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Diners are flocking to Nando’s newest outlet, located in Zayed Town, to dip their beaks in a selection of signature chicken dishes.
It’s the international franchise’s second eatery on the island and offers sensational, succulent and spicy Afro-Portuguese fare in well-decorated surroundings, which feature wooden elements along with bright pop-art and African-inspired prints.
The two-storey venue, which can seat 140 chicken-lovers, is famous for its Portuguese flame-grilled fare and its African Bird’s Eye Chilli Spice that has so much bite they had to say it twice …hence PERi-PERi.
Nando’s was born in 1987 when Fernando Duarte invited his friend Robbie Brozin to a humble Portuguese eatery in the heart of Rosettenville, South Africa, to try some mouth-watering PERi-PERi-marinated chicken. To Robbie, it was the best that he ever tasted and they both decided that others had to share in their delight.
Since then, the fiery feast has been spreading smiles all over the world including in the US, the UK, Canada and Asia. It has also made a name for itself in the Middle East, a region already known for its tender grills.
To ensure that the Zayed Town venue offers the best of Nando’s, one of its pioneering trainers, Joe Motale Masedi, prepared the 28-strong staff on how to cook and present the tantalising treats.
Chef Joe said: “I have been with the restaurant for 24 years, traveling all over the world to train the team on how to cook chicken the Nando’s way. Wherever a Nando’s appeared I was there.
“I believe that we have developed a loyal customer base because of two key factors; we marinate our chicken for 24 hours to make sure the sauce has been completely absorbed and that is what gives it the tenderness. Also, it’s the way we butterfly grill the chicken.
“However, let’s not forget the friendliness of our team and the addictive PERi-PERi sauces!
“For those that can’t get enough of our PERi-PERi sauces, we sell the bottles as well. We offer different flavours of wild herb, garlic, mild, hot and extra hot for BD1.4 each.”
Members of the GulfWeekly team were among the first to sample the savoury and sweet cuisine during the venue’s dry run and they were not disappointed. The empty table was quickly covered in plates full of chicken starting from BD1.7, an array of appetisers starting at BD1.2 and Fino (Portuguese for posh) sides at BD1.7.
Before trying out the signature dishes, Nando’s friendly servers presented tapas-style appetisers to fire up our bellies. The spread was made up of roasted vegetable dip for BD1.2, PERi-PERi hummus and pita for BD1.5 and a new recipe for the spicy-mixed olives at BD1.2.
Meanwhile, GulfWeekly’s growing boys (excluding the Editor who was out hunting another exclusive) each ordered a whole hot PERi-PERi chicken, cut up into eight pieces, which came with four regular sides of either corn on the cob, fries, potato wedges, three bean salad or coleslaw for BD8.5.
The paper’s lovely ladies sampled the sweet potato mash for BD1.7 and the brand’s espetada rustica for BD5.9, which includes tender marinated chicken thighs with sun dried tomatoes and red onions served on a skewer with two regular sides. The soup of the day at BD1.6, and the Caesar salad at BD2.1, were also tasty additions to the experience.
Every spicy bite was complimented by a refreshing array of ice-cold drinks garnished with fresh orange slices called citra for BD1.6.
Although the lads did an impressive job tackling the chicken, they still had plenty of leftovers, which they finished off at home for dinner.
The desserts were just as scrumptious as the main meal. The natas, a traditional Portuguese custard tart with a touch of cinnamon at BD1.8, was a big hit with the table and the caramel cheesecake was another favourite with the ladies at BD1.8.
The venue was officially opened on Saturday and launched three-days of festivities, which included a Gangnam Style dance competition, a drawing contest and a hunt for a ‘Hot Chick’ to act as Nando’s ambassador.
For details on the winners and the brand visit their Facebook page Nandos Bahrain or www.nandos.com.bh
