This is my third post as part of my Guide of Cork and I do apologise as it's another restaurant review - believe me when I say that I've never eaten out as much as I have this past week, the New Year has been kind to me! I will have some more wonderful aspects to my city and county on the blog soon - promise! On Tuesday afternoon Jacek decided he wanted to take me to Nando's, somewhere he's been wanting to take me for ages now as he's always going on about it and how the chain was begun in South Africa so of course we had to go, him being from South Africa and all. The only Nando's in Cork is located in Mahon Point shopping centre and is tucked away on the ground floor. I know, I know, some of you may be thinking Nando's isn't really a big deal or worthy of a review but it was my first time there so I was quite excited by the aspect of going there... is that sad? Can you tell I don't get out much?! (Hopefully not!...)
Nando's is famous for it's peri-peri chicken and it's range of hot sauces so I was looking forward to giving them a go because everyone I know raves about the place. The restaurant itself is large with plenty of seating and lighting which gives a great mood to the place. We sat at a large round table which gave us plenty of room for our buggy, I'd definitely say that Nando's is a family-friendly restaurant, they have plenty of highchairs and colouring activities for the little ones - an aspect we had to take advantage of when our son starting getting cranky at the end of the meal. When we arrived at Nando's we were taken to a table and given menus and that was it. No one came to serve us and I had to figure out for myself that we should order and pay at the till before we had our meal. I did think someone should have told us as there were plenty of staff, some having a chat and drinking coffee behind the counter...
The menu offered a wide range of chicken dishes as well as vegetarian and a beef option. There's also one children's option on the menu. You get to choose how hot you want your sauce too. Jacek and I began our meal with a bottle of Savanna Dry Cider, a South African cider which he highly recommended and I have to admit that although I'm not a big cider drinker it was quite nice, really appley. I also had a large glass of the Pink Elephant Rosé, I love a good rosé!
I went for the plain-ish chicken pitta with coleslaw and chips which I later regretted as it was rather bland, thankfully you can bring sauces to your table so I livened it up with some medium sauce. I wasn't a huge fan of the veg in my pitta either, it had a real earthy taste to it which wasn't very appealing. The chips were delicious though! Jacek opted for the half chicken with extra hot sauce, he said that's what he was raised on in South Africa, he also had the chips and coleslaw. Tyler Lee was very impressed with his plain chicken strips, chips and sweet potato mash.
Overall, we had a lovely family lunch at Nando's and although I was a bit disappointed with my meal and didn't really get what all the hype was about, I know that Jacek would go back in a heartbeat. Anything remotely South African he find in Cork and he's there!
Nando's,
Mahon Point Shopping Centre,
Mahon,
Cork
Oh god, now i want Nando's!
ReplyDeleteThere are heaps in Australia - I would say it is hit and miss depending on who makes your meal each time (classic Chicken piat everytime!).
But I think there chips are world class (not that I would know) but I would go back time and time again for those bad boys!
Congrats on getting a Nando's!
Kelsey x
How cool that there are Nando's in Australia! I wonder where the closest one to me would be- either in Sweden, or my hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. I would definitely love to try the South African cider- I never knew that they produced cider, but I suppose ti makes sense. Trying out new restaurants, foods, and drinks is always such an experience and so much fun!
DeleteI have been to nandos once in swords, co. Dublin. It's lovely but there's so many sauces you can pick from. Last time I only tried one because the other ones were quite spicy.
ReplyDeleteI love all of the decor at Nandos! I've never heard of the restaurant before, but the pictures of all the food look amazing. Oh, I miss going out to restaurants frequently!
ReplyDeleteYou had me at hot sauce! I love places like this that are casual and delicious!
ReplyDeleteGreat review! 've never been to a Nandos, I must try it soon, my Husband says its lovely! x
ReplyDeleteOh FUN! What a cool place! I've never been to Ireland, but when I do, I'll definitely check it out. The decor is so cool--love all the rustic woods and tile. Thanks for such an amazing post!
ReplyDeleteThat chicken pitta looks AMAZING and those fries look yummy! I've never been to Nando's but when my friends studied abroad they told stories of the fabulous food <3
ReplyDeleteI still have not been to Nando's, despite there being one in Southampton, and despite recommendations! I want to try those chips now. Sorry your pita and the veg were strange, I would have thought they would be much tastier and spicy!
ReplyDeleteSorry that you were a little disappointed, but it looks awesome in the pictures. My family likes sauce and all things hot, so we would definitely have to get it with sauce. I wish I had some of those fries right now.
ReplyDeleteoh I love nandos, when we go back to visit the uk, a nandos visit is always on the plan! its a shame there is no nandos in Kerry! I think its always a great atmosphere and love the food and the wine there x
ReplyDeleteI love Nandos, but I haven't been there in a while. This post makes me want to have some peri peri chicken. Love the fries too!
ReplyDeleteAmazing pictures! My husband would probably do just about anything to go to Ireland.
ReplyDeleteWow, the food and the restaurant looks fantastic! I wish we had them in the states! I will have to try this if I ever get to puddle jump!
ReplyDeleteOoooooo cork sounds like my kinda place!!! I could so go for a fabulous glass of wine and a cheese plate!!! Yummy!!
ReplyDeleteOh wow what a beautiful place. I never heard of Nando before but now I have. Those french fries look really good right now, I like them plain or with sauce and seasonings. The decor of the restaurant is also quite pretty, classy and trendy to me. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteohh! its a great place, i loved there foods,
ReplyDeleteeven the menu its amazing, love it.
Try now, very cool place, peace and order,
nando is great.
Such a brilliant review Fiona, I love nandos and i have been eating there for 7 years now. I love their grilled chickens and periperi chips they are just divine and i order the same thing always i only change the hotness of the chicken thats all
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like an awesome place to eat indeed. The food sounds and looks amazing. My sons would love it because they love chicken and hot sauces. The apple cider sounds amazing too. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI love that wood/logging wall! It's gorgeous. Your kiddo's curls are fantastic. I love little kids with big or messy hair - I think it adds character! The food looks really yummy at this restaurant. I love stuffed pitas with fries - I probably would have ordered the same thing!
ReplyDeleteSo I had to Google Nando's to see if there are any in Canada. There are three. The closest one will be two hours away from us. Still worth the trip if I'm in Etobicoke (Toronto). I was in SA 6 years ago and I remember Nando's.
ReplyDeleteMy focus was on the round pieces of wood built into the wall. I love that design.
ReplyDeleteKinda sucks that they didn't come to your table and just left you to figure things out for yourself. Like you, I wasn't that impressed with the food either and it looked fairly standard. Although, of course, I couldn't taste anything and am going by images/your judgement alone...
ReplyDeleteOn the plus side for everyone, Tyler Lee is (as per usual) a shining star during an otherwise bland meal in an incredibly fancy looking place! lol Wonder if they're overcompensating? :P
It would make more sense if they were more helpful, that sucks. I love the wood wall, that's really cool. The decor in that place is just simply amazing. The food looks amazing as well!
ReplyDeleteThat sucks that they weren't more of help to you but that food does look amazing but I'm happy you are being honest and let everyone know it's not as great as it looks. I guess this shows how imaging can be deceitful at times haha. I am a sauce kinda a person anyways so I would have had them to dip in from the get go so maybe I wouldn't have noticed the blandness :)
ReplyDeleteI usually love restaurants that have extensive menus. Nando's definitely has one. Looks like they may need to stick to less items though since they aren't living up to the hype. I do like the ambiance though. Maybe give it another try? They could have just been having an "off" day. Xo
ReplyDelete