Westfield - Shepherds Bush - BaronSamedi1980 Review

BaronSamedi1980's picture
How Helpful?: 
Average: 5 (3 votes)
Number of Visits: 
This was my first visit
How Busy?: 
10 - 25 minute wait
Date of Last Visit: 
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Time of Day: 
Weekend Lunch
Rating: 
1.63 / 5
Friendliness of Staff: 
1 (Rude. Where is the Nando's spirit?)
Speed of Service: 
1 (>25 mins - Asked repeatedly. I need my Nando's)
Quality of Food: 
1.5 (Very disappointing - cold, flavourless, burnt)
Decoration & Cleanliness: 
3 (Standard Nando's, nothing bad, nothing exceptional)
Comments - Stand out in our monthly competition! What did you eat? Unique aspects? Parking/transport tips?: 

This Nandos is located on the second floor of the large Westfield shepherds bush shopping centre. There are two large parks under the shopping centre with thousands of spaces available. Shepherds bush tube station is right next to Westfield with its Hammersmith & city and the circle line as well as frequent buses from uxbridge and Hammersmith also stopping here. I travelled by tube and found it very simple to get here, my friend drove and parked in one of the underground car parks and she also found it simple to get here although she did have trouble finding a space in the car park as it was a Saturday lunchtime and the shopping centre was very busy.

Nandos is on the 2nd floor of the shopping centre along with a number of other places to eat. The queue to be seated began as soon as I got to the top of the escalator and the were approximately 25 people already in this barriered off area ahead of us. Almost straight after joining the queue a young female member of staff approached us to asks how many we wanted a table for and after replying it was a table for 3 I was asked if I was sure I wanted to wait as it was likely to take at least 30 minutes to accommodate us. After confirming we did want to eat in Nandos and would wait our turn we were actually seated in about 10 mins.

Once inside I could see that this restaurant is "L" shaped with the tills on the corner of the L. I was seated at the top of the L on table 62, about as far away from the entrance as is possible and near to the toilets.

When we were seated we were not asked if we had been to Nandos before which I mention as one of my group had not and so missed out on the official explanation of how the restaurant works - so I provided her with an unofficial explanation.

I quickly decided what I wanted to order however the was a large queue at the tills to do so and ordering here took about 10 minutes. Anyway I placed my order of:

Red pepper dip with pita bread.
Half a chicken (medium) with peri-peri chips and salad.
A soft drink.

I filled my glass with sprite and picked up some sauces for my group but the were not any knives or forks available so had to ask a staff member who promised the would be some out shortly. 5 minites later some were indeed brought out.

I returned to my table and after 10 minutes our starters were served. My Pita bread with red pepper dip was really nice and as I was pretty hungry I polished it off quickly. The restaurant was busy and we expected to have a wait for our main meals but the 33 minutes and 47 second time (yes I timed them on my mobile phone to get an accurate measure) after ordering my food to it being served was still disappointing.

Unfortunately it wasn't really worth the wait as the food would also disappoint for example the skin on my half chicken was black and burnt completely on one side and as such it was tough and crispy with little flavour. The meat also pretty dry with no sign of sauce (I had to cover it with the medium table sauce for it to be edible). I had also been given a very small portion of chips - about half the normal size I have been given in most other Nandos restaurants. Extremely disappointing. The side salad was the best bit about my meal.

We finished eating without a quality check being carried out - which I suspect was deliberate as after keeping us waiting for this below par food I would have offered plenty of "feedback".

I visited the toilets after eating which are at the back of the restaurant near to where I was sitting and although the gents was clean it was also out of soap, meaning I had to wash my hands with water only.

I returned to my table to find a member of staff clearing away our plates and I asked him if I could order a Nata for desert. I was told that this wouldn't be a problem and that he would bring one to my table and I could pay at the table when he returned. And then I waited, and waited and then waited some more. After 15 minutes of waiting and failing to get the attention of the staff member who seemed to have forgotten about my Nata I left without it.

So would I return to Nandos Westfield Shepherds Bush? No. This was a disappointing visit on this occasion and while I understand they are often busy and I was here during the lunchtime rush on a Saturday I was not impressed with the burnt chicken, forgotten desert and frankly poor attitude of the greater who I suspect was trying to get us to leave rather than wait for a table with her inflated estimate of seating time. The are many other places to eat within the Westfield shopping centre and despite my love of Nandos chicken next time I am here I'll be trying the Indian 'street food' retailer Indi-Go instead as I did not enjoy my Nandos meal (a first!). Do better Nandos Westfield Shepherds Bush!

Comments

I have eaten at this Nando's before and I agree that they seem to tell you a very long time when you join the queue to try and put you off and you are usually seated a lot quicker.

This restaurant does get busy, particularly at weekends and if QPR are playing at home (Westfield is less than 10 minute walk from the ground) but I have only ever had good meals there so I hope maybe you can give it another chance another time!

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