Canary Wharf - Cabot Place - Damien Review

It was quite late when we exited the cinema on this Thursday night, so instead of the original plan of buying something to cook back at home, we took a quick trip to Cabot Place Nando’s. I went here a few times back when it was new, and didn’t really like it. Compared to the old Jubilee Place restaurant at the other end of the underground shopping/tube maze, it always seemed a bit stuck-up and soulless. As this visit was gone 9pm, there was a much different vibe to the frantic weekday lunch rush that I’ve seen in this Nando’s. There were only a few tables occupied, which gave the staff a lot of breathing space. This did not come at the sacrifice of the service, though. Pretty much everybody who spoke to us during our visit was friendly and polite, something that many London Nando’s are often lacking.

The place still seems a bit big and cold at this time of night, but I can see there are a few newer pieces of art here and there and it’s kjept very clean. As I was ordering, I saw a delivery guy taking out orders for late night office workers, a service I hope more Nando’s will provide in the future.

I used by Cineworld Unlimited card to get 20% off my thigh burger, peri chips and halloumi, bringing it down to a more reasonable price than usual. The girl who served me also almost managed to upsell me a Christmas container of four sauces. I ended up not going for this though, as my kitchen cupboards are already overflowing with Nando’s condiments, and I was only really interested in the gift box.

Myself and my girlfriend ordered separately. When my food started coming out (about ten minutes after ordering), my girlfriend realised she’d forgotten to order halloumi, so decide to order it from the guy who brought our plates out. As he put her plate on the table, a piece of the garlic bread sled off and onto her lap. The waiter was apologetic and said he’d go get the halloumi (and the mayonnaise I asked for). Ten minutes later, there was no halloumi or mayo, so we got up to see what the deal was. A very apologetic member of staff then brought over a massive bowl of mayo, followed closely by the first waiter with the halloumi. He said there was no charge, as an apology for throwing garlic bread at us.

The food was actually really good. Everything done close to perfection. My girlfriend even remarked that it was her favourite Nando’s meal yet. The only downside to this visit is that I’m now left split over which Canary Wharf Nando’s to go to in future, as both have been great recently. Guess this dilemma is something I’m going to have to deal with. Maybe I’ll just go to both!