Chiswick - Marc Joss Review

I completed my Nando’s hatrick (3 in 3 days) with a visit to a new branch in West London. As the Pompey Ranger reported after his visit, parking can be found right outside but at the extortionate price of £1 per half hour! Maybe public transport would be a better bet or make sure it’s an evening visit to avoid the painful prices. This theory is further backed up by the wide variety of bars (wine bar opposite) and pubs (King George V next door) in the vicinity as well as a huge range of shops and coffee houses.
Our party of 3 was given a choice of seating on entering and we sensibly chose to head towards the back of this narrow yet long branch, away from the entrance and the wintery chill. We sat on a booth which was adorned with 3 rather peculiar faces on the wall depicting the nature of South African art (not necessarily my cup of tea but as it’s for a good cause, no criticism made). We placed our orders straight away and my uncle was particularly to hear that there were no luso beans. He had of course read the Rate Your Nando’s monthly newsletter and fancied sampling this new menu item (it was the tip) but it was not possible on this visit. We understand it’s Christmas time but surely an extra effort would be made to stock new menu items especially given the publicity they have had.
I went for a first in all my years as a Nandoer. I didn’t go for a half chicken OUT OF CHOICE. I instead thought I’d sample the butterfly breast (partially due to rave reviews from Hot reviewer Adam Nicol) for a change. It was extremely tasty and doused in sauce all over meaning I did not have the problem of fairly dry parts of chicken. I did mess the nitty gritty of grabbing the chicken and attempting to strip it down to the bone but it was time to mix things up. In terms of value for money, you definitely receive less chicken with the butterfly breast and it is slightly more expensive than half which means it will not become my regular order any time soon but I know that it is an alternative which I will enjoy if I choose to order it again.
My aunt and uncle had never previously ordered starters, halloumi or dessert at Nando’s so I deemed it my duty to offer them some new ex-peri-peri-ences. They both enjoyed houmous with pitta to start and couldn’t get enough of the peri drizzle. They were also impressed with the samples of grilled halloumi cheese which I offered them (please try it if you haven’t). We went for dessert as we were all able to find room after the starter and butterfly chicken (a less plausible situation after destroying half a chicken from my experience) which gave me the chance to introduce them to my favourite: chocolate cheesecake! My only issue with this dessert is that the clotted cream does not add anything for me. Why not give us a scoop of ice cream or just leave it out altogether? I have tried it on various occasions and it is tasteless!
Staff were rather friendly and duly demonstrated their Christmas spirit with smiles on all their faces. It’s a shame none of them had i-phones on them to check out the website when I presented them with the latest Rate Your Nando’s business card which is adorned with the spectacular Barcelo QR code!
Overall, this was a good visit and I would recommend evening visits followed by some drinks in the area. I’m sure Chiswick is buzzing at night!