Walsall - Ryan Review

Well after the bitter disappointment of not being able to make the latest RYN Reviewer Dinner or a lunchtime treat with the RYN team... I decided to try and cheer myself up with a Nando's. The team had gone to Walsall on Saturday so off I went today.

Walsall Nando's is located on the Crown Wharf Shopping complex - which is just a few minutes walk from Walsall train station and a couple minutes drive from junction 10 of the M6. There are hundreds (650) car parking spaces on the complex - so plenty of parking. Oddly, for a complex of this size, you do have to pay (and display). This will cost you £1/1hr, £1.40/2hrs, £2/3hrs, £3/4hrs and up to 24 hours is £8.

The Crown Wharf complex is definitely suited to shoppers, with Nando's and Frankie and Benny's being the only restaurant chains - and no entertainment leisure brands on the complex. For these, you have to go to Bentley Mill Way (the other side of J10 M6) for a Showcase Cinema and to the Bentley Bridge park for a bowling alley. However, the new Waterfront complex (by Crown Wharf) may very well change all that in the future.

As for this restaurant, with it being a new one, expectations were high!
Arrived around 12noon and there was only a couple ordering, so needless to say, I had my pick of the restaurant and the food came in just under 10 minutes, which gave me chance to check out the decor.

It's decorated very well indeed - with a "conservatory" for people to also sit in. Not sure it gives the best views... but it's something different. The outside was nicely laod out, with a few tables to also choose from. Inside, as you go in, the conservatory is forward to your left but then it's a very open plan seating arrangement to your right with several large booths, bench/chairs/table seating and more larger circular tables. The wall all the way to your right is well decorated with 6 large canvas paintings and another 6 smaller ones. All of the booth/separating walls and the till counter are coloured brightly. The main ceiling area is a large wicker circle with several green/orange/brown/clear vases for lampshades. Further lighting also includes tan coloured and also large porcelain-style shades. Plenty of other nick-naks on the walls too - wicker circles and a multi-coloured pot display.

As for the food... am afraid it was just average. Being a lunchtime I went for the chicken fillet burger and chips. The fillet was a generous portion size and it was piping hot - but it lacked peri-peri sauce. There was also so much mayonnaise ladened on it, that any flavour the sauce did have was completely overpowered. Still, a large helping of table sauce sorted that out. The chips were also very average. The longer/thicker ones were still a bit cold and were soggy. There was also no gas in the drinks fountain (at least not for Diet Coke).

Staff were friendly enough, but doing as expected.