Chelmsford - Marc Joss Review

Chelmsford Nando's was the perfect location for the team's Thursday evening fix having just landed at Stansted airport. We were both aware of the exceptional reviews for this branch and were not to be let down. It had of course been nearly 2 months since our last visit together which meant there was slightly more pressure to please on this occasion.

We were seated upstairs at a rather pleasant and spacious booth even though it was only the 2 of us, an understandable decision at 8.15 on a Thursday.
There are tills upstairs and downstairs in this branch so I expect the queue rarely gets long but maybe the wait for food can be slightly longer than in other branches. I fully agree with this system either way, I'd rather wait at my table than standing up!

On this occasion, the food did take a while which was explained to us by the manager who said a new batch of chickens had been placed on the grill after our order. For me, the optimum time for main courses to arrive is a couple of minutes after the completion of starters, in this case it was more like 10 so I'm going to give service a 2.5.

The food itself was glorious, the perfect quantity all round, doused in peri sauce and cooked to perfection. I sure needed that!

The décor definitely impacted me as the modern feel to this branch (it's 2 years old) combined perfectly with the artistic Nando's tradition rather spectacularly. The walls are covered in eye-catching paintings and there is one section on the right as you come up the stairs which is perfect for big groups of up to 15.

The staff were extremely friendly and the place had a really positive vibe to it overall. We engaged in an extremely interesting conversation with the manager too. Good stuff all in all, Nando's Chelmsford!