Southampton - Guildhall - Gerry Louis Review

Gerry Louis's picture
How Helpful?: 
Average: 5 (1 vote)
Author: 
Number of Visits: 
This was my first visit
How Busy?: 
Half Full
Date of Last Visit: 
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Time of Day: 
Mid-afternoon or late evening
Rating: 
3.75 / 5
Friendliness of Staff: 
5 (Wow, I feel incredibly welcome! Recognised if a frequent visitor)
Speed of Service: 
2 (15 - 25 mins - Where's the food? Might have asked a staff member)
Quality of Food: 
3 (Average - just as you would expect)
Decoration & Cleanliness: 
5 (An exceptional Nando's! (Please tell us why) )
Comments - Stand out in our monthly competition! What did you eat? Unique aspects? Parking/transport tips?: 

The wait for the food let this branch down but out of the two Southampton branches, this was the clear winner.

Got to this branch just after half 3 and before kick off of the home game between the Saints and Chelsea. We'd just had a drink in the second Wetherspoons that had quietened down as people left, possibly to go to the stadium. We'd also spent about a half an hour in Brewdog playing Connect 4, which I won about 20 games.

Friendly host there to greet us let us pick our table down the back just in front of the till area and next to the sauce station. I used one rewards card to get a free whole chicken and used another to order sweet mash, garlic bread and a vanilla gelado. Reems who had served me did accidently bring over a chocolate one but we laughed it off and she corrected it. It wasn't that busy but the food took nearly 20 minutes to arrive. The sides arrived first to which the Nandoca asked if there was anything else. Yes, a whole chicken!!! There was plenty of mash, some of it warm and some of it hot and there was a bit too much water in it. It was also a little bland. The garlic bread was enjoyable and I put the mash with lemon and herb sauce on top and ate it like a spread. It's great.

Some of the chicken was a bit burnt and the wing was missing from the breast, but that's my favourite part so I had to mark them down for that. It's not a complete chicken if the wing is missing. Not a lot of mango and lime sauce on the chicken either but it was cooked all the way through and it wasn't dry or chewy.

What I love most about this branch was the migrating sparrows that run along the side wall and down to the end of the Restaurant at the back where we sat. A very unique decoration I've not seen anywhere else, or anything similar. It's a very well lit branch also with a lot of hanging bulbs and shades over tables from the ceiling or attached to the wall and reaching overhead. It is kept clean constantly and tissues were refilled as soon as it was finished with no complaints before doing so.
The toilets are up a flight of stairs at the back of the branch. Again they were clean and not passed over by staff wanting to impress with food and chat. Would definitely go again if down in Southampton.

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