Guildford - Ryan Review

Ryan's picture
How Helpful?: 
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Author: 
Number of Visits: 
This was my first visit
How Busy?: 
Up to 10 minute wait
Date of Last Visit: 
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Time of Day: 
Weekday Dinner
Rating: 
3.75 / 5
Friendliness of Staff: 
3 (Not bad. Did everything I asked of them)
Speed of Service: 
5 (Under 5 mins - I had only just got back with my cutlery and sauce)
Quality of Food: 
4 (Above average - noticeably tastier than normal)
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 Nando's is in the town centre, so is easily found. My hotel was only a mile and a half away, so I walked it, but this branch is less than half a mile from Guildford train station and also has numerous well sign-posted car parks (such as Bedford Road Car Park and Castle Car Park), all of which seem to offer £1 evening rate after 6pm and a very cheap tariff of about £3 for 6 hours during the day anyway. An Odeon is 1/4 mile round the corner and also, about a mile away is the Guildford Spectrum (brown sign-posted as "Leisure Centre") which has an ice rink and bowling alley.

I arrived on a Tuesday evening at 7:45pm and every table, upstairs and downstairs, was in use, so I had a 10 minute wait. There was then no wait to order and the food came in under 5 minutes!

I was sat upstairs and it was a bit tight. About 12 tables - some of these part of bench seating but otherwise all other tables were table/chair seating across both floors. I was sat at top of the stairs, which was opposite the entrance for a "staff only room" which had a rubbish bin just inside it, so I was lucky enough to see the staff scraping all of the leftovers into the bin (and onto the floor) throughout my meal... which was nice.

Upstairs lighting was very plain - a few small wicker cones but nothing other than normal spotlights. The only solid wall was fully painted orange/yellow and full length windows covered the other two sides, which let you gaze out over the high street. One largish canvas painting on the stairs.

Downstairs - again very tight, about 15 tables. Full length windows again restricts amount of wall space for artwork. Lighting was simply multiple spotlights embedded in the wooden panelled ceiling. Not the most colourful of branches at all.

Infact, the stairwell to the toilets (on the third floor) was the most decorated part - two canvas paintings and large pots/plants. The fact that this branch looked pretty good from the outside and with it being busy there was a nice hum about the place, probably just about takes this to a 3 overall.

The food itself was cooked very well. Smaller than average portion of chips and rice but both very nice indeed. Chicken size was again on the small side but the breast and leg were cooked very well - piping hot and smothered in marinade. Averages to a 4.

The staff were (literally) run off their feet (I saw one slip over on that food I mentioned before...) so did the bear minimum. They did it politely, but nothing more.

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