Teesside - Ryan Review

Stopped into this Nando's on the way back from Newcastle at about 12pm and just missed the rush that came in. There was one table left for the three of us, but quickly the queue for tables went to about 20 parties. Teeside Park has roadsigns to the North and South parts - so head for North and look for the Asda just behind the Costa and the Nando's is nestled in the corner - you can't see it until you get close, but be expected to just park wherever you can and have a little stroll as although there are hundreds and hundreds of free spaces, they can evidently get rammed. There's a Hollywood Bowl, a Showcase Cinema and lots of other shops and eateries spread across the retail park. Thornaby train station is about a mile walk away.

The decor in this new Nando's is superb. The wall on the left is covered with large brightly coloured painted faces - and the wood panels (these are painted on) cover the ceiling too. There are some lovely curved benches which are very skeletal in design and form the backs of a number of benches and of the sauce/drinks stand - and the till area is completely covered in yellow bricks jutting out in a 3D pyramid style. The only issue is that when a lot of the tables/chairs are made into two-seaters there's not a lot of room between tables making it a little cramped. The toilets are rather plain too - pretty grey, which some blue/orange distressed wood on the doors, but overall it is wonderfully decorated.

The food came in just under 25 minutes and was delicious. Hopefully Nando's will keep the Peri-Berry Burger going after the festive period, especially as the Sunset Burger is on the small side. The Peri-Berry burger was great again - a good size and cooked well, smothered with sauce. The rice was also a good sized portion and soft and moist but the chips were a real let down - really soggy.

Staff were friendly, but doing as expected.