JEDDAH, 11 March — I’ve been hearing people ramble on and on about Nando’s, the place that serves amazing chicken. “It’s cute and serves good food,” was the general comment about the Portuguese restaurant. So is it cute?
Yes. The decor is playful and interesting. There’s a laid-back feel to the place. It’s a bit different but in a good way. They have nice tables and chairs. When I say nice, I mean nice-looking but not very comfortable. They have some interesting prints on the walls. Their plates are actually quite amusing. They have a special section for tea, coffee and dessert. It didn’t look or smell too inviting with the cloud of smoke and odors from the hubbly-bubblies. Nevertheless, dessert looked incredibly tempting. The cheesecake was practically calling out to me. As for the music, I enjoyed it very much. It was just fun contemporary music, no Ricki Martin though.
What I did not enjoy however, was the waiters’ attitudes. They were not attentive. It took them ages to bring everything.
I was practically begging for attention. Well, another day another dollar. So I walk in and the waiter says, “You can sit wherever you like.” I seat myself in a reasonable spot, about in the middle of the restaurant. The waiter walks up and says, “I would prefer that you move to another table because the ceiling above this one is leaking.” I thought to myself, “Why don’t they just put a ‘reserved’ sign on the table and save customers the trouble?”
So I sit at another table in the corner and guess what? I heard a screeching sound, and sorry, but I found that both alarming and annoying. I must say that the meal was satisfying and all. They have some delicious chicken sandwiches. I had the chicken breast sandwich and it was mouthwatering and succulent. In fact it was marinated to perfection in a ‘spicy traditional Portuguese sauce’, as they call it.
They even have humus, which I ordered as well. Their salads are tasty especially the chicken breast salad naturally, since chicken appears to be their specialty. When my companion ordered American coffee, she was brought a dirty spoon. For the record, the waiter did apologize but as far as I was concerned, the damage had been done.
The screeching noise continued, but the source of the noise could not be ascertained. Because the sound was so loud that I couldn’t believe that it was coming from outside. I hurried out! I understand that some people like Nando’s because they get to watch games on TV or even play cards and hang out with friends. Others like it purely for the food. In conclusion, one thing I can say is that my visit to Nando’s was certainly memorable!
