I go to the original DC Nando's in Chinatown about one time a week (well, it's close to work and 99% of the time very good) and learned that they will cook it the way you want.

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3 hours ago, Escoffier said:

Nando's bake their chicken and finish it on the grill.  If you ask, they will grill it skin on or off, give it extra time on the grill (or probably turn it into a hockey puck if you wish).  I go to the original DC Nando's in Chinatown about one time a week (well, it's close to work and 99% of the time very good) and learned that they will cook it the way you want.

So what have you found is the best way to order the chicken?

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11 hours ago, pras said:

So what have you found is the best way to order the chicken?

Personally I do the skin-on, butterflied breast a bit towards the well done side, medium spicy. Keeping the skin on keeps the meat from drying out too much. This way seems to be the most bang for the money and it's not overly filling.  That comes with the frozen yogurt afterwards.  :)

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My sister and I stopped for lunch at the Springfield Mall location today.  This time I had my glasses on when I looked at the menu and could see the calorie counts for everything.  I love their macho peas but passed them by today -- 328 calories for a side order!  Only the french fries had a higher calorie count for a side.  I ended up getting the thigh skewers with the mango lime sauce, which was tasty but a little too tame, and the cole slaw, which was almost the very definition of average.  My sister got the plain thighs and corn on the cob and said the corn was good, but she had slathered it with the wild herb sauce at the table, so i don't know which flavor she was actually commenting on.

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Went to Ballston last night due to the fridge being pretty sparse, I need to take some things out of the freezer and get creative, but last night I was too tired.  I had the half chicken medium which had good flavor, I used the garlic sauce for some fries.  The macho peas may be high in calories, but they are so good, I can't pass them up.  I knew it wasn't a low calorie meal, but I only had one other meal yesterday and was hungry.

If you are looking for something lower calorie, the pita sandwich is pretty darn good, I like it with fairly spicy chicken.

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