Rebecca and I met for dinner at Nando's Peri-Peri on Friday night. If you haven't been to Nando's yet, bump it to the top of your places-to-try list! The newish Chinatown eatery features Portugese-style flame-grilled chicken served in a surprisingly chic setting, and it is absolutely delicious.
The concept is brilliant in its simplicity. You choose a chicken iteration (choices include wings, a quarter chicken, a half chicken, a chicken sandwich, chicken strips, and more), and then choose your level of spiciness - lemon & herb (for the sensitive palate), medium, hot, or extra hot. The chicken is grilled to order and brought to your table juicy, tender, and slathered in your choice of sauce. (The menu also offers some non-poultry choices like a steak sandwich and various salads, but trust me, you're here for the chicken.) We both ordered the quarter chicken -I got mine hot, and Rebecca got hers extra hot.
Heat mongers will love this place - this chicken was truly spicy, not dumbed-down spicy. And in case the extra-hot just isn't hot enough, there's a condiment station stocked with an assortment of flavorful spicy sauces so that you can take matters into your own hands and dial it up a notch. We each got a side of mashed potatoes, which were rich and garlicky, the perfect foil to the tear-jerking heat of the chicken.
The food is casual, yet the experience feels sophisticated thanks to a hip interior (exposed brick, lots of art on the walls, and oversized plants in giant clay pots) and a nice drink menu, replete with Portugese beers and wines. A glass of cool Cara Viva rosé was the perfect imbibement, refreshing my palate between fiery bites of chicken.
How good is this chicken? It's so good that I convinced Jason to go there with me yesterday for lunch. Forty-eight hours was too long to go without.
Good to know:
Nando's is located at 819 7th Street, NW. Exit the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro stop toward H Street, and continue north on 7th. It's on the right-hand side about halfway down the block.
Photos by Flickr user Mr. T in DC.
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4 comments:
no way! i thought nando's was a south african chain =P. we ate there with some frequency this summer. that's hilarious. i can't believe it's come to d.c.!
interesting! i knew it was an international chain, but didn't realize it was so prevalent in south africa! i think this is their first location in the states. they've actually got a second location planned for dc too!
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I am visiting Edinburgh from the U.S. and ate at Nando's tonight for the first time (had never heard of it before). The chicken was so so delicious, and the hot was nicely spicy. Lovely looking menus too. Too bad there are no Nando's in NYC. Can't wait to go back, probably tomorrow.
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