High Wycombe - BaronSamedi1980 Review

BaronSamedi1980's picture
How Helpful?: 
Average: 5 (1 vote)
Number of Visits: 
This was my first visit
How Busy?: 
Almost Full
Date of Last Visit: 
Monday, May 25, 2015
Time of Day: 
Weekday Lunch
Rating: 
3.5 / 5
Friendliness of Staff: 
3 (Not bad. Did everything I asked of them)
Speed of Service: 
5 (Under 5 mins - I had only just got back with my cutlery and sauce)
Quality of Food: 
2 (Quite disappointing - seems rushed, may have some parts burnt)
Decoration & Cleanliness: 
4 (Very clean, newly furnished, impressive artwork and lighting)
Comments - Stand out in our monthly competition! What did you eat? Unique aspects? Parking/transport tips?: 

One bank holiday Monday - Three towns - Three Nandos that I have not visited before - Part Two

My second Nandos of the day was High Wycombe which is located inside the Eden Shopping centre. I parked in the multi-story car park that is interconnected with the shopping centre, paying £2.50 for 3 hours (I did some other shopping while I was here, hence the 3 hours).

Inside the shopping centre the is a dedicated food court section where this Nandos can be found, it is opposite a Wagamama and has a Zizzi and a Pizza Express on either side.

A male manager greeted me as I entered and I was seated immediately in the upstairs section at table 25. I was not asked if I had been to Nandos before (I had, less than an hour ago). The upstairs section where I was sat has 15 tables, its own drinks dispenser and sauce & cutlery station. The is also Gents and Ladies bathrooms upstairs.

However the tills are downstairs so I headed down to place my order. I attempted to order the hummus and pita bread starter but the female staff member at the till told me that this was unavailable today - no explanation of why it was unavailable was given. I instead I ordered:

Red pepper dip and pitta.
Churrasco Thigh Burger (medium) with garlic bread and peri-peri seasoned fries.
White chocolate raspberry cheesecake.
Refillable soft drink.

After ordering I went to fill my glass with sprite from the drinks dispenser and collect my cutlery and when I returned to my table I found that my red pepper dip and pitta bread starter had already arrived and was waiting for me on my table. Very quick from order to on the table, impressive.

Unfortunately the impressive speed that the food was delivered to my table didn't let up, 4 minutes later and before I was even half the way though my starter my main course of a churrasco thigh burger with garlic bread and peri-peri seasoned fries turned up! Now I am all for commending a Nandos for speedy delivery of food but this was too fast! My main meal sat on the table while I rushed to finish the other half of my starter. This rapid food delivery seems standard in this Nandos as the two women who were on the table next to me and ordered at the same time as me also had food brought out very quickly. I feel that perhaps I am being harsh to mark this Nandos down for such prompt service and good work by the kitchen staff but it just isn't professional to serve the main course only a few minutes after the starter is brought out.

Unfortunately this delay in getting to my main course may have affected my enjoyment of the Churrasco thigh burger as by the time I got to it I found it to be lukewarm (perhaps due to undercooking in the first place or perhaps due to the fact it had been sat cooling on my table while I finished my starter, I cannot say which) and in this state it was just not very nice (the one I had enjoyed in Aylesbury about an hour earlier was much better!). Unfortunately no quality check was carried out for my table (the chicken on the stick was left uncollected from my table by the time I had finished eating and left the restaurant) or I would have given this undercooked feedback directly to the staff had they asked.

The two sides of garlic bread and peri-peri fries were both very nice and I particularly enjoyed dipping the garlic bread in some of the red pepper dip that was left over from my starter. But unfortunately I found the main course rather disappointing due to the undercooked\cooled Churrasco thigh burger, especially as I knew Nandos could do this a lot better.

A few minutes after I finished my main course a member of staff came by to clear my table and I asked if my desert could be brought over, which it quickly was. The piece of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake that I was given seemed softer in texture and warmer in feel than normal - which made me wonder if it had been slightly heated before being served. Anyway it was tasty with the raspberry flavour came though richer and deeper than normal.

To underline how rapid the food was served here I feel it worth pointing out that I was in and out of the restaurant in 30 minutes. Now I was not rushing or trying to be particularly quick yet in that time of just 30 minutes I:

Spent a few mins looking at the menu.
Ordered my food.
Ate a starter then a main with two sides and then a desert.
Enjoyed 3 refills of sprite.
Used the little boys room.

This all left me with the impression that this Nandos could very easily be set up as a fast food place with their high speed, efficient and rapid service.

Before leaving the restaurant I visited the upstairs toilet. The gents bathroom here is very small with 2 urinals, only 1 cubicle. Everything was clean and looked to be well maintained but it was very cramped with not really enough space to turn around in.

So would I return to High Wycombe Nandos? Yes. I was pretty impressed all around even if at times they served the food too quickly. I have some minor gripes about my visit such as no quality check being carried out when I had feedback about my meal to give them but these are not deal breakers for me.

So 2 Nandos down, 1 to go, on to Luton.

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