Nando’s, the South African chicken chain came to India in 2010 and now has seven restaurants open in Punjab, Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore, serving flame-grilled peri- peri chicken and Afro-Portugese inspired sides. Peri- peri is an African bird’s eye chilli is added to a handful of herbs, spices, a squeeze of lemons and a dash of garlic to create the peri- peri sauce, which in varying degrees of heat is omnipresent in Nando’s dishes. The cyberhub outlet was one of the first ones to open here and has been operational for over a year now.

I am here at the invitation of Nando’s for a review. From the drinks menu, I choose a lemon margarita (Rs 250) for myself and mojito (Rs 250) for my friend. Both of them are a complete disappointment due to incorrect proportions and minimal amount of alcohol used. Clearly, cocktails are not strength area for Nando’s. In a menu that is overwhelmingly chicken, with one of the handful of non-chicken starters, I choose spicy mixed olives (Rs 130) and some chicken liver in extra hot peri peri sauce with Portuguese bread ((Rs 225).

                        Olives                                       Chicken Liver in Peri-Peri Sauce

I like the olives, and liver is cooked just right, but the extra hot sauce is what we would call hot in India. Chicken Caesar’s salad (Rs 320) is competent but not much more.

The best chicken dish is peri peri chicken (half) (Rs 370) in hot peri peri sauce. This being a flagship dish, it is good and well cooked. The sauce is a milder version of what is there in the liver.

Espedata carnival with corn on the cob and spicy rice (Rs (Rs 590) is a vertically hanging skewer with what seems like Portuguese chicken tikka, with the same peri peri sauce and hence similar taste.

Chicken breast burger (Rs 230) is nice; though the mild peri pei sauce gives it the same taste yet again. It is only towards the end that I discover two other sauces and the garlic sauce certainly tastes different.

In desserts, carrot cake (Rs 200) is dry but creamy cheesecake (Rs 180) has an addictive buttery taste.

             Carrot Cake                                                       Cheesecake

To really appreciate Nando’s you need to be a hard core chicken lover and in love with peri peri sauce. For normal people, I would recommend the flame grilled chicken. And after the first dish, change to garlic sauce.

Please note: This review was done on an invitation from the restaurant to taste their food, and no bill was presented to the author. While the author assures you of objectivity, the review may be influenced by the personalized attention the author got.

Ratings (Out of 5)

Food: 3.5 | Ambience: 3.5 | Service: 3.5 | Value: 3.5 | Overall: 3.5

Meal for two: Rs.1500 | Alcohol: Yes | Credit Card: Yes | Wheel chair friendly: Yes

Address: Cyber Hub, DLF Cyber City, Gurgaon| Tel: 011 33105960