Dubai Marina Scape - Marc Joss Review

My second Nando's in Dubai was very memorable for a few reasons. First of all, the setting in the Marina is simply stunning with breathtaking views of countless skyscrapers to feast your eyes on while devouring a chicken feast.

The staff were in the mood for New Year's Eve with many of them sporting sparkly hats and smiles aplenty. In the UAE, you don't order at the till and pay unlike in most of the rest of the Nando's world. Instead there is table service here which is rather hard to digest, but also a nice touch.

I went for the equivalent to my favourite UK Nando's meal (half a chicken extra hot, peri chips, garlic bread and halloumi with some mayonaise mixed with extra hot sauce) and was glad I did. The chicken portion was huge and covered in sauce, although the chips could have been more plentiful. I did have to ask a Nandoca to bring some peri salt, which she swiftly did and even asked if I wanted to keep the peri salt shaker for the duration of my meal in case I needed a top-up. The garlic bread seemed less tasty than usual and the halloumi was very thick and cut into chunks rather than slabs, but I still managed to create my Nando's menu hack of an open chicken and halloumi garlic bread burger covered in sauce. The food gets a 4 because it wasn't quite spicy enough for my liking and the chips portion was on the small size. I did struggle to finish the food however, mainly down to a filling Altogether Now to start which I chowed down on alongside Saskia and my mother-in-law to be.

The staff were fantastic and did all they could to help, including helping us move tables to stay in the shade to protect ourselves from the glorious sunshine while eating! I managed to claim a reward having picked up two stamps during my first visit to a Dubai Nando's, although the voucher booklet expires today and they will be rolling out a new system in 2016. It is similar to the old school UK system with spaces for 10 stamps and a quarter chicken after 3, a half after 6 and a whole after 10, provided you spend 80 Dirham (around £15) on each visit.

My final Nando's of 2015 was a resounding success and I can't wait for my first 2016 Nando's!