Nando's Opening in Mahon Point

BArra

i saw that the old bennigans floor space in mahon point is reopening next month with a new resturant!

was never impressed by bennigans, overpriced, stingy portions, does anyone know anything about nandos? they seem to specialise in peri peri spiced chicken

anyone know what they are like? they seem to be all over the place in the UK

will have to give it a try when they arrive, though jalpeno peppers leave me gasping for air so not sure how i will bear with peri peri

and also will they be doomed to the same fate as bennigans? its a massive floorspace

http://www.nandos.co.uk/index.cfm

Barr

Never heard of Nandos but not suprised Bennigans failed. Over priced rubbish !!

D-Generate

Nandos is all over the place in London, there are about 3 within 10 minutes walk from me. Its alright food and of the same level/status as say Scoozis. That being said, after eating there in London I checked the menu prices for the same stuff in Cork and it turns out you pay about 1.5 times more. Rip-off Ireland in full effect.

London
Double Chicken Fillet Pita + Chips = £10.50 = €12.42

Irish Menu
Same = €15.15

Now I know there is different tax rates but surely it isn't that much of a difference?

murphym7

Just looked at the menu - I predict this place will go the way of the Dodo. I give it 12 months. Someone did not do their market research.

Dan Dare

I liked Nandos when I lived in London. Will visit MP.

Faith

Nando's is already in Dublin, so it's been successful in the Irish market so far.

castie

Aye the one in Dundrum is always busy.

gimmick

Woohoo. Nandos is the job.

-Corkie-

Barr wrote: »

Never heard of Nandos but not suprised Bennigans failed. Over priced rubbish !!

I could never figure out that place. We often called there early enough on a saturday and the place would be empty nearly. You had to wait at the door for a girl to come over and you tell her a table for two please and they start looking around as if the place was packed..:rolleyes:.

Roar

with regards bennigans, yeah it was awful. i ordered a fish and chips there one day. it came out 5 minutes later, barely warm, with cold chips. needless to say i sent it back, and changed my order! horribly over priced kip, so it was.

Barr

Roar wrote: »

with regards bennigans, yeah it was awful. i ordered a fish and chips there one day. it came out 5 minutes later, barely warm, with cold chips. needless to say i sent it back, and changed my order! horribly over priced kip, so it was.

It was in a great location with the amount of people that pass through the shopping centre plus the cinema.

Nandos sounds like a nice alternative to the food court.

Hogzy

D-Generate wrote: »

Now I know there is different tax rates but surely it isn't that much of a difference?

Insurance, rent, wages are all more in Ireland so IMO those prices differences are more than reasonable tbh.

Kazbah

Super excited. Love love love Nandos!

Nonoperational

I thought Bennigans was ok!

JohnMearsheimer

I went to the Nandos in Cardiff a few times (not by choice after the 1st time) when I was living over there and I wasn't overly impressed with it. Very meagre and over priced portions for what you get.

pow wow

People queue up to get into the one that opened not so long ago in Belfast. Never been a huge fan, the chicken is always scraggy and pretty gross. I'm sure it'll be popular for at least a while when it arrives!

Trashbat

Glorified McDonalds TBH.

You have to queue up at the counter to place an order and then do the same each time you want more drinks.

The chicken is pretty flavourless in my experience, although its a good safe bet if your with picky eaters, as they can have chicken and pick their own sides.

Wouldn't go there again by choice, it makes pizza hit look good.

Hogzy

Trashbat wrote: »

Wouldn't go there again by choice, it makes pizza hit look good.

Well i would never recommend cheap knock offs of any fast food franchise

TheDriver

i could never understand why you would pay 12-13 euro for a burger and chips in Bennigans when AbraKebabra did exact same thing upstairs for half the price and nicer tasting!
I remember one day that they were out of 8oz burgers but had 4oz left. I asked about how come freshly made burgers couldn't be made from twice the 4oz to which she obviously had to admit they weren't as freshly made as we predicted.

hurleronditch

Hogzy wrote: »

Insurance, rent, wages are all more in Ireland so IMO those prices differences are more than reasonable tbh.

Not compared to central london, where cost of living is sky high, as are rents. Im not an insurance buff so that im not sure of.

D-Generate

hurleronditch wrote: »

Not compared to central london, where cost of living is sky high, as are rents. Im not an insurance buff so that im not sure of.

The London living wage (i.e. the proposed minimum wage) is also higher than that in Ireland so again that costs are higher than central London and even the outskirts is not excusable.

run_Forrest_run

I hear this place is closed down in Mahon Point already, is this true? If so, what a terrible business move by some clown.

kingtut

BArra wrote: »

will have to give it a try when they arrive, though jalpeno peppers leave me gasping for air so not sure how i will bear with peri peri

Just don't make the classic mistake of drinking water if it is too hot! The 2 seconds of relief might be nice but then it spreads the heat around your mouth and makes it even worse (best thing to have is milk or cucumber to combat spicy foods)

gimmick

run_Forrest_run wrote: »

I hear this place is closed down in Mahon Point already, is this true? If so, what a terrible business move by some clown.

AFAIK it just has not been opened yet.

run_Forrest_run

gimmick wrote: »

AFAIK it just has not been opened yet.

ah, that would make sense, I feel thick now

FunkyMissMonkey

Anyone know when it's opening? I always enjoyed Nando's back home (around Leeds) and I'm really looking forward to trying them out here too! OH and I used to share a platter, chicken and chips + sides, IMO good value and very tasty.

BArra

yeah think its delayed opening, they have only recruited staff and have to send em away for training, shud be before the end of the year though? im sure they will heavilly advertise once about to open

Big Tone

Came across Nandos in London back in the early 90s, nice Portuguese food from what I can remember, I'll definitely be checking it out.

Owen

I think the location was a death sentence for Bennigans. The only reason you go to that part of the shopping centre is if you need the toilet. It's buried in a corner, behind the kiddie cars, under the escalators, I'd even bet a lot of people who went into MP didn't even know it was there.

I ate there a few times, and it was nice. Like an Irish version of an american steak house, never had a problem with it, and the food was great. Just hope the location doesn't hurt Nandos either.

babo9

PaintDoctor wrote: »

I think the location was a death sentence for Bennigans. The only reason you go to that part of the shopping centre is if you need the toilet. It's buried in a corner, behind the kiddie cars, under the escalators, I'd even bet a lot of people who went into MP didn't even know it was there.

I ate there a few times, and it was nice. Like an Irish version of an american steak house, never had a problem with it, and the food was great. Just hope the location doesn't hurt Nandos either.

I'd say location too, but for completely different reasons, I think the general location of mahon point isn't really a great place for a restuarant. Anyone in there shopping is going to go for a quick fast food/cafe meal, anyone at the cinema is getting popcorn/ice cream etc. Only times I went there were with herself as part of the cinema deal, and that was only once or twice!

Come to think of it I don't think I know any shopping centres in Cork with big restuarants, usually they are cafes/fast food places or the quick carvery style restuarants, I could be wrong though!

gimmick

Nandos is more of a fast food restaurant than what Bennigans used to be. Id say it will do well.

Bennigans main problem was that it was fecking disgusting.