Friday 25 November 2011

Nando's in Dublin


I have to say that I'm not a big fan of going to places that also sell meat products or meals but sometimes we have to face reality. Dublin has no vegan restaurants. Really. And just a few vegetarian places. And because me and Matteo cook at home every day sometimes all we want is to go out and have a good time outside. The only place we used to go that is not at least vegetarian is Rotana Cafe (and they have the best falafel in town). But yesterday things changed and we found out a new option.


I've heard about Nando's many times before. First cause a lot of my friends from the UK use to go there and second because a lot of my friends from Dublin use to go there too. But I always thought they wouldn't have anything suitable for vegans (they're a Portuguese chain specialized in spiced chicken) until a few weeks ago, when I read Hannah saying something about the place. So I decided to check the website and in their FAQ's they have a question related to options for vegans (just type "vegan" in the question box and search). So yesterday me and Matteo decided to go to the Dundrum Town Centre unit to see how things were for real.




Before we got a table Matteo asked if any of their burgers were suitable for vegans and the waitress said yes and told us they had a list of ingredients too. She brought us the menu and also a kind of brochure which has all the meals' ingredients and also marks for "suitable for vegetarians" and "suitable for vegans". I've seen in the website before that the veggie burger is suitable for vegans if you ask without mayonnaise and this was confirmed too. So we asked for a hummus starter to share and two veggie burgers with no mayonnaise and plus fries. They are also very clear about they way they prepare veggie food:

"Please note that Nando’s are not vegetarian restaurants and do not imply in any literature that we are. However we do take specific steps to segregate our vegetarian product from chicken products as follows:  A separate area of the grill is defined for the exclusive cooking of vegetarian and bean burgers; Separate utensils are always used with vegetable products; Separate bottles of the Nando’s bastes are used exclusively for basting the vegetarian products." (from their FAQ's)






The food was really good and also the atmosphere of the place. Staff was also very friendly. One other positive aspect is that they've opened a new location in town and they're open until late (23:00), which is rare in Dublin too.

5 comments:

Shanna Sandmoen said...

It's great that more and more establishments are at least attempting to serve vegan/vegetarians. I've noticed in the last five years more and more with separate menus and gluten free menus as well. Fantastic!

Unknown said...

The pitta and hummous to soooooo good. Could just eat that over and over.

Natalia said...

I hate going to those burger places because they smell and they don't serve anything for veg people. I'm not a big fun of burgers in general but will go to Nando's one day to check it out. I have a few veggie places in Dublin that I love and you might like them too: Govindas (3 locations in town), Delhi O'Deli (on Moore Street)- Indian veg street food - delicious!!!, Cornucopia, The Happy Pear (shop & restaurant), Blazing Salads (cafe),Cafe Fresh, Juice Restaurant and there is plenty of Asian restaurants that serve a lot of veg and vegan dishes, e.g. Kanum.

All about... (vegan) food said...

Hey Natalia, thanks for your comment. I know all these veg places in Dublin and go to most of them (Juice is closed since the end of November).

I have to say that I didn't come back to Nando's. Although it was the first place who sell meat where I could see the staff knows what's vegan food and are informed about their options, I got very upset when I saw their sign for the holidays saying "R.I.P. Turkey". Of course you can not expect nothing different for a place who makes money selling dead chickens but it made me feel even worst going there so me and Matteo decided not to come back.

Natalia said...

Thanks for the answer Glauce :). I didn't know that Juice is closed because, to be honest, since Delhi O'Deli opened, every time I want to go out for something to eat, I go there :). And p.s. I won't be going to Nando's, poor Turkeys and other animals...
Have a nice day!!!!

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