Nando's Salford Quays — Restaurant in Salford

So let me begin this with you by explaining how me and my mother (who was with me at the time) got to this magical place in the first place. We had just finished a trip to the War Museum near the same location and I had a load of fun and then I decided that I wanted to have a walk around Manchester taking all the sights and views and have a proper good time. Then I thought to myself i’m getting a bit hungry I say, and we tried looking around at the menu variety of restaurants but Nando’s came to my mind immediately. This was my first time ever try Nando’s and I wanted to hopefully have it be an experience for me to remember. By the time I exit the building after enjoying my meal I am delighted to say that it was indeed a experience and memory that I will treasure for the rest of my life. The first second I walked in I was absolutely astonished with the beautiful decor and I have never seen such a more beautiful restaurant in a very very long time so instantly at a thumbs up for me. When we walked into book a table the staff are quickly to respond to us and were polite and friendly in every way possible overjoyed to help and assist their customers and respectful to everyone including the restaurant as everywhere I looked it was pristine and clean to the highest degree. My mother and I sat down and I ordered a quarter chicken with chips and some corn on the cob and my mother ordered some chips on their own. Our order was booked in and as I looked over I could astonishingly see that all the food in this restaurant was cooked straight in front of us and cooked to order so that’s another thumbs up for me and it’s proudly showing the quality and consistency with all the food that comes out of that open kitchen. A few minutes later our food arrived and then I requested if I could please have some medium hot sauce the waiter was quick to respond and the source was with me in less than a minute. I talked in to the chips and OMG they had to be some of the best chips that I had ever had in my life crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside and piping hot all the way through no cold fries here! Then I munched on the corn on the cob perfectly cooked sweet juicy what more could you want with some fresh corn on the cob? And then I dug into the start of the show the quarter of a chicken and I decided to immediately go in with the hot sauce I took my first bite and Lord in heaven I was in heaven itself! The chicken was juicy tender flavorful perfectly cooked and moist and the child flavour from when they were doing it on the grill complements the hot sauce and the spices absolutely perfectly. I’m also delighted to say that my mother enjoyed her chips too and whilst I chugged down on some cola she happily enjoyed a nice bottle of cold beer. Safe to say that this was a beautiful introduction into the wonderful world that is of Nando’s chicken and let it be known that I will be back here in the future to devour your amazing food once...

On Wednesday evening, my wife, child, mother-in-law, and I visited this branch, and we had an extremely disappointing experience. Even though there were more than two hours left until the restaurant’s closing time, we were seated in an area we didn’t prefer. When we requested a different table, we were told that other areas had already been cleaned and were not available for use.

While I have no complaints about the quality of the food, I am deeply upset with the behavior of the staff. Their actions embarrassed me in front of my mother-in-law. During our meal, a female staff member approached us with an inappropriate tone, saying she needed to take the sauce bottles from our table because they needed to be cleaned. Without hesitation, she removed the bottles right in the middle of our meal and replaced them with sachets of sauce. We were all shocked by this behavior, and I became very upset. However, out of respect for my mother-in-law, I refrained from confronting the staff at the time, as I didn’t want to ruin her experience as our guest.

To make matters worse, after we finished eating, new customers arrived and were seated at the very table we had initially requested. It is beyond frustrating to understand why we weren’t allowed to sit there earlier. And does the staff also tell new customers they can’t use sauce bottles because it’s “too late”? This excuse makes no sense, especially since there was still an hour left before the restaurant closed after we had finished our meal.

On a positive note, the gentleman who took our order was very polite and respectful, and we appreciated his professionalism.

That said, my wife and I are extremely disappointed with the overall experience, especially the behavior of that female staff member. I would not recommend this branch of...

*Not Allergy Friendly

Food was good enough but tonight one of the members of our group (fructose intolerant) made the mistake of asking about the ingredients of the mayonnaise. A manager was called and made the decision to refuse to serve her on account of them being uncomfortable with handling the intolerance, despite her insisting that she was willing to take responsibility once they'd removed the ingredients that she requested (which WAS apparently possible, as they offered to do it with the salad instead, although this would have resulted in her paying full price for a bowl of plain lettuce which, while sure was definitely safe to eat, isn't fit for a meal). As we had all already ordered we also couldnt go elsewhere, which was a bad experience for everyone, as she was left out.

While I appreciate that allergies and intolerances are difficult (we know, we live with them!), especially more uncommon ones like her's, I think its appalling that a large chain like this does not have anything in place to allow staff to handle it in any other manner besides refusing to serve - especially when on this occasion it was as simple to resolve as removing a little mayo and onion and letting her take the responsibility.

We have never been refused anywhere else before, which I think says something about how behind Nandos is compared to everywhere else when it comes to this...