Stevenage - BaronSamedi1980 Review

Stevenage Nandos is extremely easy to travel to via train and this is exactly what I did. The main Stevenage train station (Kings Cross to Peterborough line) is right next to Stevenage Leisure Park where the is a cineworld, a Hollywood bowl and a whole range of restaurants - importantly including a Nandos. To reach this Nandos from the train platform it is simply a matter of walking over a bridge which takes you up and over the railway tracks directly into the leisure park and then follow the path - the Nandos is the first building you come to in the leisure park and it's about 1 minute from station platform to Nandos! If you wish to travel by car the leisure park is just as easy to find as it is only a short distance from junction 7 of the A1 and very well sign posted. The are hundreds of free (no charge) parking spots available within the leisure park.

Stevenage Nandos is a single floor standalone building, it has a wooden decor inside and is often very busy getting a lot of footfall from its proximity to both the train station and the cinema and bowling places on the leisure park.

As I arrived I could see the short queue to be seated was going out the door with several other groups arriving at the same time. On entering Stevenage Nandos the is a large metallic chandelier hanging just inside the entrance which really stands out. Most of the tables were already occupied but the staff managed to quickly seat everyone in a very efficient way and I was seated after no more than a couple of mins wait at table 17.

I was not asked if I had been to Nandos before but I already knew what I wanted to eat so went straight up to the till after being seated. The was a small queue to order which moved quickly with two tills in operation. I enquired about a cineworld card discount as I had come across this previously in Luton Nandos which was also nearby to a Cineworld but the staff in Stevenage told me that they did not do this discount. So I just placed my order:

A soft drink.
A quarter chicken (medium).
Sweet potato wedges with peri-peri seasoning.
White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake.

Once again I was handed a warm glass that had clearly only recently been removed from the washing machine and not allowed to properly cool down - this seems to be happening more and more recently no matter which Nandos location I visit and sadly I've now almost come to expect this.

I filled my hot glass with sprite, collected my cutlery and returned to my table, 12 minutes later (yes I timed it) my food was brought to my table and considering how busy the restaurant was I thought this was pretty good.

At first look I thought that the quarter chicken was swimming in grease but it was simple completely doused in medium sauce, I have never seen this much sauce visibly on the plate and chicken before and it provided a very intense and enjoyable flavour.

Four of the sweet potato wedges were wonderful however the fifth one was extremely burnt. I do not understand how one can be so burnt to the point of being inedible while the remaining four seemed to be cooked to perfection but somehow this was the case here.

My table was not quality checked during my meal and after finishing my food a staff member came over to clear my table and I asked for my white chocolate raspberry swirl cheesecake to be brought over and after a few minutes it was. The cheesecake was soft with a very intense raspberry flavour, all very enjoyable.

I visited the men’s room before leaving the restaurant. The toilets here are quite small and I was disappointed on entering to find that the was toilet papers all over the floor (and even a few around the sink area) and some unknown liquid on the floor which I had to navigate around while using the facilities here - not good!

So would I return to Stevenage Nandos again? No. The were a few things just not right with the place - one burnt potato wedge out and four well cooked ones (how??) - no quality check carried out - unclean toilets. I understand from speaking to the staff and mostly due to this Nandos location they are almost always constantly busy but they seem to have dropped their standard because of this and I'll not be back.