To experience spicy tunes and sauces, we visited Nandos, a South African chain of restaurants that has opened its doors in Hyderabad. We walked into a lively ambience with yellow wall accents and warm lighting that made the atmosphere feel comfortable. The staff was friendly and prepared with various food recommendations and the service was fast and effortless. We started with our drinks, citrus bliss and peach and elderflower designer drinks. The drinks had a balanced flavour without an overpowering sweetness, making them a refreshing pass time as we waited for our food.
From the appetizers, we had their vegetarian options of Hummus, pita strips and peri peri drizzle, and Cheesy festa fries. The pita strips were warm and soft when they arrived and worked well with the hummus. The peri peri drizzle with a slight chili and vinegary flavour, added an extra pinch of taste to the dish. As we ate, we were presented with various flavours of peri peri sauces. The cheesy festa fries were a perfect carrier for the sauces as we conducted a taste test on them to determine which worked best with the fries.
For the main course, we tried their thigh and mighty burger, carnival espetada, and half chicken. The Thigh and mighty burger had a roasted piece of chicken thighs, as opposed to a grilled patty. The meat along with the sauce mixture of peri peri and mayonnaise put together made it a burger, as the burgers we know. The carnival espetada was chicken skewered along with peppers. The chicken was juicy and well-marinated with the sauces, and the peppers added a fresh crunch to the meatiness of the dish. The potato wedges that came along with the dish made it a filling dish overall. The half chicken was flame-grilled peri peri meat. Though the texture was a little dry, the meat was doused with flavour. With the array of available sauces, once again we went on a journey of pairing food and flavour.
As we finished the last sips of our drinks and bites of chicken, we left the restaurant with the spices of the sauce dancing on our tongues.
INR 1,000 for two. RMZ Nexity.
Story by Anshula Dhulekar