Nando's South Woodford — Restaurant in London

I went to this Nandos on Wednesday 30th of October and honestly would never go back there again. Service was shocking by a particular waitress to the point I felt she was being rude and purposely ignoring us so she didn’t have to serve us as she had already messed up our order with us previously. I do understand the pressures of working in customer service and maybe it was understaffed at the time however I don’t tolerate blatant disrespect. When we ordered with her at the counter she failed to mention there was no more chicken wings left so when she’s serving us our food she gave me chicken thighs and I said to her “no I didn’t order the 4 thighs I ordered 5 wings” she then turned to me and said that “did the lady not speak to you” I was confused on what lady she was talking about and confused thinking you’re the waitress who served me at the till so if there was a problem why didn’t you disclose it then. The waitress who was serving me the chicken thighs said to me that we don’t have anymore chicken wings left so you can get an alternative. I was in shock because I felt like the alternative was chosen for me anyways and felt obliged to take it because it was already there why waste it. When we got our food it was a long time after our starters and it came slightly cold anyways. With this happening we had already had our starters and was serving us our mains with the empty starter plates on the table as well, she didn’t take then even when she had served the starters. It was just ridiculous honestly. So when we finished our meal we needed a take away box and my partner was about to ask her and said “excuse me” and she walked straight past him, in no mood to stop put her finger up and said “one minute”. That was my last straw and I asked another lady got the bags and left. That original waitress never got back to us! I just hope the service gets better and the pressures of working in a a fast pace and busy environment gets easier for some of the staff. But I wouldn’t go back to that Nandos again...

Firstly, let me start by saying that I love Nandos and over the years of visiting many different Nandos restaurants i have always been met with competent service.

However, that was certainly not the case for Nandos in South Woodford who's service was in complete shambles. The staff clearly had no idea what they were doing whether it was just down to bad training or simply hiring the wrong people, i do not know. Let's just say that i could of received better service from a group of blind llamas smoking weed. I had to wait one and half hours to receive my order and yes it was busy but not that busy. I am pretty sure one of the girls behind the cashier was part sloth as I have never seen service that slow. I could see plates of food piling up on the counter and no one was taking them to the tables. The staff were clueless as dodos and had no notion that food needs to be eaten by people not left on the counter getting cold.

I understand the restaurant had just opened but opening day was on Wednesday and i went on Friday. After all, it is not like this is the first Nandos that ever opened, that was over 20 years ago in 1987. I really hope the service improves or that they get new staff because i am a local and i have been wanting a Nandos in South Woodford for as long as i can remember.

UPDATE:

I went to Nandos again a week later giving them time to hopefully iron out all the problems they had on opening week.

I can thankfully say that the service is much improved and even though it was still busy the service was friendly and with haste. They also got rid of the sloth that was behind the cashier on opening week which no doubt contributed to the much speedier service in fact they got a whole new staff crew, best management decision they ever made. In conclusion I am upgrading the rating from one star to four stars. Keep up...

The best Nando's and Nando's dine in experience at Nando's, South Woodford. The team were so lovely and polite. Before we stepped foot inside the restaurant, we were greeted by this kind man who opened the door for us (I think he was a manager) and he directed us to our seat of preference. He had a warm smile and was very patient and welcoming. The man in the white shirt (I believe is also a manager) was very helpful. Once I made the order, I put my request to him to have the chicken wings cooked a bit extra to have them well done and when it arrived at the table, all of the chicken wings were cooked to perfection, tasted great with that little extra crispy grilled flavour. During the course of the meal, the manager (white shirt) came over to the table and asked if the chicken wings and food were ok and I let him know that they tasted very well. The food was delicious including all of the sides, the halloumi with the tasty jam dip and the nandos sauces. The experience exceeded my expectations. We received great communication and interactions from the team, great food and fun vibes. To the two men, the manager(s) and the ladies who catered to us during our visit and played a part in making it an enjoyable and wonderul experience at Nandos, keep up...