York - Monks Cross - Adam Nicol Review

Adam9154's picture
How Helpful?: 
Average: 5 (5 votes)
Author: 
Number of Visits: 
This was my first visit
How Busy?: 
A few tables occupied
Date of Last Visit: 
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Time of Day: 
Mid-afternoon or late evening
Rating: 
4.13 / 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: 
3.5 (Average but with lots of peri-spice)
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?: 

I was really excited to visit this branch as it had just opened and I wanted to be the first person to review it! I almost went the day after it had opened (but because this branch shuts so early! 10pm Monday to Saturday and 8pm on Sundays!) I had to wait a few weeks to go there. The shopping park it is in is well signposted as you enter York, just follow the signs to Monks Cross. It also has a park-and-ride right next to it along with every type of shop you could think of. It was a huge place, with another big shopping park just 5 minutes away. You could spend a whole day in this place shopping if you wanted to, or get a shuttle bus into central York and go to the central Nando's for lunch and the Monk's Cross one for dinner. There is also a small indoor water park close to it.

Because the shopping park is so huge it took us ages to find Nando's. We were scared because it was 9:20pm when we arrived and were worried we would not find it before closing time. We went into three different areas before we finally found it in what seemed to be the newest area of the shopping park next to a huge building with Marks and Spencer and other shops and a huge car park, with FREE parking in front of it (Though the maximum stay for free parking is 4 hours, so if you're planning to go into central York you must park in the park-and-ride!) I think a good way to find it would be to follow signs to the park-and-ride and try and spot Nando's and other restaurants next to a huge new building.

Food - I was so hungry I would have been happy with my food if it had been alive and swimming in blood (It wasn't). My friend Jonathan's food came before mine, his 1/2 chicken which looked huge and meaty and got me excited to see mine, unfortunately my Butterfly chicken wasn't very big, but it was still delicious. It was pretty spicy and actually left a burn in my mouth which usually I don't even notice anymore. The garlic bread wasn't very good, it was far too soft and felt like it had barely been cooked, one piece had been sliced so unevenly that one half was almost paper thin, but of course once you bathe it in extra-extra hot sauce anything can taste good. The portion of chips was pretty large for a regular portion, they were well cooked and delicious, with just the right amount of peri-salt on them. I will give the food from this branch - 3.5/5 for Food!

Speed of Service - When we arrived I was so hungry that I leapt out of the car and ran into the branch, I guess I was worried that they would turn us away as it was so close to closing time. When I entered the Nandoca on the tills came straight over. We got seated immediately as the branch was almost empty apart from a few people. We went straight up to order our food, it arrived in about 13 minutes. My friend asked for a portion of chips after his main meal had been brought over and they immediately got it for him almost as soon as the Nandoca got to the kitchen with his order, another one was bringing the chips out for him. - 3/5 for Speed.

Friendliness of Staff - The staff in this branch were very friendly, when I arrived and was greeted by the Nandoca, he asked me where in the restaurant we wanted to sit so I asked to be seated in the corner next to the window. Then he asked me the usual question whether I'd been to Nando's before, of course my answer was yes, but then he went into further questions asking me if I usually went to the central York branch but had came out to this one. I told him that I had been to the central York one but that I had also been to many others and it wasn't my local, he said that he hadn't been to many at all and that he needed to check out more, he was also very smiley and polite when he served me as well. The Nandoca who brought our food over was also very smiley. When my friend ordered more chips from the table the Nandoca was happy to get them and bring them over. - 5/5 for Friendliness!

Decor - I loved the decor in this branch, there was so many different items and furniture. You can see all the different types of light in the picture covering the ceiling and the colourful pillars and walls covered in paintings. There were many different types of seating in the branch, one table had a long sofa chair that looked like it would be hard to get out of because it was so close to the tables and other people would be sat on it. The ceiling had a big wavy wooden cover hanging from it which was cool. The branch had a really nice covered outside seating area with plenty of tables there and no smoking signs. Some of the chairs outside looked like they could collapse if somebody too heavy sat on them! Everything was very new and clean and I was really impressed with the outside area. - 5/5 for Decor!

Sadly I was ill during this visit so I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have, I would like to return to it in future when feeling better so I can properly enjoy and take in the branch. Sitting outside would also be interesting in the future, though only during a warm evening. This branch was pretty awesome - 4/5 overall.

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