Nando’s Peri-Peri

I tried this Nando’s for the first time this week. I really admired the ambience and would come back to try out their «happy hour» (I love sangria and they offer ½ price pitchers during happy hour). I felt the service was a bit slow. I waited about 20 minutes and I didn’t order anything complicated. I saved part of my meal for lunch the next day, but it didn’t taste the same. I will give them another chance one day!

If you’ve been to one Nando’s, you understand the concept. This one is a little different as they assign you a table with your own rooster to match it when you arrive. The food is good, if a little pricey for the area. It’s also an area that has some incredibly good authentic options nearby for Peruvian chicken, like Sardi’s in Greenbelt. If you are a local student, I’m sure this is a nice addition.

Very enthusiastic greeting when we walked in. I order the ¼ chicken with white meat, mango lime sauce, and rice. My husband ordered the ¼ chicken with dark meat, hot sauce, and the squash and cucumber salad as his 2 sides. Chicken was good, the sides were very good, different from the norm. I’d come again. I saw they have happy hour. I wouldnt mind coming with friends for a pitcher of sangria!

Every time I’m in CP, I hit up TenRens. Not because it’s the best there– but it’s the only place I really know. It’s hard to turn down bubble tea, amirite?! This time, my friend told me that there was a new kid on the block, Nando’s! When I heard that it served Portugese food, I knew that I had to try it out. Lucky for me, it was just a few doors down from TenRens allowing me to get the best of both worlds.
When you walk into Nando’s, you are greeted by spacious seating and the cash register/​menu at the front. I went to check out a paper copy of the menu before ordering my food. There was a plethora of options to choose from– chicken combos, wings, apps and more! I ended up deciding on a quarter chicken (HOT spicy level) with garlic bread as my side. I thought the price was very reasonable at first, ~8, but my portion came out teeny tiny. I think I could actually eat 3 of what I ordered.
Taste of the food, I would give it 4 but the reason I bumped it down to 3 was because of portion size and service. While I was ordering my food, the girl at front seemed so impatient with me and definitely gave me a lil’ attitude. The workers there were not inviting at all and it was not pleasant getting served by them. Not sure if I will come back here next time, but if I do, it’s for that half chicken and garlic bread.

I’d been to Nando’s before (in Baltimore) and as a vegetarian, had been impressed with the halloumi wrap. Couldn’t wait to take my also-​vegetarian boyfriend there, so when one opened in College Park I jumped at the chance. The food did not disappoint – we both got the halloumi wrap and different sides, and thought everything was delicious.
On the other hand, the design of this restaurant is seriously lacking. If there’s a line, there’s not even 25 square feet to stand on in front of the hostess, and the main area is so cramped with tables that the servers and customers are always bumping into each other or having to move out of the way.
When we stood to order, the third cashier down called us, but then realized a couple standing in front of him had intended to order (?!) so apologized and said he’d get to us in a second. Fine. At that moment a server came busting out of the kitchen and yelled for everyone to please stand back where we had previously been standing. *eyeroll* There is a single drink station for the entire restaurant, which meant I had to stand behind approximately 8 people to fill my drink.
All in all, the food is good, and that’s what we came for, but we were kind of appalled at how dysfunctional the design was.

This is a new-​ish addition to College Park. Located where Ratsies used to be. I would say it’s definitely an upgrade. I went today and had the half chicken (hot) with Macho peas and cole slaw.
The ordering system is somewhat odd. We were assigned a table and then were told we could go there first or stand in line and then go to the table. We decided not to forfeit our line that was nearly out the door.
There are plenty of options for those that want vegetarian options, salads, wraps, what have you. The sauces are pretty plentiful as well. He hot is not too spicy, and the extra hot I think was a little more tangy and just a touch spicier. Next time I’ll try the extra extra hot.
The chicken was great. It was super juicy and tender, cooked perfectly with a little bit of crunch on the edges of the skin. The macho peas were a little more cooked than I like my peas, but had good flavor. The slaw was very mild flavored, and I thought it was excellent.
Nando’s service was good. Originally, they had forgotten my cole slaw, but when I asked for it, the guy had it in literally about 10 seconds, as if they knew it was there and someone had forgotten to serve it. Perhaps that’s what happened.
Otherwise, the interior has a lot of hard surfaces, so it’s fairly loud, but more in a busy way than anything else, since it was quite busy in there. Artwork adorns the walls, and where it doesn’t, there is a very rustic «made out of reclaimed wood/​pallets» kind of feel to it. I think a nice touch is the vacant/​occupied door locks on the bathroom (think airplane restroom). Also, the Dyson Blade V hand dryer is nice, although I do prefer paper towels sometimes. Coincidentally, there is a sink for handwashing in the middle of the restaurant.
Certainly a welcome addition to the CP scene.

Well well well, I finally made my way to the oh so famous Nandos!!! Many of my friends have raved about this place so I decided to try out the new location that just opened up in College Park, my old stomping
grounds! :D
When I first walked in, I definitely was intrigued by the vibe and ambiance. It was very relaxed and artsy; my kind of place! We were weren’t, :clears throat, yes I said WEREN’T, greeted by the three hosts that were right by the door, but luckily I am super blunt so I made our presences clear with a drawn out «Hiiiiiiiiiiiii». Not a good first impression, customer service wise. I mean, I didn’t know you go to work to socialize with co-​workers and get paid for solely that. Hmph. Originally, we wanted a booth but they were all taken, which was fine, so we settled for a shared table. Mind you, the whole time, I was saying to my friend, I wonder how this works, and not once did the host try to explain the concept. She looked right at me when I asked that then turned away. Girllllll, you & your stuck up attitude and $ 2.00 weave need to find a new job cause your customer service skills are horrible! Yeah I said it & I hope she reads this too, because she is the only one up there looking cray thinking she owns Nandos or something! Anywayssssss! A booth opened up before we ordered so I kindly asked one of the girls walking around cleaning the tables if we could possibly move to the booth, she was sweet and said «Sure, let me just go check with the hosts». So she comes back to tell me that the host, Miss Thang, said we can’t be moved; GIRLLLLL if you don’t chill out acting like this is some upscale, 5 star restaurant busy on Valentine’s Day or something. She tried it! So I walked my happy butt to the front, asked for the booth, and luckily the manager just walked up and said «Of course». I mean, damn, was that so hard! Girl Bye! So while seated my friend filled me in on the process, so we figured out what we wanted and walked up to the register. This is where I met Kwain. Oh Kwain. He is simply amazing! Give this man a raise! He made me forget all about my terrible experience with the hosts. He was so engaging, gave us a high 5 just for coming, and he had a permanent smile plastered on his face. See, now that is a people person. Anyone that can make me smile, just from a simple five minute convo with them, I am in love with you! Plus, he was cute :) Ha, ha. We ordered ½ chicken, garlic bread, and she had corn while I tried the butternut squash. OMG it was so incredibly good!!! I am so mad that I waited so long to try this place out. I have been missing out! We also had a pitcher of red sangria which was BANGING!!! We were both tipsy at the end of dinner. Everything tasted so fresh and was perfectly seasoned. I am a Nandos customer for life now!!! Their garlic bread is fire! How ya’ll get it like that? Mmmhmm! I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to Nandos but I am giving you guys three stars because you need to reevaluate your hosts and who will be giving that «first impression» to your old & new customers.
Favs: Sangrias, garlic bread, & Kwain: D
Would Change: That host! Ew. Terrible.

The service on my first visit was less than enjoyable. When mentioned to the one team member that was kind enough to stop at our table and ask how we were, he mentioned that it’s usually how the new staff is *insert look of astonishment*. Needless to say, after many weeks of anxiously awaiting their arrival in CP, I doubt I’ll go out of my way to get food from here.

One of the better places to go to with friends in College Park.
It stays pretty crowded on Saturday evenings. The place is well decked up.
Food is pretty good. Sangria is awesome

I just went back to Nando’s for the second time last night. I walked in minutes before closing, thinking I’d carry out. But because I wanted to use the ¼ chicken on the bone promo, I ended up dining in. The line was long, despite the fact that I had walked in six or seven minutes before closing. And I wasn’t even the last person in line. The last time I had gone, I hadn’t paid close enough attention. Last night, I noticed something that really had me feeling bothered. If a restaurant gives you a free meal (the deal is practically a free meal) and you know you’re walking in just minutes before the restaurant closes, have some mercy on the staff and place your order as quickly and efficiently as you can. There must have been two girls (separate parties) ahead of me who ordered to dine in but after placing their order asked to change to carry out. A couple other girls (same party but paid separately) held up the line making changes to their order, after they had paid. Literally the poor gal at the register had to hold up her head with her hands. The line got held up, not because the cashier is inefficient, but because of these morons (for the lack of a better description) who are so indecisive. Other than the unpleasant customers ahead of me in line, I thought my dinner was pleasant and totally yum! The corn on the cob was dry but it was late at night so I’m sure the cook was just exhausted and wanted to get the orders out ASAP. Regardless of the corn, I’ll take Nando’s any day over Bentley’s or Corner Stone from across the street! :)

I have to give my experience here a disclaimer: it was homecoming weekend and absolutely mobbed. That being said, I don’t understand how this chain has survived with such an asinine concept: wait 40 minutes to sit at a table to get up and wait in line to order your food to sit down and wait for your food. The cashier did not get our drink ordered straight and my $ 8 sandwich was about 4 ounces of food. All I wanted to do was get out of the frenetic atmosphere with average food. I would like to try it again as take out because I did not enjoy the ambiance at all.

My husband got food for us on his way home from work from the Nando’s Peri Peri in College Park Maryland. The pros; the food was pleasantly delectable; my husband had some lemon and herb chicken breast while I had lemon and herb six piece chicken wings. The appetizing sides were; fire roasted corn on the cob, garlic mashed potatoes, and garlic bread. The only caveat is that while the College Park Maryland Nando’s Peri Peri is not that expensive but it is not that cheap either; he mentioned that what he got for us cost him approximately 23 dollars.

If I could give 0 I would.
I was verbally assaulted and threatened by a man while waiting for my to-​go order and absolutely not one of the staff members (including the clueless hostess who just watched) tried to help or call 911. This man literally screamed that I «better be scared» and no one did anything. They were all afraid for themselves. The manager was too afraid to approach this man and never called 911. She never asked him to leave either. Pathetic. As as young woman, I should have never been subjected to this. I have since filed a police report and contacted the company personally. I will never support this franchise again.

It’s such a great new option in College Park, taking over the space of a shoe repair, an old and gross pizza place and a constantly-​empty froyo shop!
It seems like a Panera-​type set-​up, but it turns out that there is a person that greets you at the door and assigns you a table (every table has a set number). After you put your rooster on the table, you then go up to the counter and order, and somebody will bring your food to you. If you ask for water, they will give you little chilled bottles of it– fancy!
I’ve been to a couple Nando’s locations throughout the D.C. area, and the food was definitely comparable. My ¼ chicken (dark) with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob (~$ 10) was excellent, especially with the addition of some spicy garlic sauce. My friend’s chicken wrap, on the other hand, while nicely dressed, was so tiny! The wrap cost $ 7 and was like… ¹⁄₃ the size of a Chipotle burrito. That’s a bad deal, Nando’s! The side of coleslaw ($ 2) was basically the same size and that was really yummy– it was creamy but refreshing, due some different herbs that were mixed in.
So maybe it’s best to stick with the chicken on the bone!

I have never seen such an amazing transformation from one business to the next. The food at Nando’s is always tasty, but I’m giving this location five stars in particular as a special thank you for their major investment in this College Park location. I view this as a major step in the city’s transformation process!
But anyway, back to the food… This place has Portuguese /​South African chicken. They have some tasty chicken dishes, including a ¼ chicken for under $ 8 and 12 wings for around $ 12. I got wings from a nandos for the first time and they are great. Lots of good sauces to try too.
Also this place is huge! It took over the old frozen yogurt space next door too.
Happy hour is sun to Thurs.$ 6 sangria pitchers and $ 2.50 beers! 3 – 7 pm.