Although not early diners, we decided to get an early bite today. This is because we were expecting traffic jams and parking woes at The Avenues, given that today was the National Day and people would be flocking away from Gulf Road to the comfort of shopping and dining at the mall. Surprisingly we got parking in 10 minutes, and with nothing much to do we headed straight for Nandos.

Nandos is not inside the Avenues food court area, but outside opposite to IKEA. We got seated within minutes as the joint was nearly empty [we were early]. Nandos has split level seating arrangement enough space to cater to atleast 50-60 patrons at a time. They have outside seating arrangement but since it was hazey weather, we got seated inside. Nandos has quite and sombre ambiance, dimly lit, clean and beautiful interiors, done in Mediterranean style.

Our server presented the menu, and though it had limited varieties, we were impressed with what was on offer. We ordered for Peri-Peri Hommous in Appeteasers [Nandos lingo] [KD 1.250], for the mains we went in for Meia Frango, 1/2 chicken served with two sides, spicy rice and fries [KD3], Chicken Espetada served with roasted vegetables[KD 4], for drinks Coke [free refills], and for dessert Choco Fudge cake with ice cream [KD 1.750].

All the mains can be flavoured as per your requirements from hot to mild peri peri style to lemon & herb. We opted for hot peri peri style. Meia Frango was served as 1/2 chicken in 2 pieces, each one of them superbly grilled with the spices deeply rooted in. The preparation was perfectly done, flavored in rich peri-peri sauce, which although hot, was very easy on palate. Each table had an assortment of sauces which could be used if one had opted for a milder preparation. The spicy rice complemented the mains, because the good thing about rice was that it wasn’t greasy at all.

Chicken Espetada was as lovely to look at in presentation as in taste. The preparation was basically large servings of boneless chicken pieces grilled with vegetables, sautéed in mouth watering sauces. The dish was presented in a skewer hanging from a pedestal, like a lamp. The dish could be served with side options either from roasted vegetables, to mashed potatoes, to spicy rice, to fries. We selected roasted vegetables and they turned out to be ideal for this. Well cooked in mild sweet and sour sauce.

After enjoying the great feast, our dessert was served. A large serving of hot chocolate fudge cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream decked with chocolate sauce. Tantalising and warm in taste it felt good to dig into the serving in this mildly cold weather. One serving is enough for two people.

The service was great, although preparation time was a bit slow. Overall a great dining experience at a great price. Finally a true chicken grill joint in Kuwait, where we would be returning back often. They lost 1/2 star for service and lack of home delivery.

Rated [rate 4.5]