Nando's Peri-peri

We tried Nando’s in 2021 when we visited London. Our first bite on the chicken was impressively delicious and we were so happy to see they have their locations in DC. Their decor was cozy and artsy but service still had room for improvement. Food was overall decent and outstanding as fast food. Their chicken thigh was juicy and flavorful. We love most of the sides, especially grilled cauliflower and brussel sprouts.

The place and decor was very good. Good selection of drinks and beer. We ordered their signature dishes - Rainbow bowl and Peri Peri bowl with chicken thighs. We ordered one with lemon herb flavor and other with medium spice. They switched the flavors on the bowls. Irrespective of that, the bowl was excellent to eat. The chicken was very well marinated and grilled. The kicker is you pick the sauces that you want to add to your food when it gets to your table. We had the lemon, garlic based and spicy sauces. This added some additional kick to the food. We also ordered fries with perinaise (their concoction or mayo and Peri Peri sauce). It was uber good. We have been to Nandoo"s in South Africa and Dubai. So when we saw this in DC area we said we should go here. The big difference was the way they cook with the sauces. Here you add the sauce yourself after the food is cooked vs they add the sauces as they cook. This makes a huge difference the Taste and flavor. Overall a must try place.

I love Nando’s and have been to a number of them across many cities/countries. I typically find the food (especially the chicken) fantastic, but I found that the food here was just ‘okay’ on the whole. Not bad, not great - wasn’t entirely certain all the things I ordered were fresh. They have a new sweet potato side, however, which was very good