| rev:text
| - Gonna start off saying: Love Nando's. Went over here instead of going to my usual Bay location. I've been excited for their open for quite some time because it was much closer to my southern place of residence in Scarborough. Love the very convenient location right near Pape station. I went after work with a co-worker and we arrived and ordered around 6:10. We ordered the "Full Pack" meal between the two of us (we were starving!) with the coleslaw and garlic mashed potato and two cokes.
Reception was great! It was extremely clean (probably because it opened about two weeks ago). The atmosphere isn't anywhere near the Bay street location. It seemed to have more of a fast food/cafeteria vibe because everything was so much smaller. The tables are tiny, the venue is a little cramped, and there are very few comfortable group seats. I found it really strange for a Nando's because we usually come in groups of 4+.
Nando's is known for its self-sufficient serving. We received our cups for drinks on order at the counter, and our garlic bread came to our table shortly after. Bread was great! We forgot it serves 3-4 people so we were surprised at the sheer amount. We picked up our sauces and my co-worker drenched the bread with the salad dressing and garlic sauce (highly recommended, delicious).
Because the table was so full with plates with only the garlic bread, we requested to be moved to a booth. It couldn't happen right away, but after what happened next, they made an exception.
We expected the chicken. The people beside us left. A few others were complaining. We long since finished our massive pile of bread. We switched seats and after about an hour fifteen, I see it being delivered to our old table. I scooted over there and informed a waiter that it was, in fact, ours and I wasn't stealing someone else's food. After brushing the wait and awkwardness off, we chowed down. After getting through the first breast, we flipped the legs over to realize it was burned pretty significantly. In retrospect, the sides seemed like they were not in their "Nando's sized" dishes either. Luckily, the potatoes and the coleslaw were regular Nando's fare. The first piece of chicken for each of us was passable, albeit a little overcooked.
I flagged down someone wearing a blue shirt (the blue shirts looked like management, they had been fluttering around tables) and told them it was an extremely bad experience. They were completely understanding and zipped away with our receipt to refund it. It was a relief as it seemed rectified, but we sat at the table for another 25 minutes before we got up and said we had to leave. Thankfully the lady we were speaking to was very sweet and offered us complimentary meals without us asking for them, along with our refund. We left at about 8:15pm.
Admittedly, it could have been so much worse if the management didn't completely agree it was bad service. This is why I'm rating 2 stars. Apparently they had a catering issue where the kitchen was pressed and couldn't finish orders in time. Based on this experience, I'd only go on a Tuesday afternoon until kitchen management, floor attentiveness, and customer service gets better.
I know self-sufficiency is the key to Nando's service, but no one informed us of the wait for chicken. It seemed like a truly bad day for the staff. They all seemed super stressed to the point of pity. They're lucky they're a Nando's, otherwise this kind of service in their first month would tank them. I feel it would've been a better experience if they had not been under so much stress.
I truly hope it gets better in there! I'm gladly open to re-rating and giving them 5 stars. That new-restaurant curve's gotta stop somewhere.
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