Northampton - BaronSamedi1980 Review

BaronSamedi1980's picture
How Helpful?: 
Average: 5 (2 votes)
Number of Visits: 
This was my first visit
How Busy?: 
Almost Full
Date of Last Visit: 
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Time of Day: 
Weekend Lunch
Rating: 
4.25 / 5
Friendliness of Staff: 
5 (Wow, I feel incredibly welcome! Recognised if a frequent visitor)
Speed of Service: 
3 (10 - 15 mins - Nando's average)
Quality of Food: 
5 (Nando's fit for a King - The very best (Please tell us why)!
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?: 

Surprisingly this is the only Nandos location in Northampton, I say surprisingly because in a town of this size you might expect more than one (perhaps Nandos might consider a new store at Sixfield leisure park? - just my suggestion). This would be my first visit to Northampton Nandos which is located in the heart of the town, just next to the main market square and a couple of minutes walk from the Grosvenor shopping centre. In fact I had parked in the multi-story car park which is inter-connected with the Grosvenor centre and as it was the weekend was able to park here for free (free parking is also available here on bank holidays as well as weekends). When I got to the restaurant I saw that the are also a few parking spaces directly outside but these are limited in both the number of spaces (only a handful are available here) and that the is a maximum stay of only one hour which may not be enough time to fully enjoy a Nandos visit.

I arrived for a slightly late lunch at 2pm on a Sunday afternoon and the restaurant was busier than I had thought it would be given the time of day which surprised me. The female staff member who was doing the meeting and greeting at the door was very welcoming and friendly, she explained that the would be a short wait (which she approximated at 5 minutes) to be seated and that she would do her best to ensure we weren't waiting long. The were 3 other groups waiting to be seated too so this restaurant is clearly popular and the staff here did a great job of turning the tables around when they became available and ensuring that everyone was seated after only a minimum delay. True to the greeters word I was sat at my table (number 20) within her 5 min estimate - very impressed with the whole process which the team here obviously have down to a tee.

While I was waiting to be seated I had used the Nandos application on my android smartphone to check if I had any loyalty rewards (I had a red one which I decided to use). The was no queueing to place my order and 4 tills were in operation, again very impressed how easy this was. I ordered:

A soft drink.
Hummus and Pita.
Churrasco thigh burger with peri-peri chips and garlic bread (This was 'paid' for by redeeming a red loyalty card reward).
White chocolate and raspberry cheesecake.

The female member of staff operating the till had some trouble understanding that I wanted to use my red loyalty card reward to pay for my main course and after adding it as a chargeable item we got there in the end when her colleague removed it from my order then re-added it as a loyalty reward (more on this later..).

After ordering I went to collect my cutlery and some paper napkins as well as fill up my soft drink glass with sprite - after filling 95% of it with sprite after the fizz had died down I mistakenly topped up the remaining 5% with diet coke which was next to the sprite - my mistake entirely but the combination worked out quite well together!

I returned to my table to put down my drink and cutlery before returning to the station to look for some medium sauce which was off to the right side of the drinks dispenser. When I returned to my seat again I found that my hummus and pita had already arrived. The was plenty of pitta on the plate and I enjoyed the hummus which was both fresh and tasty but it was the main course that I was really looking forward to!

A short time after finishing my starter my main course was brought over and I was presented with 2 churrasco thigh burgers when I had only ordered one. I pointed this out to the waitress (showing her my receipt) and she returned the extra one to the kitchen. I believe this error may have been due to my order having one removed (the chargeable one) and the red reward one added - perhaps the chargeable one wasn't as removed as we thought?

Anyway the churrasco thigh burger was the best one I have ever had. First the bun was barely covering all the delicious chicken that was bursting to get out from under it. The same can be said of the cheese slice which the bun also didn't completely cover. The plentiful amount of chicken was cooked to perfection and some of the fino coleslaw, cheese and sauces from the burger fell to my plate each time I lifted the burger to my mouth to enjoy each wonderful mouthful of this king of the chicken burgers. The remains on my plate I cleaned up and consumed using the peri-peri chips and got to enjoy all those amazing flavours all over again.

The peri-peri chips themselves were crispy but not burnt and the kitchen staff had clearly been generous in applying the peri-peri salt and I wasn't complaining about that!

I had never ordered the garlic bread before but had decided to try it on this visit. I still had about a quarter of the hummus pot from my starter and found that dipping the warm garlic bread in the hummus brought another great mixture of flavours together for me to savour.

The main course here seriously impressed me (thank you red loyalty reward!) and even as I was eating it I was aware that this was the best, most tasteful Nandos meal that I had enjoyed for a long time. Thats how good a job the kitchen staff here did.

After finishing the main course I let the male member of staff who cleared my table know that I was ready for the cheesecake now and he brought it straight over. I was given a good sized portion of cheesecake which was creamy, rich and delicious which I really enjoyed and found it to be the perfect way to end a great meal.

After finishing my meal I visited to toilets and can report that they were clean and well maintained.

So would I return to Northampton Nandos again? Absolutely - just try and stop me! The food was the best Nandos I have enjoyed for a long time (which as a frequent Nandos visitor is saying something!) and the service I received from the friendly and helpful staff was excellent and just couldn't be faulted. Well done Northampton Nandos you do a great job all round and give a really good eating out experience. I look forward to visiting you again next time I am in Northampton.

I visited Northampton Nandos yesterday, less than 24 hours ago, and just couldn't wait to write this glowing and extremely well deserved review of my experience as they impressed me so much.

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