Manchester - The Chill Factor - Ryan Review

Popped into the Chill Factore about 9:30pm and so needless to say this Nando's had quietened down a bit.

The Chill Factore is the ski slope complex located on/around The Trafford Centre. There are a couple hundred free spaces directly outside the Chill Factore otherwise plenty next door at the Soccerdome or the Trafford Centre itself. Pretty cool driving to it on the M60/M61 as it feels like the ski-slope comes right up to the motorway (it doesn't of course...). As with any Xscape complex there's snow shops, après-ski bars, a climbing wall and other stuff.

The Nando's inside is big. Huge high slanted ceilings to mirror the slope it's in with big sloping wooden beams. It's quite a long restaurant too - and is well laid out: booths down the one side, little clusters of four and two seaters, then cushioned benches down the other side allowing for parties of up to 20 from the looks of it!

The ceiling is so high, a lot of artwork is needed to fill it and there is plenty of this. As soon as you walk in, the wall on your right has the peri-peri story in big writing so you see what it's all about straight away. On your left are two sets of branches that must be 15 feet high - and a little further on, 12+ feet pots with 16+ feet reeds in, just trying to fill the massive space. The booths have 6ft+ paintings in them and then 10ft+ light shades above this that climb all the way to the ceiling. The restaurant goes all the way to the end where there is then a 6ft faux fireplace and another 10ft painting above this. Really impressive - but not tacky.

I had a half chicken with chips and rice and it came in just over five minutes. Plenty of sauce and straight off the grill. A full sauce selection on offer too - no fewer than 12 Extra Extra Hot bottles to choose from! Nice!

The staff were all great too. Very welcoming - nice and chatty on the till and courteous while eating. Yes it was quiet at 930pm - but good service is good service.