Greenwich - Peninsula - Adam Nicol Review

I went to this branch because it was on the ‘Unrated by a Veteran’ list and coincidently my girlfriend happened to be over near Greenwich for some kind of pointless Uni trip, The closest tube station is North Greenwich, and it’s pretty easy to find, about 10 minutes’ walk away. Just head down from the O2 past the big car parks and then keep following that road until you see a big circular cinema, It’s just next to that in the little restaurant area. Google Maps says it takes about 30 minutes to walk it! Lies. The branch was almost empty when we arrived, which wasn’t surprising at 5pm on a weekday, I assume it would get a lot busier in the next few hours.

Friendliness of Staff -

When we arrived we were greeted with a huge smile and a laugh by a Nandoca, who complimented us on our hats that we were wearing (My girlfriend a tiger hat and myself an Angry Birds hat) she was really friendly to us and gave us the option of choosing anywhere to sit, we chose a table for four near the window and she brought us our menus with a huge smile, this made me and my girlfriend look at each other knowing each of us was thinking ‘This branch is going to get a good rating for Friendliness of Staff! And for the rest of the meal this one Nandoca was smiling at us, and when we left she told us it had been a pleasure, complimented our hats again and told us to come again soon (Probably won’t happen though since it’s soo far away from me). The rest of the staff though were not as friendly, my girlfriend asked for Extra-hot mixed with Mango and Lime but was refused it bluntly, all the branches we’d been to recently were happy to do that, she also wasn’t very smiley when serving me, not rude, but she just looked miserable and uncaring. The single staff member who was nice to us definitely deserves a 5/5 but overall I’d have to give the branch a 4, dragged down by the Nandoca who served me.

Speed of Service –

The branch was nearly empty when we arrived, yet there was a person being served who was taking forever, in the time it took her to get served, me and my girlfriend had both gotten up and been served by a Nandoca who had just opened another till up, so we were quickly back down at our seats and we were told the food would be 10-15 minutes, quite a long time for a branch so empty. The food eventually arrived in just under 10 minutes, just enough time to soak up the atmosphere and décor, and get excited for the food. So 4/5 for Speed!

Food –

The food was good; I had a large piece of butterfly chicken, a big portion of chips and garlic bread. The chicken wasn’t really drenched enough in extra-hot sauce but was still tasty and perfectly cooked. The garlic bread was way too crispy, so crispy that I gave up eating the last bit because it was so hard, I like mine a nice balance between soft and crispy, and a bit burnt. The portion of chips was large for a regular portion, and it had lots of Peri-salt on, but the chips came in a little bowl so during the pouring off my chips from the bowl into the plate, a lot of the Peri-salt was lost. It was a very enjoyable meal though, but because of the garlic bread I’m going to unfortunately have to give the food 2.5/5, I love my garlic bread and struggling to bite into it is not enjoyable when eating.

Décor –

The décor was good, lots of artwork and plants around the room, wooden supports over the ceiling, outdoor seating which looks really unpleasant during the middle of winter at night, can’t help but imagine sitting out there in the cold freezing as you wait for your chicken. It’s a pretty small branch probably about 30 tables, though I didn’t count! The welcome area is nice with a bench to sit on for people collecting food, for waiting when it’s really busy. As you walk in there’s tables that go off to the left, and tables that stretch out in front of you, and between them are the tills, tucked away in the corner to the right of the entrance is the drinks/sauces/cutlery area which is equidistant between the two parts of the branch. I’m going to give it a 3/5 for being pretty average.

Nearby stuff -

Obviously not going to mention all the other restaurants around Nando’s… There’s a big cinema right next to it, some shops such as B&Q, Sainsbury’s and Comet. Of course the O2 Arena is only a 10 minute walk away, with lots of things to do there, and another Nando’s there of course. The Greenwich Ecology Park is nearby, not even sure what that is but I’m sure you can look into it!

So in conclusion, this would have been just an average visit, were it not for the extremely friendly Nandoca that greeted us! She really makes me want to return and makes me feel guilty that I probably won’t because of the distance! Good branch, let down by garlic bread though! I’d give it a 3.5/5 overall!