Stafford - Marc Joss Review

The FA Cup is a special competition that all Arsenal fans love and when we found out that we had drawn Preston away while at our Christmas Reviewer Dinner, we started making plans for the long trip up north instantly! A huge part of the planning came down to where a good stop would be around halfway, not too far out the way and at a Nando's that I hadn't previously visited. Stafford Nando's simply ticked all the boxes.

Five of us set off from north-west London around 10:30 and made it to the Riverside car park by 12:45 for what would prove to be a memorable Nando's visit as part of the perfect away day. We did arrive during peak Saturday lunchtime and so, unsurprisingly, we had to wait for a table. The staff were helpful and friendly and did their best to keep us updated as our stomachs rumbled away. It meant I had a great opportunity to chat to supervisor Hayden and discuss our love for Nando's as well as our international Nando's experiences.

We were given a table number after around 15 minutes which was fine, particularly as, although the restaurant was full, the queue at the tills was very short and we were all able to place our orders very speedily. The starters I ordered actually reached the table before I managed to get back to it after ordering which was great! All five of us ordered separately, yet the main courses all arrived within a couple of minutes of each other which was very impressive given how busy the restaurant was and nobody had any issues with their food.

While taking my order, Hayden had mentioned that it was possible to make my extra hot chicken even hotter than the normal extra hot, an offer which I gladly accepted, of course! My half chicken was delicious, saucy, spicy and pretty large! The peri-chips were perfectly cooked and the garlic bread also went down very well with my perinaise concoction and halloumi cheese on top.

As for the décor, this is the most colourful Nando's I have ever seen (and I've seen 221 now)! The array of multi-coloured lighting features combined with a hand-painted mural across the back of the restaurant make this a very attractive restaurant with a lovely Nando's atmosphere. It's also spacious enough without misusing the limited space available. I can only fully recommend this Nando's and hope to be back at some point soon!