Nando's PERi-PERi

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 We finally found an outdated third-party list online.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 disappointing.

Good food, with gluten-free options. Service was a bit lax.