I have three different impressions of Nando- based on ambience, mains, and desserts.
Why do "upscale" places invest in dim lighting? Its tricky if you don't get it right and Nando didn't pull it off.
Now to the mains. We went the seafood route with lobster-crab ravioli & one of their lobster specials that night and the latter was...a debatable choice since the tomato based sauce was... sparse. I loved the handmade pasta and the downplayed sauce allowed me to enjoy that difference from packaged ones, but only for a few bites. The lobster helping was decent but the dish was no worth the $35 pre-tax tag. The ravioli was superb and worth the $26 tag. Delicate but not flimsy pasta, noticeable crab and lobster filling, adequate & balanced seasoning, and the sauce was lovely. As were the scallops.
It's only when we got to the desserts that I realized why I'll be coming back. My foodgasms on the pana cotta and the almonds brittle semifreddo were very amusing to the boyfriend. The panacotta is the best I have ever had and aside from a good authentic fully(i.e. alcohol)-loaded tiramisu, it is my favourite dessert.
We decided Nando is going to be our dolce spot.