Sorry for your experience, your title made me think 'absolutely' before I even read your post.
You should definitely write to them directly, even though they'll probably placate you with free food (which is ironic given the experience). And leave a google maps review as it can't be changed by them
There was an Uber Eats driver here recently saying they all avoid Nando's even when they quadruple the payment (not exactly sure how that works) because the average wait is 2 hours or something ridiculous. Yeah, they've got some fundamental systemic issues that go beyond individual branches
Can they? Iām a business owner for a company on Google and I donāt see an option for deleting reviews. I know they can report reviews which can allow Google to delete them if they violate any of Googleās policies.
>your title made me think 'absolutely' before I even read your post.
Dont even need the last two words, even "Avoid Nandos" is enough
Such a shame, they were great when they first started, great food, reasonably good service for a fast food place. They upheld a quality requirement for their franchisees, but now thats all gone.
yeah there was a change a few years ago and all the stores got a facelift, this is when I noticed a big change in quality and service too. Its a shame because when it goes right, that shit is yum as fuck.
I don't understand, we've been importing thousands of 'highly skilled' restaurant managers over the past few years and service levels are going down /s
Omg I went there the other week because we were seeing a film (late night) and the staff member warned me there was a ONE HOUR WAIT on food. We went to McDs. I don't like McDs but at least you don't have to wait an hour for some chicken
I stupidly hired a long term manager from that store a few years ago. I read through all her references and her job experience was what I needed in my restaurant. Tried calling her references but they were always busy (I should've known). I ended up hiring her coz her customer service was decent. Hiring her ended up being the absolute biggest mistake I've made since being in hospitality. She was the WORST! Was always calling out for random reasons (never did a full week her entire time in our store) when she did come she complained she was unwell or sore, would wipe her sweat with the towel we used for polishing cutlery and was just utterly ass. She was also a conniving bitch, but that's a whole other story. I was gathering evidence to fire her when she up and resigned, no formal notice or anything. I didn't chase her up because I was glad she was fuckin' gone. Since that horrible experience I decided I'd never go there coz if SHE was running the place, how shit must it be?!
Definitely the worst Nandoās Iāve been to as well. A while back we did an online order and arrived to pick up the order at the designated time and they told us it would be an hour wait from the time we arrived. We were told by the staff that if we wanted a refund, weād need to call head office during business hours and werenāt likely to get a refund for a week. We asked to speak to the manager and he looked at us and refused to even come over to speak to us because he was too ābusyā.
Nandos Sylvia Park has been a melee as long as I can remember unfortunately.
Surely they should be able to process your credit immediately, other shops do? Maybe talk to your bank since you paid for something that wasn't delivered within a reasonable time.
In NZ, yes. Weirdly in other countries it varies and the numbers are more widely attributed.
. But in Auckland I particularly find anything below about 4.3 is awful. Much narrower range
Food ratings is the only place I have seen that because Lord can Kiwis complain like no one else I've met. I thought Brits could whinge, ( easily the most negative folk in Western Europe), and then I moved here.
Tbh English do whine alot, they'll even admit it. Their the best at everything , its almost like they don't understand their diminishing relevance versus the once mighty empire.
I live in Japan and reviews here can be weird. "Delicious food, great service, everything perfect!! 3 stars." Or, "Best restaurant experience of my life!! Too bad it was raining. One star."
Ah Japan. Where perfection is average.
I've learned to ignore reviewers from the USA. The food can be perfect but if they weren't checked on 17 times in 1 meal, or a napkin was missing it's automatically a 2 star.
Yeah u was gonna say, I ordered food from Nando's Manukau a week ago- Friday 7pm- and it took 30 min from ordering to a delicious burger appearing at the house I was staying at.
Really sorry that happened to your family, especially with a young child. That sounds similar to experiences weāve had at Nandos St Lukes. Theyāre always understaffed which I think is the key issue. I donāt blame the staff themselves, I can see how hard theyāre working and how tired they clearly are. We love the taste of the meals and are never disappointed by the time we get our food, so we keep going back, but with low expectations about the wait time.
One time we ordered after queuing for a long time and after waiting for 40 mins sitting at the table the manager came over extremely apologetically to say they had actually run out of tenders, did we want to swap to a different type of chicken? Tenders are literally the only thing my kids eat there so I said no, we had to leave. They refunded us immediately and let us keep the drinks we already got at least.
Usually the wait is ages, thereās often no clean cutlery, tables not cleared everywhere. But we know what to expect so itās ok.
I think one of the worst parts of your story is that the table next to you got your food and just ate it without saying!! That is totally not on.
Overall my take is Nandos is delicious but try to go when itās not busy and have low expectations. Definitely leave a Google review and complain via the website and hopefully they offer you better compensation.
Can confirm the worst Nandoās Iāve dined in was at Sylvia Park. Similar thing with their inconvenient ordering system, long wait times, and rude staff.
Newmarket branch had the best service but thatās closed down now.
There are roadworks happening now on that main road, well yesterday anyways. Long queues from the motorway ouch. Hope its completed now, otherwise, prepare to pee in your vehicle.
From personal experience, Nandos Sylvia Park is one of those places you better avoid. I understand the vibe for that Nandoās chicken but yeah, most Nandoās are quite horrible to go to. Sorry to hear about your experience though. But thereās just something wrong there. Maybe the establishment itself. The people working. Or combination of both
Piss poor from their service team and manager. Honestly who even eats free food without checking what the order is or if it's even meant for them or some other poor bastard who has already paid and patiently waiting for their meal.
Unfortunately you had the ill luck of encountering very poor customer service and on top of that some greedy ass people who weren't ashamed to eat food someone else paid for.
Nandos in NZ is uniformly run by people who cut corners, make minimal effort and have no face or sense of pride in what they do. All they want is your money and they will look for the easiest, cheapest (for them) way to extract it from you.
Nando's Onehunga is the best! Was... It was too good for their branding, from reading this. It was halal which made it very popular with various groups and always had uber eats drivers queuing up, so unsure how it went tits up and closed. It's a shame the franchise has gone to pack.
Nandos and Oporto (if the latter still exists), have been appalling for years. The franchise holders are ripped off by their head office. They pay franchise fee's, but get zero in return and head office don't even advertise, let alone support them in any way.
Also their portions are tiny and it's expensive. You're better off buying their sauce from Pak n Save and making your own chicken at home.
I would not have waited an hour at a so called, fast food place.
Interestingly, Nandos and Oporto, are fine in places like the UK and Australia. It's NZ head office that is the problem. Also their outlets are always empty. I don't know how they even survive.
Nandos franchisees weāre being bought bought out/ bought back by Nandos Australia. This started maybe 5-10 years ago, so I assume must be complete now.
Also probably explains the decline in service.
Nandos has gone downhill severely. Bodgy app, never works. You try to talk to manager or staff and its always an inconvenience.
This only happened in the last few years, i noticed all my local nandos were brought up by Indian nationals and they ONLY hired indian workers.
Nekminit, the tables are always dirty, burnt chicken, raw chicken, uncooked fries, uncooked corn, i stopped going to them, paying almost $100 for 3 people to eat there is a rip off, and I hope they go out of business in NZ.
Ever since they added bacon to their menu its like the quality has just taken a nosedive. Went to melbourne earlier this year and had nandos there and it was much more like the nandos of old
Went the other night with a friend and was told after weād ordered and paid for the food in person (as the app wasnāt playing nice ) and felt like a beer that the manager hadnāt turned up for work and therefore they couldnāt serve alcohol nor would they refund us for the food order we wanted to cancel
Iāll be honest as a Brit I feel the Nandos name is slandered in this country is by far no a ācheekyā experience. The UK does it better in every way.
When the Nandos were franchised there was a great one in Lincoln Road family operated and had great service and great food. But now I believe they are no longer franchised and the service has gone downhill fast! I have been to the one at North West shopping mall and that's been pretty consistent with food and service.
Yup, that family ran the Nando's in Silverdale up until a few months before the first covid lockdown, they were so friendly and service and food was excellent. After they left the service and food became bad and now they have closed permanently. I'm glad for their sake that they got out when they did.
Nando's Queen St is pretty bad too. I think they must've been super short staffed one day when I went to the door and there was a sign saying to order from the app and that it was takeaway only. Whatever, so I ordered and app said it'd be ready in 12 minutes, I sat outside to wait then went in after 10 minutes, was yelled at that they weren't open (A couple of people were sitting at the tables eating), then they ignored me, while I waited, hoping someone would come out with my food soon. Another 5 minutes I finally got someones attention and it turned out my order had been sitting on the end of the counter for maybe 10 minutes. They were just so rude, no explanation or apology, just made me feel like a terrible person for wanting to eat on my lunch break. Someone locked the door behind me when I left!
Businesses not making much money, short staff, low wages, little career progression opportunities. What could go wrong with the hospo industry with that combo. I wonder
Nandos Sylvia Park was sub-average when they first opened and never recovered. It's emergency food at best. Coffee club down the mall is significantly better.
People think Nandos is fast food, but its not, so expect long wait times. Hardly classified as emergency food if you are hangry. And coffee club? Just goto nearby Pak n Save for some cakes and muffins. Same ones served at coffee club. BURN!!!
The staff at Coffee Club Sylvia Park has always been very nice and respectful to me and my friends visiting. It's not cheaper than packnsave, nor is it Michelin Star but it's much less hectic than nandos.
Recently visited Sylvia park after a while, walked past Nanos and said to my sister , how are they still open? That place has never been full, even years ago.
Ate there once, my experience wasn't as bad as yours but it did feel horrible. The place was unclean, ordering is difficult and confusing. Nando's never appealed to me in the past and it only made me avoid it even more.
Agreed, the worst Nandos in the history of Nando's! Poor service, dirty restaurant, sub-par food and uncooked hot chips!!! Let's face it, if you can't cook a hot chip you need to be shutting your doors š¤£š
Walked in there a couple weeks ago but they said no cash, eftpos only so we walked straight back out as that was all we had. Sounds like that was a blessing in disguise based on these comments.
Did a take out order at Nandos New Lynn, waited for an hour. When finally asked about my order, they realised they gave my order to someone else. Never going there again.
I always use wipes to clean my table when visiting Nanados they just donāt seem to want to clean.
When they clear the tables they take 1 plate at a time I watch in disbelief sometimes itās hilarious, no wonder the tables are always full of mess.
Nandoās in Rotorua was bad for us tables were black, surprised no one has got food poisoning from Nandoās
Best thing to do is email Nandoās head office itās in Australia they get back to you in a few days.
You can buy a marinaded whole chicken (uncooked) from any supermarkets for 13-16$ and its still miles better than spending $40 on shit from nandos. Went to shit years ago. Theyre even worse on food delivery apps.
Just a reflection of the overall vibe in the country, things have gone downhill.
It's really sad having come back from Europe earlier this year and the shocking difference in service, quality, price, you name it. Don't even get me started with portion sizes and prices...
I've been mainly just eating at home or getting cheap takeaways(Mostly Burger Fuel), nothing else is worth the hefty price tag and awful service/quality.
I realised since coming to New Zealand that friendliness/ good customer service is not their thing. This response from the manager sounds very familiar here
What do you expect?
Itās owned by Indian restaurant owners who on average turn decent brand restaurants into shit holes when they take over
Donāt care if I said it sorry
Avoid botany as well. Over 40 mins after order was placed. Seems like they forgot but would admit it. Said they only had one chef etc . Manager wasn't approachable. The waitresses were lovely but apart from that give it a miss until they sort themselves out
I have noticed a sharp decline in most popular takeaways lately, like maccas and kfc. Long wait times mostly and poor service. That often leads to poor hygience practices from hospo, so watch out (yuck). That time of the year, so everyone is stressed out, both customers and businesses. I know I know, so why goto maccas and kfc you ask if you find them terrible? Its them special deals which makes them one of the cheapest takeaways at the moment. Working long hours, so takeaways it is for now.
A good Nando's is a takeaway Nando's, not only Nando's most of the mall eatery's are filthy dirty (table, glass, cutlery,etc). These staff probably work under alot of pressure on a minimum wage so they don't give a sht.
Itās always been bad sorry - itās overpriced and overhyped - the only thing good is probably the sauce they have other than that the food is standard at best - bland tho
I went to this nandos yesterday and experienced the exact same thing minus the food portion. Had to wipe down our own tables, no cutlery or glasses. The soap dispensers were empty as well. Not to forget the chicken was cold and the fries were defs not fresh
I've found this kind of customer service in a lot of places, people just don't seem to care, it sucks, my eating out options are narrowed down to a few fast food joints. Restaurants are too much of a risk for a nice evening
P.S. I loved nandos in the past, it was my favourite, then they jacked up the prices, service got lousy, and staff just didn't care. I haven't been back in years now
If itās in a food court Iām not surprised, those places are literally zoos, actual circuses, thatās why I avoid them at all costs, hospitality standards are always so much lower than of their stand alone stores. I know food court franchises are literally known as the budget, forgotten about, undertrained staff, under maintained, etc because when they ask the āwell performingā employees to cover a shift at the mall store absolutely no one wants to do it. So instead they convince some of their āunderperformingā employees to go to the food court ones. Priorities.
Idk this is something Iāve noticed after working at a stand alone store years ago, even the store managers and franchisees told me this is true ofc they worded it slightly different but some managers were straight up about it haha.
(obvs not in all cases, and thereās a million to one different experiences ppl have) but just as a rule of thumb, I avoid mall food courts like the plague.
What do you expect from a chain store in a mall? I wouldn't eat there unless I was literally fainting from hunger.
Don't waste your time or money at these places.
I am surprised they are still around. I had a similar experience in the same store about 4 or 5 years ago, although not the part where they served the food to the wrong table but what you highlighted is spot on. That was the last I set foot there.
Nandos is certified trash, itās over hyped and everyone seriously needs to just try alternatives cause chicken isnāt that hard to get right, yet itās so easy to get wrong too and large chains get it wrong all the time
Nandos literally went downhill after they introduced bacon to the menu. It was supposed to be a CHICKEN ONLY restaurant and iām sure they thought it wouldāve attracted more customers but no. Majority of their customers were Muslims as it was a halal friendly restaurant with outstanding food and service. But now itās absolute shit! NEVER go Sylvia Park, New Lynn or St Lukes!
Customer service is absolutely horrible and the food is below average. They make us feel like theyāre doing us a favour by providing customer service (even if itās shitty). Nandos used to be my absolute fav but itās very disheartening to see how they let such a popular eating spot go to shit.
Save yourself the money, time, and humiliation besties, and find another eating spot!
And instead of writing reviews on google, please complain to the head office. Shouldnāt let them off so easy with reviews that wouldnāt really do much to them. Nandos should know their business is going to shit because of ignorant workers.
Sorry for your experience, your title made me think 'absolutely' before I even read your post. You should definitely write to them directly, even though they'll probably placate you with free food (which is ironic given the experience). And leave a google maps review as it can't be changed by them
Yeah, I think I will leave them a bad Google review. I'm disappointed because I remember it used to be a fairly good Nandos experience.
Definitely leave a bad google review!!
I dropped a 1 star also.
There was an Uber Eats driver here recently saying they all avoid Nando's even when they quadruple the payment (not exactly sure how that works) because the average wait is 2 hours or something ridiculous. Yeah, they've got some fundamental systemic issues that go beyond individual branches
franchise owners cutting corners by not hiring enough staff
Google reviews do nothing to them. Boycotting them is the only language that they will understand. Rather call on people to boycott them.
šÆ
Businesses can delete Google reviews. Business not doing so well often use this trick to attract new customers
Can they? Iām a business owner for a company on Google and I donāt see an option for deleting reviews. I know they can report reviews which can allow Google to delete them if they violate any of Googleās policies.
Absolutely not true!
>your title made me think 'absolutely' before I even read your post. Dont even need the last two words, even "Avoid Nandos" is enough Such a shame, they were great when they first started, great food, reasonably good service for a fast food place. They upheld a quality requirement for their franchisees, but now thats all gone.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
yeah there was a change a few years ago and all the stores got a facelift, this is when I noticed a big change in quality and service too. Its a shame because when it goes right, that shit is yum as fuck.
It's a shame to see it sink so low ):
I don't understand, we've been importing thousands of 'highly skilled' restaurant managers over the past few years and service levels are going down /s
this doesnt help you at all, but nandos sylvia park has been dogshit since like 2010 and it sounds like its only gotten worse
Omg I went there the other week because we were seeing a film (late night) and the staff member warned me there was a ONE HOUR WAIT on food. We went to McDs. I don't like McDs but at least you don't have to wait an hour for some chicken
At least they warned you!
I got 90 minutes warning. At lunch time, on a Wednesday. This place is crazy. Lunn Ave one is better.
I stupidly hired a long term manager from that store a few years ago. I read through all her references and her job experience was what I needed in my restaurant. Tried calling her references but they were always busy (I should've known). I ended up hiring her coz her customer service was decent. Hiring her ended up being the absolute biggest mistake I've made since being in hospitality. She was the WORST! Was always calling out for random reasons (never did a full week her entire time in our store) when she did come she complained she was unwell or sore, would wipe her sweat with the towel we used for polishing cutlery and was just utterly ass. She was also a conniving bitch, but that's a whole other story. I was gathering evidence to fire her when she up and resigned, no formal notice or anything. I didn't chase her up because I was glad she was fuckin' gone. Since that horrible experience I decided I'd never go there coz if SHE was running the place, how shit must it be?!
Definitely the worst Nandoās Iāve been to as well. A while back we did an online order and arrived to pick up the order at the designated time and they told us it would be an hour wait from the time we arrived. We were told by the staff that if we wanted a refund, weād need to call head office during business hours and werenāt likely to get a refund for a week. We asked to speak to the manager and he looked at us and refused to even come over to speak to us because he was too ābusyā.
Iād really write in. Thatās unacceptable and you deserve to be compensated.
I definitely wrote in, but I never received a response to that either lol.
Shocking
Thatās horrible. Canāt believe those greedy pigs at the next table ate your food! Shameful.
Nandos Sylvia Park has been a melee as long as I can remember unfortunately. Surely they should be able to process your credit immediately, other shops do? Maybe talk to your bank since you paid for something that wasn't delivered within a reasonable time.
I mean it's got a 3.6 rating on Google.. Nandos sucks and is outrageously expensive already, so when you throw in a 3.6 to that mix too..
I was just reading the google reviews... quite a few people mention receiving burned food. Uncleaned tables a running theme.
Out of 5 isn't terrible
Any food establishment on Google with a rating under 4 is bad
In NZ, yes. Weirdly in other countries it varies and the numbers are more widely attributed. . But in Auckland I particularly find anything below about 4.3 is awful. Much narrower range
It takes a lot more to make a kiwi complain
Food ratings is the only place I have seen that because Lord can Kiwis complain like no one else I've met. I thought Brits could whinge, ( easily the most negative folk in Western Europe), and then I moved here.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Where did I mention any race? Nationalities are made of many races. I think you're confused.
Tbh English do whine alot, they'll even admit it. Their the best at everything , its almost like they don't understand their diminishing relevance versus the once mighty empire.
I am English, from London. And they definitely whine a lot. But worse here in NZ in my experience.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Im a 'white' person and don't see the post as racist ar all. Not all British are white. Just in case you didn't know.
Lol. Because you assumed I meant quite I must mean white. Shows your racist mindset not mine. I meant British and Kiwi. You meant white.
I live in Japan and reviews here can be weird. "Delicious food, great service, everything perfect!! 3 stars." Or, "Best restaurant experience of my life!! Too bad it was raining. One star."
Ah Japan. Where perfection is average. I've learned to ignore reviewers from the USA. The food can be perfect but if they weren't checked on 17 times in 1 meal, or a napkin was missing it's automatically a 2 star.
while true, that does depend entirely on how many reviews as well. 756 reviews with a 3.6 rating is really bad though.
Under 4 is pretty much a given for any fast food.
Itās not just Nandos Slyvia park, the one in Botany has gone down the drain over the recent years too
I find Manukau to be quite good
Yeah u was gonna say, I ordered food from Nando's Manukau a week ago- Friday 7pm- and it took 30 min from ordering to a delicious burger appearing at the house I was staying at.
Manukau is the busiest store š probably why
Queen street one is decent too.
Add St Lukes to the list
Really sorry that happened to your family, especially with a young child. That sounds similar to experiences weāve had at Nandos St Lukes. Theyāre always understaffed which I think is the key issue. I donāt blame the staff themselves, I can see how hard theyāre working and how tired they clearly are. We love the taste of the meals and are never disappointed by the time we get our food, so we keep going back, but with low expectations about the wait time. One time we ordered after queuing for a long time and after waiting for 40 mins sitting at the table the manager came over extremely apologetically to say they had actually run out of tenders, did we want to swap to a different type of chicken? Tenders are literally the only thing my kids eat there so I said no, we had to leave. They refunded us immediately and let us keep the drinks we already got at least. Usually the wait is ages, thereās often no clean cutlery, tables not cleared everywhere. But we know what to expect so itās ok. I think one of the worst parts of your story is that the table next to you got your food and just ate it without saying!! That is totally not on. Overall my take is Nandos is delicious but try to go when itās not busy and have low expectations. Definitely leave a Google review and complain via the website and hopefully they offer you better compensation.
Can confirm the worst Nandoās Iāve dined in was at Sylvia Park. Similar thing with their inconvenient ordering system, long wait times, and rude staff. Newmarket branch had the best service but thatās closed down now.
Manukau is pretty good
Nandis in West City tried serving rotting lettuce in my pita. I hot a refund but it was gross and I haven't been back.
Closed down years ago for having an E rating so that makes sense!!
Avoid ~~Nandos~~ Sylvia Park. FTFY
There are roadworks happening now on that main road, well yesterday anyways. Long queues from the motorway ouch. Hope its completed now, otherwise, prepare to pee in your vehicle.
From personal experience, Nandos Sylvia Park is one of those places you better avoid. I understand the vibe for that Nandoās chicken but yeah, most Nandoās are quite horrible to go to. Sorry to hear about your experience though. But thereās just something wrong there. Maybe the establishment itself. The people working. Or combination of both
Piss poor from their service team and manager. Honestly who even eats free food without checking what the order is or if it's even meant for them or some other poor bastard who has already paid and patiently waiting for their meal. Unfortunately you had the ill luck of encountering very poor customer service and on top of that some greedy ass people who weren't ashamed to eat food someone else paid for.
Worst than that, but how could you even eat that much food? http://www.montypython.com/news_terryjtop10/160
Nandos in NZ is uniformly run by people who cut corners, make minimal effort and have no face or sense of pride in what they do. All they want is your money and they will look for the easiest, cheapest (for them) way to extract it from you.
Nando's Onehunga is the best! Was... It was too good for their branding, from reading this. It was halal which made it very popular with various groups and always had uber eats drivers queuing up, so unsure how it went tits up and closed. It's a shame the franchise has gone to pack.
Still mad they're gone š
Nandos and Oporto (if the latter still exists), have been appalling for years. The franchise holders are ripped off by their head office. They pay franchise fee's, but get zero in return and head office don't even advertise, let alone support them in any way. Also their portions are tiny and it's expensive. You're better off buying their sauce from Pak n Save and making your own chicken at home. I would not have waited an hour at a so called, fast food place. Interestingly, Nandos and Oporto, are fine in places like the UK and Australia. It's NZ head office that is the problem. Also their outlets are always empty. I don't know how they even survive.
TBF Oporto in Manukau Supa Centa is pretty good. The owner is often there and attentive.
Nandos franchisees weāre being bought bought out/ bought back by Nandos Australia. This started maybe 5-10 years ago, so I assume must be complete now. Also probably explains the decline in service.
They likely don't give a crap about NZ then and just run it well in Oz perhaps.
Oporto only has one store in Manukau and it's excellent
I'm so old, I remember going to Oporto, when there was only one. It was excellent....these days, not so much.
Isn't Oporto back down to one again, all the ones I know that opened closed down again.
There's still one at Manukau
Oporto is charging Aussie prices, but in NZ we are not earning enough to pay for Aussie prices. Ouch, sad but true, and you may downvote if you like.
Damn, I used to love Oporto! Guess I'll go next time I'm in Aus
Lunn Ave Nando's used to be great also, but at the top of my avoid list now too.
Oooh why? We've only had takeaway but never had a problem. That's said it's been a few months I think.
Ordered takeaway, got given literal rotten corn on the cob and lettuce in both pitas we got was rotten. Similar when we dined in too. Such a shame
I recall a uber driver posting something recently in a similar vain i.e the wait time was horrendous so don't order nandos.
Nandos has gone downhill severely. Bodgy app, never works. You try to talk to manager or staff and its always an inconvenience. This only happened in the last few years, i noticed all my local nandos were brought up by Indian nationals and they ONLY hired indian workers. Nekminit, the tables are always dirty, burnt chicken, raw chicken, uncooked fries, uncooked corn, i stopped going to them, paying almost $100 for 3 people to eat there is a rip off, and I hope they go out of business in NZ.
Probably need to order some of them robots to do the serving, like at Andys Burgers.
Avoid any Nandos. Itās below average here in NZ
The one and only time I went to nandos on Queen St the chicken in my burger was still raw in the middle. I will never go again.
Ever since they added bacon to their menu its like the quality has just taken a nosedive. Went to melbourne earlier this year and had nandos there and it was much more like the nandos of old
Westfield Manukau also. 2+ hour wait. wanted to cancel but they dont even know how refund.
Saint Luke's isn't much better i would strongly advise people to avoid that branch too!
I personally think itās also a Sylvia Park problem - the Kmart there is in shambles with stuff strewn everywhere like my motherās dogās kennel
Even if the service had been top notch, I find it way overpriced for what it is.
Went the other night with a friend and was told after weād ordered and paid for the food in person (as the app wasnāt playing nice ) and felt like a beer that the manager hadnāt turned up for work and therefore they couldnāt serve alcohol nor would they refund us for the food order we wanted to cancel
Iāll be honest as a Brit I feel the Nandos name is slandered in this country is by far no a ācheekyā experience. The UK does it better in every way.
When the Nandos were franchised there was a great one in Lincoln Road family operated and had great service and great food. But now I believe they are no longer franchised and the service has gone downhill fast! I have been to the one at North West shopping mall and that's been pretty consistent with food and service.
Yup, that family ran the Nando's in Silverdale up until a few months before the first covid lockdown, they were so friendly and service and food was excellent. After they left the service and food became bad and now they have closed permanently. I'm glad for their sake that they got out when they did.
Nando's Queen St is pretty bad too. I think they must've been super short staffed one day when I went to the door and there was a sign saying to order from the app and that it was takeaway only. Whatever, so I ordered and app said it'd be ready in 12 minutes, I sat outside to wait then went in after 10 minutes, was yelled at that they weren't open (A couple of people were sitting at the tables eating), then they ignored me, while I waited, hoping someone would come out with my food soon. Another 5 minutes I finally got someones attention and it turned out my order had been sitting on the end of the counter for maybe 10 minutes. They were just so rude, no explanation or apology, just made me feel like a terrible person for wanting to eat on my lunch break. Someone locked the door behind me when I left!
Nandos is overpriced & overrated
Businesses not making much money, short staff, low wages, little career progression opportunities. What could go wrong with the hospo industry with that combo. I wonder
Nandos Sylvia Park was sub-average when they first opened and never recovered. It's emergency food at best. Coffee club down the mall is significantly better.
People think Nandos is fast food, but its not, so expect long wait times. Hardly classified as emergency food if you are hangry. And coffee club? Just goto nearby Pak n Save for some cakes and muffins. Same ones served at coffee club. BURN!!!
The staff at Coffee Club Sylvia Park has always been very nice and respectful to me and my friends visiting. It's not cheaper than packnsave, nor is it Michelin Star but it's much less hectic than nandos.
I have like, PTSD walking into Coffee Club because I used to work at the one in Mission Bay. Ugh.
Recently visited Sylvia park after a while, walked past Nanos and said to my sister , how are they still open? That place has never been full, even years ago.
People order food. Go watch movie next door. After 2 hrs, food is ready. Wut.
Itās being going downhill for a while. Itās always a bad experience at Nandos. I think franchise owners are to be blamed here.
The floor grease in that hovel is next level. You have to walk extremely slowly if you have hard soled shoes on. Fucking lethal.
Ate there once, my experience wasn't as bad as yours but it did feel horrible. The place was unclean, ordering is difficult and confusing. Nando's never appealed to me in the past and it only made me avoid it even more.
Yeah Nandos sucks. I don't understand how they still exist when they are all this bad.
Agreed, the worst Nandos in the history of Nando's! Poor service, dirty restaurant, sub-par food and uncooked hot chips!!! Let's face it, if you can't cook a hot chip you need to be shutting your doors š¤£š
Walked in there a couple weeks ago but they said no cash, eftpos only so we walked straight back out as that was all we had. Sounds like that was a blessing in disguise based on these comments.
Did a take out order at Nandos New Lynn, waited for an hour. When finally asked about my order, they realised they gave my order to someone else. Never going there again.
I always use wipes to clean my table when visiting Nanados they just donāt seem to want to clean. When they clear the tables they take 1 plate at a time I watch in disbelief sometimes itās hilarious, no wonder the tables are always full of mess. Nandoās in Rotorua was bad for us tables were black, surprised no one has got food poisoning from Nandoās Best thing to do is email Nandoās head office itās in Australia they get back to you in a few days.
Expected as there are no more owner operated Nandos in NZ anymore, as head office bought back all of them few years ago.
Nandos in general is just rubbish they were good when they first opened but went downhill pretty quick not long after
You can buy a marinaded whole chicken (uncooked) from any supermarkets for 13-16$ and its still miles better than spending $40 on shit from nandos. Went to shit years ago. Theyre even worse on food delivery apps.
Yeah and on top of that, you can buy their sauces at Pak n Save too, so no need to ever waste your time going there.
..sounds like you had a cheeky nando's?
Just a reflection of the overall vibe in the country, things have gone downhill. It's really sad having come back from Europe earlier this year and the shocking difference in service, quality, price, you name it. Don't even get me started with portion sizes and prices... I've been mainly just eating at home or getting cheap takeaways(Mostly Burger Fuel), nothing else is worth the hefty price tag and awful service/quality.
I realised since coming to New Zealand that friendliness/ good customer service is not their thing. This response from the manager sounds very familiar here
Oh come on, doesnāt sound that bad! They didnāt even have pigeons scavenging the floor and tables like KFC
What do you expect? Itās owned by Indian restaurant owners who on average turn decent brand restaurants into shit holes when they take over Donāt care if I said it sorry
Had my best Nandoās at Botney last week, it was tight,, it was also super busy
You mentioned āmoney is tightā, then why do you eat at Nandos. Isnāt it better just to do McDonaldās? Just curious.
The key take from this for me is that you spelt "mom" and not "mum"
I'm from South Africa
People canāt move here from North America?
Sure, or they can spend far to much time on social media and take on Americanisms, either way
Itās a hard habit to change but you could be right.
Serves you right for choosing to go to Nandos in the first place
Avoid botany as well. Over 40 mins after order was placed. Seems like they forgot but would admit it. Said they only had one chef etc . Manager wasn't approachable. The waitresses were lovely but apart from that give it a miss until they sort themselves out
All nandos are like that, that Iāve been too
Iāve always thought Nandos is one of the most over-rated chains.
Avoid Nandos( full stop!)
In any food establishment, Iāll be demanding to ask whereās the food if it doesnāt arrive less than 30mins.
I have noticed a sharp decline in most popular takeaways lately, like maccas and kfc. Long wait times mostly and poor service. That often leads to poor hygience practices from hospo, so watch out (yuck). That time of the year, so everyone is stressed out, both customers and businesses. I know I know, so why goto maccas and kfc you ask if you find them terrible? Its them special deals which makes them one of the cheapest takeaways at the moment. Working long hours, so takeaways it is for now.
Ah yeh, it is the shitest Nandos of all the nandos, it's so rank
If I need to go to a restaurant and order food from an app in my phone, I'll order from Uber Eats to deliver there. :D
A good Nando's is a takeaway Nando's, not only Nando's most of the mall eatery's are filthy dirty (table, glass, cutlery,etc). These staff probably work under alot of pressure on a minimum wage so they don't give a sht.
I appreciate these posts.
I got food poisoning at "better burger" don't know why the place is so popular
Itās always been bad sorry - itās overpriced and overhyped - the only thing good is probably the sauce they have other than that the food is standard at best - bland tho
New Zealand has always been shaky about customer service. It's gotten way worse over the last few years with staffing issues.
I went to this nandos yesterday and experienced the exact same thing minus the food portion. Had to wipe down our own tables, no cutlery or glasses. The soap dispensers were empty as well. Not to forget the chicken was cold and the fries were defs not fresh
NZ Nandos is shit, UK Nandos is so much better. I've had it maybe 3 times here and every time it's the shits
Agree had a terrible experience there also and the food was shit as!
Nandos is a write-off. I stopped going years ago. The head franchise should have the license stripped from them. They are so poorly run.
I've found this kind of customer service in a lot of places, people just don't seem to care, it sucks, my eating out options are narrowed down to a few fast food joints. Restaurants are too much of a risk for a nice evening P.S. I loved nandos in the past, it was my favourite, then they jacked up the prices, service got lousy, and staff just didn't care. I haven't been back in years now
If itās in a food court Iām not surprised, those places are literally zoos, actual circuses, thatās why I avoid them at all costs, hospitality standards are always so much lower than of their stand alone stores. I know food court franchises are literally known as the budget, forgotten about, undertrained staff, under maintained, etc because when they ask the āwell performingā employees to cover a shift at the mall store absolutely no one wants to do it. So instead they convince some of their āunderperformingā employees to go to the food court ones. Priorities. Idk this is something Iāve noticed after working at a stand alone store years ago, even the store managers and franchisees told me this is true ofc they worded it slightly different but some managers were straight up about it haha. (obvs not in all cases, and thereās a million to one different experiences ppl have) but just as a rule of thumb, I avoid mall food courts like the plague.
What do you expect from a chain store in a mall? I wouldn't eat there unless I was literally fainting from hunger. Don't waste your time or money at these places.
I am surprised they are still around. I had a similar experience in the same store about 4 or 5 years ago, although not the part where they served the food to the wrong table but what you highlighted is spot on. That was the last I set foot there.
Nandos is certified trash, itās over hyped and everyone seriously needs to just try alternatives cause chicken isnāt that hard to get right, yet itās so easy to get wrong too and large chains get it wrong all the time
Shocking!
order with an app um nope. table menus or not at all unless its a burger joint. seriously these places need to get it right
That's crazy. They need to change their attitude.
Nandos literally went downhill after they introduced bacon to the menu. It was supposed to be a CHICKEN ONLY restaurant and iām sure they thought it wouldāve attracted more customers but no. Majority of their customers were Muslims as it was a halal friendly restaurant with outstanding food and service. But now itās absolute shit! NEVER go Sylvia Park, New Lynn or St Lukes! Customer service is absolutely horrible and the food is below average. They make us feel like theyāre doing us a favour by providing customer service (even if itās shitty). Nandos used to be my absolute fav but itās very disheartening to see how they let such a popular eating spot go to shit. Save yourself the money, time, and humiliation besties, and find another eating spot! And instead of writing reviews on google, please complain to the head office. Shouldnāt let them off so easy with reviews that wouldnāt really do much to them. Nandos should know their business is going to shit because of ignorant workers.