Brent Park (Neasdon) - Marc Joss Review

There were numerous aspects to this Nando's which have to be mentioned. First of all, the branch is not the easiest to find but once you get off the North Circular and find Tesco, you can't really go wrong. The fact that it is located within the Tesco complex means parking is free and if you need to do any shopping, you are in a good place. On the other hand, the local area seems devoid of bars, cinemas and other attractions. Access would be by car or bus.

On arrival, we were told there was a 5-10 minute wait so we went to Tesco for a mooch around and came back to find our table ready and waiting for us. Ordering was fine, there was no queue even at lunch time on Christmas Eve. The branch is rather small but luckily that did not cause a problem. As a special offer, the Red Pepper dip starter was on offer (20% discount) which tempted us to sample it. Little did I know that I was unable to use my free quarter chicken in conjunction with the 20% discount. It would have been nice of the woman taking my order to tell me before I paid and checked the receipt, where is the Christmas spirit? Had I known the discount was not available, I would not have ordered the starter. When I questioned why I had been charged the normal price, the duty manager came over and explained. She seemed relatively sympathetic but also stubborn in the sense that she kept repeating that there was nothing that she could do (of course she could have done something!) and was not willing to offer me a voucher when I suggested it. After a few second's thought, I asked if she could give me an extra stamp to make up for it to which she gladly obliged.

The next issue was the wait for the food. Even though the 5 of us in our group all ordered at similar times, my food arrived around 10 minutes after every one else's which was slightly annoying. The pitiful amount of peri salt on EVERY portion of chips was compensated for by the staff bringing us little pots of it which we were then free to scatter over our chips as we pleased (be careful not to sprinkle too much if you ever get this opportunity!). The starter was rather nice although it will not become a regular for me. The chicken was excellent and I left feeling truly stuffed.

The chili style lighting is rather impressive and unique as is the giant red heart which greets you on arrival. Overall a positive Nando's but with a few easily avoidable hiccups!