Nandos

Nando's
George Street
Oxford
OX1 2QB



A new Nandos opened in 2008 on the site what was the Opium Den.



Identical to other Nandos dotted around the country, and much of the western world, Nandos serves 'Portugese' bbq chicken.



A selection of other dishes, but the star of the menu is the peri-peri chicken, served from lemon and herb mild to extra spicy.



We washed down the extra-spicy with some Savannah cider.



Not terribly dry, and probably not premium either... but it's certainly cold and very refreshing.



Between four of us we ordered the chicken platter, consisting of a spatchcocked bird and a mountain of chips.



And more chips.



Smothered in Nando's own spicy peri-peri sauce... yum...



Gluttonous goodness...



Extra bottles of sauce are available to add to your chicken and chips, should you feel that they were not generous enough with the spice.



A and I, both being masochistic eaters, doused everything with the extra spicy.



And why not?



The chicken is usually moist, although lacking in a chicken-y flavour. The peri-peri is quite addictive, and really it's what we come for.

The 'cooking' here is rather dubious, as really the kitchen staff are only on hand to warm up pre-cooked food. The spatchcocked chickens are kept in warmers, and grilled again at the last minute to crisp up the skin. Servings of ratatouille are microwaved, then slopped into serving bowls.

The service is incredibly temperamental: sometimes friendly and helpful, while at other times simply useless.

The damage: whole chicken and chips for around £17, plus £3 each for drinks. Not bad, but not much better than any other run-of-the-mill fast food.