Eating out with Baby | Nando’s on Bay

Our neighbourhood welcomed a new restaurant and one whose opening was much anticipated by me! I rarely take the babies to dine out at a restaurant during opening month, let alone opening week, but that’s just what we did! Why the anticipation you ask? Simply because during my high school junior and senior years in Karachi Nando’s was a hangout spot and I was eager to relive the experience. I know there are a couple outlets spread out in the suburbs but I rarely get out there so one opening down the street from us was perfect! When we were invited I pretty much rushed out the door.. here’s to Foodie Tuesday!

Nando’s has always been a family oriented spot so I’m glad to see the same holds true at the downtown location. They spot is definitely a lot fancier than the setup I was used to growing up and I’m not complaining! I love the chic decor that contains many cool South African trinkets and bright colours. Woodsy wall decor and paintings call out to the authenticity and Nando’s PERI-PERI story and there’s definitely an upbeat vibe with the open kitchen scene. If you want to spy on your fresh (never frozen) chicken which has been marinated for 24 hours being whipped you can totally do so!

There’s plenty of space with tables and booths and we opted for the booth setup despite having a high chair as well. With Baby Boy around I like being able to have him lying on his back near me so I can easily feed him a bottle of milk as I sip on some wine! We took our industrial stroller and no one batted an eye when I wheeled it in. Gotta love that! Given the cold weather the umbrella stroller has been packed away so the large stroller accompanies us more often than not. Oh and yes.. change tables are available! 

I recommend getting comfortable in your seats and one person taking the order for the family.. you have to go up to the front to place your order and from then on-wards everything is brought to your table as per normal. You will have to go back to order dessert.. don’t forget that part!! The sauces are at the back wall so you an easily add on anything you’d like but be sure to grab any cups you may need when you place your order at the front. The servers are hustling and bustling around as it can get quite busy (atleast it was during opening week) but that didn’t stop one from chatting up the Little Monkey…she’s not one to converse with strangers but she was completely comfortable here! We had a couple servers so things got a bit confusing, especially since there’s different ones who clean up (and on occasion whip your plate before you’re done) but we eventually got everything we ordered and service was definitely fast! Not rushed though.

So let’s get to the real deal. How was the food? Was it as good as I remembered? YES! It was succulently delicious. I have never been a fan of regular chicken joints but I must admit that I love the PERI-PERI chicken on offer here. There’s various options from skewers to legs and even whole chicken! It’s actually perfect because it gives you the option to dine out as a group or solo, depending on your mood. In our case I had my parents and brother along  so I could sample as much as possible and we opted for a variety style share platter that had us devouring the half chicken, skewers and wings! We even had the option to mix up the spice level so we got extra hot and hot so that the Little Monkey could sample if she wanted to as well. There was a separate kids menu and she ended up with the quarter chicken from the Nandinos menu and licked the spice rice up! Should I mention that she got endless frozen yoghurt? Yes.. endless and it was self serve too! Since the Little Monkey likes a bit of a kick she enjoyed the PERI-tamer version versus the plain option that also exists for the Nandinos.

We tried quite a few dishes and even had my vegetarian mom along with us and you’ll be surprised by my favourite dishes.. highlight was the Grilled Chicken Livers…well spiced with garlic and PERI-PERI. I was nibbling at the crumbs even! The Portobello Mushroom with Halloumi Cheese and Chilli Jam was absolutely delicious! We got extra cheese and I had to restrain myself from finishing my mom’s meal. Oh and those PERI-PERI fries.. yeah.. get a double order!

I was very excited to try out their sangria but given that it was day two of the opening they were still waiting on their liquor license.. based on the instagram feeds I’ve seen they’ve got it now so you’ll be able to enjoy some wine and beer. The lack of booze had us order the fresh orange juice.. yes FRESH!  The Little Monkey drank an entire cup by herself. It was tough but I refrained from ordering a bottomless pint of soda. Self serve fountain so you can go crazy! Imagine the sugar high if I let the Little Monkey near that! My dad was hankering for some special Nando’s Lemonade he used to have in Karachi but they had no such thing on the menu – I’m assuming each country has a few tweaks of their own!

For dessert we ended the evening with a Nando’s Kisses, the endless Frozen Yoghurt and a Natas. I really enjoyed the warm Natas which were a version of the traditional Portuguese custard tarts and while I wanted to love the Nando’s Kisses I found it too rich for me after a heavy meal. I may swing by for a warm drink and a Nando’s Kisses one evening though. How can I not love chocolate ice cream rolled in chocolate? Yea exactly!!!

Check out the napkins… cute right?