Review of Nando’s Chicken Breast Burger
Website: http://www.nandos.co.uk/themenu
What they say:
Home of the legendary, Portuguese flame-grilled Peri-Peri Chicken. Your filling in a Portuguese Roll and a bit of salad.
Price: £5.95 or £7.25 with one regular side, £8.90 with two.
Calories: 333 kcal for the burger only.
Nando’s was up next in our chicken run. They don’t have much to say on their website about the burger other than a claim of a ‘new recipe’, so Burger Lad® decided it was time to see if it was fair or fowl. I was tempted to check out the double breast burger but my mantra resonated through my mind “think of the calories”, and I opted for the single breast.
Nando’s opened their first restaurant in the UK in 1992 but it was a visit to their Auckland location in 2003 when Burger Lad® started a long love affair with the popular poultry purveyor.
I’m a fan of their bottomless soft drinks, endless peri-peri sauce and generous loyalty cards. After just three visits spending a minimum of £6 each time you can claim a free quarter chicken – just remember to check those T&Cs!
Anyway… it was a beautiful sunny day in Cheltenham town so we decided to take advantage of the warm weather and sit outside. It was fairly warm already but things were about to get a bit hotter as I’d opted for the extra hot sauce on my chicken breast burger.
For anyone that has never been to a Nando’s you have to decide how hot you want your food; Extra Hot, Hot, Medium, Lemon & Herb, Mango & Lime or Plain-ish. I was also asked if I wanted cheese on the chicken burger which I wasn’t expecting but certainly wasn’t going to turn it down. After placing your order and paying at the counter your food is brought to you fairly quickly. In the meantime you can sup on as many Coke Zeros as you desire while clinking your sauce bottles together like Luther in The Warriors.
I opted for the tried and tested combination of spicy rice and peri chips for the two sides with my chicken burger and it wasn’t long before they arrived.
The chicken burger looked good and had been cooked on the grill perfectly with a slight charring to it in places. The extra hot sauce glazed the succulent chicken breast nicely and I liked the look of the cheese.
There were a few lettuce leaves on there and a cheeky little tomato hidden away which I didn’t discover until the very last bite.
But how did it all taste? Well I didn’t find it extremely hot but it had a definite kick to it. I am used to eating peri-peri sauce at Burger Lad HQ so my tolerance levels are probably higher. I enjoyed it though, the chicken was moist, fresh and firm breast meat and that cheese slice had a distinct taste to it which wasn’t lost. I have started to enjoy the cheese more now when it isn’t melted on the meat below it as it seems to retain the flavour.
I was really, really impressed with the crispy Portuguese roll that housed this chicken winner. I’d definitely like to get my hands on some of these for BBQ season as despite their crispy exterior the inner part of the roll was lovely and soft. Very good roll and I’d definitely try the double next time knowing these fine bakery items can cope with the load.
At £5.95 for just the burger it’s priced somewhere slightly above the KFCs and McDonald’s and below the gourmet or independent establishments. 333 calories is pretty good too but it’s when you start adding the sides that you start hitting the 1,000 calorie mark.
We’ll keep this review short which is not a reflection of the Chicken Breast Burger from Nando’s. Anyone fancying a peri chicken fix on a roll can’t go wrong with this one. It’s great for a quick lunch or dinner and the staff are always friendly. And remember you can have as much of the sauce as you like, just remember to leave the bottle at the restaurant!
I think a slice of bacon on this would make this a real winner chicken dinner but that’s just a nice to have blue sky thought. We’ll be back very soon for out next review and we’ll leave you with one last look at that Nando’s Chicken Breast Burger.
Burger Lad®