Dubai Internet City - Marc Joss Review

My first Nandventure in Dubai was memorable for a whole host of reasons. The initial journey in a taxi was rather unsuccessful as we were taken to Media City instead of Internet City, take note if you plan to do the same in future!

We eventually made it to Internet City and found this pleasant Nando's with quite a funky interior and spacious outside area right by a man-made lake with lovely views to behold while feasting on peri-peri goodness. The biggest difference about Nando's in the UAE is that there is table service so this was my first ever Nando's which involved me actually asking for the bill and paying after I'd eaten! Apparently this formula is better suited to the clientele in the UAE and it does avoid the issue of queuing to order.

A friendly Nandoca brought over our drinks, cutlery and a selection of sauces (although beware, you have to pay for normal mayonaise here) with our starter arriving swiftly after. The houmous with peri drizzle was inferior to the UK equivalent on this visit at least because the pitta bread was towards the cardboard end of the pitta spectrum and not as tasty as normal.

I ordered a chicken espetada with fetta cheese (see pic) which is a completely different menu item not served in the UK. It consists of chicken thighs stuffed with cheese (optional) dangling off a skewer with peppers in between them. I went for peri chips and peri wedges (no sign of sweet potato here) to compare the two. I have to say the peri chips had the edge, although peri chips in the UK comfortably beat both. The chicken was covered in sauce and very tasty, but not spicy enough for my liking.

Another aspect to consider out here is that tap water is not available so you have to pay for bottled water which can bump the price up.

We ended up sampling the four high carrot cake and chocolate peanut butter stack for dessert, with the latter comfortably coming out on top. With the current exchange rate of 5.43 dirham to the pound, the prices are more expensive than in the UK, with dessert coming in at 26 dirham, or £4.79. There is a loyalty scheme to take advantage of, although of course our UK Nando's cards are not accepted abroad.

I can't say I enjoyed the feeling of needing to sort out the bill at the end of this Nando's and luckily I see no reason for the UK to adopt this strategy any time soon, although it did make a pleasant change on this fleeting visit.

Overall, Nando's in Dubai is worth checking out with different menu items and an overall experience to check out, but there is no way I'd trade it in for the winning formula that we have in the UK!