Sadly, our experience with Nando's has been nothing but disappointing. I say sadly because it's located to our old home and we would frequently order-in food from he neighborhood restaurants. I adore Tex-Mex/Mexican food and was hoping for a reliable spot to grab a simple meal of flautas or enchiladas every now. This ended up not happening and I'm sad about this because who wants not-so-great food within a stone's throw from one's house?
We first ordered from the restaurant when it first opened years ago. My husband went to go pick up our order and not only had they forgotten a dish and our appetizer of guacamole and chips.
The food was lackluster and strangely bland. I didn't understand how a restaurant could serve tortilla chips that resembled the consistency and taste of cardboard (yes, I had a regrettable bite of cardboard as a toddler) and cheese that was bland. Seriously, how can you mess this up and on a grand scale? How did this restaurant ever franchise?
We pointed out the missed dish and guacamole to the hostess and they generously gifted us a $15 gift card for our trouble. It was a gracious offer and one we appreciated.
The second experience we had was only a month ago when we took friends out for dinner. Their choice was Nando's and I truly wish we hadn't gone. We ordered guacamole to share with the whole table and I was highly disappointed. It almost tasted as if there was soggy and shredded lettuce in the guacamole. It was flavorless and served with yet again the blandest tortilla chips I have had in my mouth.
Then came our main dishes - I chose the chicken tacos with rice and beans on the side. It was horrifically, comically bad. The chicken was cold and the tortilla was rubbery. The rice and beans also lacked salt and overall flavor.
It also took us ten minutes to get our server's attention to pay. Even after we stood up and walked toward the front door, we didn't catch our server's attention. We asked the hostess if we could get out bill and it took yet another five minutes to get our bill. My husband, our of frustration, just handed the server his card because we were so tired of waiting to pay.
Overall, this place is in a great location and the shopping center is nice and full of delicious other spots. But, Nando's is not worth your time or money or energy. Save your calories for something else delicious.