Tooting - Damien Review

The 90th Nando’s on our list was in London again, on Tooting Broadway’s High Street. We arrived at the nearby tube station not long after midday on a Monday. As the six of us were coming from different places, I decided we’d meet in the nearby Wetherspoons. This was a mistake. Despite the early hour, the place was heaving with people and the stench of BO. We carried on walking, looking for a nicer pub and eventually gave up, and met up at the Nando’s itself.

We were some of the first customers of the day, so it gave me a chance to have a good look around the restaurant. It’s certainly in need of a little TLC, and perhaps a renovation. Everything is standard Nando’s with accumulated dust and grime. The small downstairs area (where the toilets are) wasn’t being used when we arrived, but it didn’t smell like Nando’s down there. More a strange mix of raw meat and curry. We ordered.

At the counter, I asked to use my green reward for a free extra hot quarter chicken. When I got quoted the price, I queried if that was after the deduction. I was assured it was. Seemed a bit high, but I paid anyway, by card. As I walked away, I realised that the totals on the till receipt and the card receipt were different, and pointed this out. The girl at the till was very apologetic that she got it wrong, and refunded me straight away in cash. I told her that it was an honest mistake, but she apologised at least four more times. Some other shops would put needless red tape around a card refund process, so it was good that this was resolved so quickly bu just one member of staff.

Our food began to come out. We’d ordered a good range of the menu including a salad and a veggie option. With my quarter chicken, I had a chicken pitta. Despite the chicken being the first batch of the day (usually the best), the breast quarter and the chicken in the pitta were both pretty dry and bland. Other than that, the food was all well-cooked and as expected. The highlight of the trip was when a waiter stumbled while bringing over a plate, sending a piece of chicken flying into a glass of water and shouting “fuck!”. Another customer may have found this language unacceptable and sought compensation for the mess made of the table, but we just laughed. Brought a below average Nando’s visit up to about average.