Huntingdon - BaronSamedi1980 Review

Huntingdon Nandos is a small location with 29 tables inside and a further 5 available outside. It is on the site of the former blockbuster video store at Tower Field Leisure Park and sits in between McDonalds and Frankie & Benny's restaurants all in very close proximity to a cineworld cinema - meaning the often loved combination of Nandos and film is now possible for the good people of Huntingdon who have not previously had a Nandos. The leisure park also features a gym and is right next door to a large Tesco superstore with hotels also nearby if planning an overnight visit.

The is free car parking at Tower Field Leisure Park however it is limited in both the number of spaces and due to a 3 hour max stay time limit. Huntingdon train station is about 10 minutes away from this Nandos by car and not really walkable.

I was fortunate to enough to be visiting on this new locations dry run day as a test customer before their official opening the following day. Nandos had done a great job of spreading the word about this new restaurant and distributing invites to dry run day and the restaurant was busy with every table occupied simulating a popular peak time for the new staff here. Upon entering I was asked to take a seat for a table to become available. During my 10 minute wait I took the opportunity to ask some of the new staff how they were managing and found them all friendly and enthusiastic about the new store opening.

When it was my turn to be seated I sat at table 24 and let the member of staff explain to me both the menu and the way that Nandos operates as it was good practise and I have to say I was given a warm welcome and a flawless and clear explanation of my choices.

I decided to order a Houmas and pita bread starter, butterfly chicken (medium) with garlic bread and peri-peri chips, a soft drink and a piece of white chocolate raspberry swirl cheesecake for desert. There was no queue to order despite the restaurant being packed and the staff understood and processed my order perfectly despite having to do it in two separate transactions due to it being dry run day. I was told that my meal would be about 25 and given the fact that the restaurant was full and that the kitchen staff were new and still getting up to speed i actually thought this was length of wait was pretty good.

The drinks dispenser, sauce and cutlery stations were clean and tidy when I stopped by after placing my order and are located by the wall oversite to the main doors and next to the entrance to the toilets.

After a short wait of about 5 minutes my starter was brought out. It was well presented with the pita bread neatly cut into even bite size bits and placed on my plate - unlike some other locations I have visited where it seems to have been thrown on the plate after being torn into many large and uneven pieces.

At this point Mark the assistant manager at this new Nandos stopped by my table to chat about the new opening and make sure everything was ok which I thought was a nice touch.

Pretty much exactly 25 minutes after ordering (so right on time) my main was severed and I have to say that I was very impressed with the food in Huntingdon Nandos. The butterfly chicken was large and although a little dry on the inside it was served with plenty of sauce on the outside and was full of flavour. The chips seemed to be a large portion as they were very plentiful and were both crispy and came with a good amount peri-peri seasoning. The garlic bread was well cooked with the garlic butter melted and allowed to sock throughout the bread. All in all a very enjoyable meal and I couldn't fault the food in any way.

It was at this point I had a chat with Victoria, one of the floor staff here who had previously worked for Nandos in the Bullring Birmingham (which I have previously reviewed and was not impressed). As we talked it her enthusiasm for the new store was obvious, as well as her friendly nature. Victoria had heard that I was going to be writing up a review and had come over unprompted for a chat and to ask my thought on the new restaurant and during out conversation it was pretty clear that Victoria was keen to help the new staff at this new store and was pleased with how the family day and dry run days had gone so far. It also turned out that we were both originally from the Bedford area which was a nice coincidence and gave us something to talk about.

My desert arrived and cut short our conversation. The white chocolate raspberry swirl cheesecake was a large piece and soft and creamy with a sharp raspberry after taste - just how I like it.

Before leaving I decided to visit the gents. The was a little bit of water on floor here which i assume had be splashed from the sink and the small storage cupboard under the sink was open, revelling some unfinished work that would normal be hidden from view but no major issues here and on the whole it was clean.

Now I have to say a word about the decor of Huntingdon Nandos. The new restaurant is beautifully decorated and furnished with the main centrepiece here being that the gorgeous wooden carved roof and beams and what I can only describe as crab basket style lighting fitting hanging from the aforementioned celling (see photo). In fact that and the friendliness and keenness of the staff here is the overriding impression I walked away with as I was very impressed with how, despite being mostly a new staff, they managed well with a busy, packed restaurant on this dry run day.

So would I visit Huntingdon Nandos again? Yes, no question. They have some great staff here who are friendly, good communicators and enthusiastic about Nandos. Plenty of well-cooked lovely Nandos food and it's also nearby to my home (25 mins by car). No doubt I'll be back and I recommend you give this new location a try too as I think this new Nandos has a great team working here and is setup to do well going forward.