Reviewer Dinner 3 - Southbank Clink Street

From Co-Founder James:

It was a night like no other; a night of unprecedented reward, and extravagantly spiced fowl. I can only be referring to the third Rate Your Nando’s reviewer dinner, which found itself resident in the lavishly decorated Southbank restaurant.

This instalment of the great contributor event institution came with a key defining factor: the food was all complementary. Aside from being a major draw for previous contributors, this acted as the ultimate reward for the reviewers who have made Rate Your Nando’s what it is today. There were a number of first time event attendees; these included Lawrence who has keenly reviewed many Canadian restaurants, Aaron who has visited Nando’s in 15 different countries, and Lap and Chris of Nando’s Quest fame, who finally made it after missing the two previous outings.

Given the gratuitous nature of the food, the keen contributors were spared the standard procedure of queuing at the tills, and orders were instead taken at the table by co-founder Marc. Some frankly superb handwriting skills were put to good use, and Marc took his completed order list to the restaurant manager. During the wait which followed, the complementary wine and soft drinks were in free-flow, while a selection of starters were littered across the table by the friendly Nandocas. However, the lack of red-pepper dip did not go unnoticed, and it was sorely missed by a selection of the veterans.

Before long, what many consider the highlight of such events took place: the delivery of the chicken. Some predictable orders winged their way over, while some surprises also managed to flutter onto the table. These included a decisively spicy plate of wing roulette for the brave (and soon to be red-faced) Tal, a rarely ordered butterfly-chicken breast in front of co-founder Marc, and a garlic bread with cheese as innovated by Ali. Regardless of what was chosen, it all flew down, and 20 hungry stomachs soon reached a satisfaction level which cannot be achieved elsewhere.

After the main courses previous competition winner Nico got the only dessert of the night, which in this case was an undoubtedly cooling frozen yogurt. Others simply let their food go down, enjoyed the superb company on offer, and posed for photos to act as a memento of this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Finally, with the food finished, wine drunk, and time marching on, thoughts turned to departing.

The evening had been a clucking success, and despite no one yet knowing when it will be, it was evident that excitement is already mounting for the next contributor event.