Balham - Marc Joss Review

Balham Nando's was on the list of Unrated UK Branches until this visit! The branch is a 5 minute walk from Balham tube (northern line)and the surrounding area is littered with shops and other restaurants (I can't imagine the chicken house across the road does that well!).On arrival, it did take the staff a while to notice me as I was the first member of the group to get to the branch. To be fair, there was a queue at the till but I did feel slightly neglected. As soon as the core of the group (the Nando's Quest team who were visiting the 36th Nando's to open in the UK) arrived, we were seated and went up to order almost straight away. I was the first to place my order (as is custom given the time-consuming nature of my chicken destruction technique) and once I'd had a bit of chit chat in the queue and collected my extra extra hot sauce and cutlery, my food was already on the table. Can't ask for much more than that! The food itself was of a good standard, lots of peri salt on the chips although the fact that this is a Halal branch might explain why the chicken was slightly less meatier than normal.

Restaurant decor is nothing too impressive especially when compared to more central London branches. The restaurant is rather small with space for 15 or 20 tables max. I imagine the store gets very busy on Friday and Saturday nights so big groups, especially, should consider a nearby alternative branch such as Streatham or Tooting (not that I've been to either) for big outings at peak times.
All in all, a rather pleasant affair. Thumbs up!