Nando's PERi-PERi — Restaurant in Washington

Not a great experience at all—frustrating from start to finish.

We specifically came to the Woodley Park Nando’s because of its outdoor seating (essential for a family member with health concerns), but there were no tables or chairs outside—on a sunny 80-degree day. Staff just said “it’s not clean,” with no further explanation.

We also needed gluten-free/allergen info, and that turned into a 30–40 minute nightmare. Staff didn’t have any info and told us to “find it online,” but the ordering system and Nando’s website had zero allergen guidance. We searched for nearly 40 minutes, even asked management again, and still got nothing. We finally found an outdated third-party list online. That is absolutely not acceptable for celiacs.

Then came the online ordering system, which is honestly one of the worst I’ve used. No way to edit items in your cart—you have to start over each time. No allergen filters. Poor design. It took us nearly an hour just to get our order placed because of all the rework. Most mobile ordering systems are way better than this.

When we finally sat down, the restaurant was crowded with delivery drivers picking up online orders, constantly walking past and even bumping into us. The layout just isn’t designed to handle dine-in and pickup traffic at the same time. It completely ruined the atmosphere.

Our food came out one person at a time, with a 10+ minute gap before one person even got their meal. Others’ food got cold while we waited awkwardly. On top of that, they were out of chicken thighs, swapped in breast (which was dry and bland), and used wilted lettuce instead of arugula in my bowl.

We’ve been to this location before and had decent experiences, but this time was just bad—poor service, no allergen support, a terrible ordering system, and a chaotic, uncomfortable atmosphere. Really...

Hi Googly foodies! My best friend and I were in DC and we decided to ditch the hotel’s restaurant for a food adventure! I of course used my google map and got my eyes for this amazingly beautiful colorful restaurant called Nando’s PERi-PERi! In Connecticut Ave. In DC. Boy, I am so glad we went for this one. As we stood in line we were greeted by amazingly friendly hostess and she gave us a short explanation of the ordering process. A note to you all, their expertise are in hot, spicy chicken! So as someone that I appreciate my tastebuds and don’t want to harm them! I ordered 1/2 PERi-PERi chicken “plainish”==meaning no hot species on my chicken! With the sides of corn on the cob and their amazing rice! Let me tell u foodies! OMG! My mouth had a party! First off the chicken was juicy, tasty and crispy all in one bite! Although I ordered the palinish but my chicken had very good specie to it. Not too hot not too bland! Just perfect! I have traveled all over in Europe and ate many chicken in my life but I can tell u all if you’re in DC area and in the mood for some delicious food! Make sure you check these guys out! In short, the food was so good that my friend had to order more for his dinner with family and did a take out from them. As for me... I loved the taste of the food and kind and warm atmosphere of the restaurant. If you are going there for the first time go for their 1/2 chicken with 2 sides! It is reasonable and u get a lot of food for what u pay. Thumbs up! I searched them and find out they do have a branch in my hometown! So I am so going to try them again at home! Awesome place to eat in or to do a take out! As always! Enjoy your dream food! Life is too short not to...

This place has gone downhill since my last visit. The place used to be great. Now it's full of a staff that seemingly is more interested in talking amongst themselves than their jobs or serving customers. Examples: I asked to get additional salad dressing and got a visible eyeroll. When I asked if there was any more bottles of the medium sauce, I first had to interrupt two staff members obviously casual conversation to do so, then my response I got was the bottles were being cleaned. Instead of offering some from the kitchen in a condiment container, they just went back to talking. The tables are in need of serious cleaning. I wiped up the water ring from my glass and got back a grey napkin where the moisture was. This was true of the 2 tables next to me as well, i know, i repeated the experiment. The tables also feel tacky to the touch. Then there was the food itself. I ordered butterfly chicken breast. They usually come with a great grill chared skin and juicy chicken. This time i got inedible skin that was rubbery and gross as well as chicken that was not any more edible, the salad greens were wilted and seemingly warm, almost like they sat under a heat lamp. So overall I was pretty disappointed in my visit to say the least. This is probably my favorite of chain restaurants, so I hope there is a course correction back to the great place it once was and still could be. Napkin picture attached for proof of claims on table cleanliness. This was a fresh napkin used for one swipe of a water ring on the edge...