Founded in 1987 in South Africa, Nandos launched five years later in the UK and has since spawned more than 200 outlets in Britain alone. An impressive record then, but unfortunately the menu is loaded with completely underwhelming food.

The Venue
Nandos is a Portuguese restaurant with a love of chicken and ‘fun’, and by-god they never let you forget. It’s the antithesis of a fine vegetarian eatery, and a pun-hater's nightmare. Everywhere you look you are haunted by grating witticisms regarding their peri-peri chicken (the Nandos ‘eperi-perience’, ‘peri-peri good chicken’, ad nauseum).

Regrettably it seems to have an adverse affect on the clientele - the fact that you are being told to be having such a great deal of fun all the time seems to leave many people a little unnerved and wondering, ‘can’t I just sit a enjoy my meal?’.

The People
The bright, energetic image that it tries to project seems to have eroded the souls of the workforce, with many looking worn down by having to perform such a merry routine every day.

That said, the waiters are polite and attentive, although your overall feeling towards them is sympathy. Consequently the atmosphere is strange – it’s all rather hollow which is a shame as so many people truly believe in their world famous chicken recipes.

The location doesn't help the ambience. It's crammed in the middle of a shopping centre, a place where people need a restaurant that's calm, somewhere to unwind. It's therefore unfortunate that this restaurant feels as if you’re just in another busy department store that's gone mad on chicken.

The Food
So – the chicken. It’s fresh, marinated 24 hours before being cooked, flame grilled and spiced to your particular taste. The food is also cheap, with a quarter chicken at £3.30, a half chicken at £5.80 and a whole chicken at £10.95, and they're all excellent.

There’s also some messy fun to be had with the platters to share. The wing platter (£14.25) and the jumbo platter (£36.80) are both worth it if you’re eating in a large group…or if you’re just damn hungry. The burgers and pittas are good value and quality, especially the mushrooms and halloumi cheese pitta (£5.70), coming with a great chilli jam.

The Drink
It’s definitely a place for cold beers and here they have a couple of good ones. The Sagres beer (5.1 per cent) is the pride of Portugal, while Brahma is Brazil’s favourite.

White wines are pretty decent, all coming from either Portugal or South Africa. The award-winning Quinta de Cidro Chardonnay is the pick of the bunch. As for red wines, the South African Spier Merlot is cheap and refreshing and works well with the peri-peri.

The Last Word
It’s a shame this branch of Nandos has such a frustrating, stress-inducing interior as the food is nearly as good as it makes out. It seems the owners have misjudged the mood of the place, unfortunate given the chain’s evident success and the British public's love of its unique recipes.

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