Zabihah
53,000+ halal places · Free
We were born in South Africa, with a blend of Portuguese and British culture along the way. It all started in Mozambique, home of the hot sun, rich soil... and African Bird’s Eye Chillies. Also known as PERi-PERi. Small but mighty, these chillies have been used for centuries in local Mozambiquan cooking. The Portuguese then added a squeeze of lemon and kick of garlic to make the first PERi-PERi sauce. Used on just about anything, they found it was the ultimate baste for flame-grilling spatchcocked chicken. And it wasn’t long before two friends in Johannesburg came to experience the taste of PERi-PERi chicken and Nando’s was born. Fast forward a few years, restaurants and Fino Pittas and today, the Nando’s PERi-PERi you know and love still pays homage to those roots.
Staff has given verbal assurance of halal status. From the management: 'Our halal chicken is authorised by leading Halal Food Authorities. The quality, welfare and health of our chicken is a priority and our UK suppliers follow the strict Red Tractor Farm Assurance Standards. Our halal chickens are pre-stunned to minimise suffering and fear before they're hand-slaughtered. All our halal products are kept separate at our suppliers and in our distribution centres. And our restaurants with halal-friendly options are only allowed to receive chicken from our approved distribution centre. In these restaurants, we only serve chicken that's certified halal. And as we don’t handle any pork ingredients, there’s no chance of cross-contamination'
Score reflects admin-confirmed halal status; no additional evidence on file yet.
As we all know, Nando's isn't quite as cheeky as it used to be, but since I was in the area (and with more branches now serving halal chicken), it seemed rude not to pop in. First impressions were decent. There was a small queue, but we were greeted within around five minutes. The host told us the wait for a table for our family would be 10–15 minutes, which was fair enough. We noticed an outdoor table that had just been vacated and asked if we could have that instead. Surprisingly, we were told it would also take 10–15 minutes to clear. Considering all it needed was a quick wipe-down, that was a little baffling. We opted for an indoor table instead, which made no real difference. One thing that really stood out was the number of tables sitting empty but covered in used cutlery, plates and glasses. It felt like there simply weren't enough staff clearing tables, which meant customers were waiting unnecessarily. A quick tidy-up of those tables would have got a lot more people seated much faster. To be fair, though, the quoted wait time was accurate—we were seated within the promised 10–15 minutes. Ordering through the app was straightforward. I decided to try the new Saka Chicken, named after England star Bukayo Saka, along with a side of PERi-PERi chips. We also ordered a children's chicken wing meal, which came with an ice cream tub for dessert. The food itself was enjoyable, although my garlic bread looked like it had spent a little too long trying to qualify as charcoal. Thankfully, the rest of the meal was much better. The standout member of staff was the lady who brought over the children's ice cream tub. She was genuinely warm and friendly, checked in on us throughout the meal, and actually made the effort to have a conversation. It's amazing how much difference that makes to the overall experience. Unfortunately, the rest of the team came across as a little disengaged and, at times, looked like they'd rather be anywhere else. I have added pictures of empty tables that had been there for a while. Overall, this wasn't a bad visit, but it wasn't a particularly memorable one either. The food was decent, the wait time was exactly as promised, but the restaurant could really benefit from better table management and a bit more enthusiasm from the team. Nando's Thurrock definitely has potential—it just needs to find its cheeky spirit again.
