Nando's, Wolverhampton – food review

If the sub-zero temperature in Wolverhampton’s revamped branch of Nando’s was anything to go by then it’s extra hot all the way.

My two pals and I visited the popular Afro-Portuguese chain one lunchtime, shortly after it had reopened following a month-long refurb.

They’ve done a good job; the restaurant has been opened out and new fixtures and fittings have given its slightly tired interior a fresh lease of life. There’s a scent of new paint and timber with wood panels now covering the walls.

But the first thing we all comment on is the temperature – it’s colder in than out, I’m half surprised we can’t see our misty breath in the air.

We are however, warmly greeted by a friendly member of staff who offers us a choice of tables. We plumped for a window seat which prompted one of my friends to comment on the restaurant’s new windows – and how badly they’d been painted. Boys, eh?

And so to the menu, which everyone knows features predominatly chicken plus a handful of other options for veggies and the likes.

There was talk of salads (‘trying to be good’) but all good intentions were thrown out of the (poorly painted) windows and we opted for burgers, pittas and plenty of sides.

The man among us plumped for the butterfly chicken, while my friend and I sidelined the chook in favour of beanie burgers.

Orders are placed at the counter – the same guy serves me as showed us to our table, and he’s as breezy and friendly as when we arrived. Full marks for pleasant staff.

Drizzle

I order loads of food, tonnes in fact, enough to induce an afternoon coma at our desks, more’s the pity because we have a shed-load of work to do at Weekend Towers.

The inevitable question of ‘how hot would you like your food?’ should have given me the opportunity to comment on the temperature of the air conditioning but instead I muttered ‘medium’ and ‘hot’.

Starters included houmous with PERI-PERI drizzle and warm pitta bread strips and a trio of chicken wings spiced to your liking. Meanwhile, the main courses feature all manner of chicken dishes, from burgers to the whole shebang, as well as a fillet steak wrap for those who the lure of red meat is too great, and salads for those ‘trying to be good’.

We start with gigantic olives and some spicy nuts although unfortunately my friend finds a hair in the latter. However, we brush (boom, boom) this aside and continue to plough through them. Add three refillable drinks and some good conversation and we’re kept busy enough until our main courses arrive. The olives were fairly plump and juicy, and the nuts – a pleasing mix of cashews, almonds and macadamias – well-seasoned and moreish.

The double butterfly chicken drenched in hot sauce looked appetising, as did the two beanie burgers (both medium hot) in pitta breads, packed with crunchy shredded cabbage and carrot.

Three spicy chicken wings plus sides including macho peas, coleslaw, chips, mixed salad, corn on the cob and a supergrain salad, filled our table and we all tucked in with gusto.

My beanie patty in a pitta, topped with halloumi, filled a hole without being something particularly memorable. The burger features chickpeas, sweetcorn, lentils, peas and pumpkin seeds, bound together with Cheddar cheese, although none of the ingredients particularly stood out. It all seemed a bit of a bland mush.

The salad was fresh and the cheese griddled to perfection. My friend, who ordered the beanie pitta minus the cheese, was in agreement. “It’s somehow more satisfying as a takeaway, feels more indulgent,” she said and I tend to agree. Those beanie pittas eaten in silence at our desks while we get on with our work always seem to hit the mark a bit more. Who knows why that is. Perhaps it’s like the tantalising kebab after last orders; you’d never dream of eating it in the cold light of day.

The chicken muncher was also underwhelmed, commenting that his bird was a bit dry. The same goes for the chicken wings, he said, mournfully.

Side dishes were hits and misses. We all agreed the supergrain salad with grains, greens, beans and an avocado and buttermilk dressing. Yum! It was the star of the show.

We also liked the minty, chilli-spiked macho peas, although the coleslaw sparked debate; I liked it while my friend thought it too vinegary and not creamy enough.

The side salad was fine, a combination of mixed leaves, cucumber and cherry tomatoes – pretty standard stuff.

I enjoyed my corn on cob despite it being a bit overcooked. The complimentary butter and some heavy-handed seasoning certainly helped perk it up.

Despite ordering PERI-salted chips we just received just the standard version which were a bit disappointing, they were flacid and under-seasoned.

We managed to munch through most of it and we were left stuffed and unable to face dessert despite tantalising options such as a traditional Portuguese custard tart (natas), salted caramel brownies, carrot cake and bottomless frozen yogurt.

But we were frozen enough after enduring an hour in sub-zero temperatures.

The bill came in at £50.85 including three refillable soft drinks, which seemed reasonable for the sheer volume of food we ploughed through.

Food was fairly good and service was perfectly pleasant. While we wouldn’t rush back for an eat-in meal it was certainly a very convivial lunch. It’s just a shame about that darn air conditioning . . .