Chickens come home to roost at Nando’s in Sam Levy’s Village.

In 1987, two pals, Fernando and Robert, met for lunch at a restaurant in Rosettenville, a Johannesburg suburb popular with immigrants from Mozambique and Portugal.

Flame – grilled chicken and chips at Nando’s in the Village.

They ordered Mozambique-style grilled chicken, flavoured with birds’ eye chilli, garlic and lemon juice. It was so delicious that they decided then and there to buy the restaurant, and before you could say ‘Bob’s your uncle’, Nando’s Peri-Peri flame-grilled Chicken Restaurant was born.

With 1,000 restaurants worldwide, 330 of which are in Britain, Nando’s has achieved cult status as a fast food chicken restaurant, with a devoted band of followers. There is also a vociferous band of detractors who consider it overrated and average at best. There are at least 11 Nando’s outlets in Harare, and when the chickens came home to roost in the new Nando’s Casa (restaurant) in Sam Levy’s village, it was time to visit, and see what the hype was all about.

When we arrived for lunch at Nando’s last Monday, there were several occupied tables both inside, and outside on a wooden deck shaded by umbrellas. The interior of the new Casa has been completed to a very high standard, with sleek decor and comfortable upholstered chairs. As it was hot inside, and the music was too loud for normal conversation, we went out through glass doors to the shaded wooden deck. A long wooden bench with an upholstered back, but no cushion to sit on, took some getting used to. I’m not familiar with fast food casual dining, but a very pleasant waiter explained that we should peruse the menu at the counter, make our orders and pay. Some 12 minutes or so later, a waiter would bring our order outside to the table.

The term ‘flame-grilled” brings to mind a slightly charred, smoky appearance with an unique delicious taste, so I ordered a quarter chicken (hot) and chips, with a side dish of coleslaw. The Boujee Bowl, a new addition to the menu, was George’s choice. Consisting of chicken strips on a bed of spicy rice, with seasoned corn, roast red peppers and spinach leaves, the Boujee looked a lot prettier in the picture than it did when served at the table.

My flame-grilled chicken had a few random scorch marks (no cross-hatching) and the sauce had a gloopy appearance, as though the order had sat too long on the kitchen counter. Served at room temperature, the drama and aroma associated with coming straight off the grill was lost. (Possibly the Boujee bowl took longer to assemble than anticipated.) The chips were also disappointing, some being half cooked and floppy.

Smiling staff at Nando’s in the Village.

The cost of the meal, including two mineral waters, came to ZW$319.50 or US$9.90

Over the years, Nando’s advertising agencies have often dealt with controversial and topical issues in creative and often light-hearted ways, making some observers laugh, and others to grind their teeth. In December 2011 The Last Dictator Standing, an ad showing the then President Mugabe playing a water pistol fight with Col Gadaffi, and fooling around with Saddam Hussein and China’s Mo Tse-Tung, was axed after threats from the Chipangano youth group.

Great PR is provided by rumours that holders of a Nando’s High Five Black Card can take five people out for a meal in any Nando’s, at any time, anywhere, with drinks included. The company denies the existence of the High Five, but it’s suggested that celebrities such as David Beckham, Lewis Hamilton and Ed Sheeran are in possession of this status symbol, but forbidden to talk about it. Co-founder and chief executive Robert says: ‘If it does exist, I’d like to have one!’

While some of Nando’s ads may be considered politically incorrect and too close to the bone, they are more enjoyable than the flame-grilled chicken I ate at Nando’s this week.  A Matter of Taste with Charlotte Malakoff

Comments to: cmalakoff@gmail.com