Can't comment on Nando's but loads of my mates love Subway, I can't understand why. In an area with loads of great local sandwich shops, they still visit subway regularly...

>>5883
Nandos feels like a proper restaurant, but is as predictable (and consistent) as a McDonald's. I.e. you get the ease of eating fast food without the "stigma" of eating fast food. Add in that it's not especially expensive and you're onto a winner, even if their actual food is not great.

As for Subway... no idea.

>>5883
Nando's is shit. It's regular fast food with a ton of capsaicin added as an afterthought. Uninspiring food for uninspiring people.

Subway is ok in my books though. Nothing to write home about but still one of the rare sources of healthy fast food.

>>5886
>Healthy.
Lad.

Nando's isn't especially great, but there's not much you can do wrong with sticking chicken and chillies together in some pitta bread. I don't mind eating there if people want to, even though I can never help thinking how easily I could have just made the same meal at home in the time it took to go to the restaurant.

Subway is just proper shit, though. Their ingredients are horrendously low quality.

Nandos is very poor by any stretch of the imagination. The meat is horrible and the chips are uninspiring. It is incredibly bland and largely popular with boring people. Pino Grigio at an office get-together sort of thing, junior management women with that school secretary look about them. Grey suit trousers. They might even say stuff like "dead classy" and keep dead twigs in a white vase near their TV. They like Dido.

Anyway fuck Nandos. A friend of mine worked there and basically told me never to eat any of the chicken. That kind of accolade made my mind up. Even Wetherspoons is better than Nandos, in that you can actually order something reasonably nice from a menu. You can see into the kitchen in one of the Spoonses in my hometown, and that's pretty reassuring.

Anyway Spoons isn't great but it's better than Nandos. But why would you bother going to either when every town in the country has a better, cheaper option?

>>5886

Oh mate no it isn't healthy though is it come on now

>>5889
>t is incredibly bland and largely popular with boring people. Pino Grigio at an office get-together sort of thing, junior management women with that school secretary look about them. Grey suit trousers. They might even say stuff like "dead classy" and keep dead twigs in a white vase near their TV. They like Dido.

You just described my girlfriends mother. This is going in the Christmas card this year.

>>5889
I thought Spoons did all there food in those horrible frozen bags and just microwaved it?

I've heard of Subway but not these others. Oh well.

>Nandos is very poor by any stretch of the imagination. The meat is horrible and the chips are uninspiring.

I can't see that the meat is that bad. It's just fresh A-grade chicken which has been flame grilled and doused in hot sauce. It's hardly inspiring, but it's not objectively bad either. To criticise simply prepared fresh food like that but praise over-processed shit like Wetherspoon's is weird.

>>5897

It isn't fresh, simply prepared or indeed "grade A". The chickens they use are battery farmed and usually class B. It's covered in artificial sauces which are bland yet full of flavour enhancers (rather than actual ingredients) resulting in a terrible mess of nasty textures and greasy seasoning. Whether you agree with the ethics of intensive farming or not, it produces a much lower grade of meat. If you're used to bad meat, then Nandos probably doesn't taste that different, but it really is low grade stuff.

While Spoons is a far cry from fine dining, it has a more interesting menu with better ingredients. The beef is Farm-Assured, they bother to use Maris Piper spuds, the sausages are free from crap, the eggs are free range, the fish is sustainably caught... It's still Spoons, the puddings are still microwaved and the curries come from a tub, but it's better quality food than Nandos for a fraction of the price.

But they have bottomless drinks at Nandos!

>>5899

Of cheap syrup mixed with flat soda water coming out of dirty lines.

>>5898

Look, I don't mean to be argumentative, but you're just wrong by the source I looked at prior to making the previous post.

http://www.theprintworks.com/the_place/venues/nandos/

So it's fresh, A-grade chicken marinated for 24 hours and grilled to order. What now?

>>5895

You've never heard of Wetherspoons? What manner of cave have you been living in? They sell cheap beer and passable grub, it's my temple. They steaks are the only thing I'll eat mind you because I know they grill them fresh.

What about Yates or Sizzling? Note: Yates is balls.

>>5885

Not especially expensive?! Lad, it's about £14 for a beer, shitty bit of chicken and a fistful of chips. I've only been to Nandos once and can happily say I'll never return. When I dine out, I like to be so full that I feel sick afterwards... Nandos wouldn't fill the stomach of a starving Ethiopian.

>>5901

Lad, the website for an entertainment complex in Manchester isn't a valid source of information.

For starters, "A-grade" actually doesn't mean anything. I can legitimately bludgeon a chaffinch to death and sell it as "A-grade". In the UK we have a meat class system - Class A and Class B. It isn't even particularly relevant.

The fact that it's been marinated for 24 hours doesn't change the quality of the chicken. It arguably masks the taste and texture of mediocre meat, but it isn't a refined cooking technique and definitely doesn't merit the prices.

If you don't mean to be argumentative, why are you voraciously defending a mediocre institution with non-facts derived from extraneous sources? I suggest you reassess your allegiance and stop eating at terrible restaurants.

>>5902

The Spoons steaks are pretty reasonable. They aren't generally the best examples of their cuts, but they stand up to basic inspection and tick all their respective boxes. I've often wondered why the steak sauces are advertised as "suitable for vegetarians" though.

>>5904
Less than £15 quid for a meal out in a restaurant-type place featuring semi-table service is what I consider "not especially expensive". Whether it's value for money is different question entirely and in that regard I'd agree.

> Nandos wouldn't fill the stomach of a starving Ethiopian.
I disagree. The "half a chicken with two sides" is reasonably filling (for me, at least, and at a touch over 15st I'm not exactly a minimalist when it comes to eating).

Anyway, it's not like I'm recommending the place, but it's so thoroughly bland, average and uninspired that it's hard to actually find something to genuinely dislike about it. I don't get the rave either, but I find the almost visceral hatred some people have of the place equally baffling.

>>5906

No visceral hatred, lad, just a scathing disregard for a bad product. Maybe we just have higher standards than you.

>>5907
> Maybe we just have higher standards than you.
Must be it.

I'm going to be controversially un-edgy and say that I like Nandos. If a mate of mine said let's go to Nandos I would not recoil in disgust. I have bottles of Peri Peri sauce in my fridge and I use them on my own chickens.

inb4 cretinous inchworm or whatever the latest forced meme of the day is

Incidentally this is what Nandos say about their chicken on their website. Notably there is no mention of what class they may be.
_{Currently, Nando’s uses barn-reared chickens. Our whole chickens are sourced from the UK and supplied to us fresh by Faccenda and Freemans of Newent, who supply our halal chickens.
A small percentage of our chicken breast fillets are sourced from Holland and Germany as demand for this product outweighs supply in the UK. We do not purchase battery reared chickens or any manufactured chicken product.
We insist on the highest standards of hygiene and quality from our suppliers, who comply with the ACP (Assured Chicken Production) industry standards. Our barn-reared chickens are housed in deep littered, well-ventilated barns and have constant access to food and water. They are fed non-GM feed and are free from antibiotic growth promoters.
As part of a continuous process of reviewing all aspects of our supply to make certain our products are properly and ethically sourced. We are also actively looking at RSPCA Freedom Foods and Free Range chicken.
Nando’s prides itself in offering great tasting food at great value. Chicken welfare is of utmost importance however we also need to consider the price our customers are willing to pay.}

It tastes quite nice but is quite expensive for the portion sizes. I cannot muster any more enthusiasm for the topic than that. It's alright, nothing more, nothing less.

Buying their marinade from the shops allows me to enjoy a heartier portion for less money, though, so I'd rather do that sometimes than go to the place.

I've not been in a long time, but Nando's fillet burger and chips is probably the best meal I've ever eaten. Bunch of poncy Frenchies in this thread. Some of you will probably suspect me of attempting to troll, but I'm dead serious.

Nandos have got really stingy with their portions, when they first started over here it was actually quite good value, not any more.

I remember going into a Nandos in Croydon about 8 years ago and being the only white person in there :/

>>5920

Racist

>>5891
>keep dead twigs in a white vase near their TV
My girlfriend's mum actually has this. Are we dating the same woman?

>>5912
I shall join you and fester in un-edgy-ness. Yes, I could cook similar at home, but what you really pay for is for someone to cook and clean for you, as well as the food itself. Good place to go if you want to get out the house but don't have too much money to spend. I usually go for the mash rather than chips though, I must admit. And from experience it seems that some places are better than others so maybe I'm just lucky/ all of you are unlucky.

I'd place it in the same league as places like Bella Italia or Pizza Express, rather than Maccy Dees. Stuff you could do yourself, but they just do it a little bit better, and isn't made by deep fast frying chunks of offal.

>>5987
But Bella Italia is shite and you could do it better yourself.

>>5989
I don't know, haven't been there for years, was just the first thing that came to my head.

HUNGRY Ross Dance bit into a Nando's chicken wrap — and found he was chomping on a live FROG. The horrified diner managed to spit out the 4in-long animal, but fears he may have already eaten one of its legs.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3968219/Hoppy-Meal.html

He looks hopping mad.

>>5912
>barn-reared chickens
Doesn't really mean anything.

>We do not purchase battery reared chickens
This would depend on whose definition of "battery farm" you use.

>ACP (Assured Chicken Production) industry standards
Industries can invent their own standards for anything and then stick a nice shiny label on the packaging. Only independent standards are worth anything.

>We are also actively looking at RSPCA Freedom Foods and Free Range chicken.
And I'm actively looking at buying a Ferrari but it's not going to happen any time soon.

I think we've essentially established that Nando's is mediocre at best, that their constant waffling about quality means precisely fuck all, and that their target demographic is the dull, semi-chavvy, dead-twigs-in-a-vase brigade.

>>7105
Are you telling me that Are Ross in >>7103 is part of the 'dull, semi-chavvy, dead-twigs-in-a-vase brigade'?

>>7106

He can barely adjust his face to make a recognisable expression. He's an accounts manager and he has a wife called Karen. The amount of potpourri and dead twigs in his (mostly white, tan and beige) sitting room is probably enormous. Karen probably says stuff like "dead classy" and I bet this is the most interesting thing that will happen in their entire lives.

>>7107

I giggled.

>>7104
>Doesn't really mean anything.
>depend on whose definition of "battery farm" you use

So let me get this straight, you're saying that the words 'barn-reared' and 'battery-reared' do not mean what they say they mean? Explain yourself. Do you think Nando's wouldn't be done for misleading customers if they were happy to advertise that they do not purchase battery hens when in fact they do?

>>7111

Most battery farming is done in barns. All chickens are barn reared, whether they're confined in cages or not.

Now, I'm not him and I don't think they're outright lying, but they're not telling the truth either, and their chicken is not free-range Class A like they're eager to imply it is with their "barn-raised A-grade" talk.

>>7112
But they said their chicken is not battery, so your syllogism is bollocks.

They are implying their chicken is free range by stating it's barn-raised? Are you mental or something?

>>7113

Hahaha

Just passed this post in * and found that sentence completely representative of the bollocks chatted on .gs

>They are implying their chicken is free range by stating it's barn-raised? Are you mental or something?

>>7114

Herring? Like the fish? Are you MENTAL or something?

>>7113
When they say that their chicken is not battery they use the technical definition of battery, but the public generally think battery farming is just anything involving cages. So what they say is completely true, but misleading at the same time.

Also, their assertion that they don't use battery farming is a red herring anyway.
-It will actually be illegal to use battery farms from next year, so they don't really have a choice about this.
-and battery farming is mainly only used for eggs, the only way a battery farmed chicken would ever end up on your plate will be as a processed lump of meat covered in batter.

>>7111
The ASA is ineffectual enough as it is when it comes to punishing companies for complete lies. When companies write things like this about their products, everything they say can be argued as being entirely true, but they rely on the ignorance of the public to make them think it means something else.

>>7113

>They are implying their chicken is free range by stating it's barn-raised?

Of course they are.

>>7115
Chat is an intransitive verb, fuck you.

My friends dragged me to Nandos yesterday, it just strikes me as a slightly more upmarket KFC but mainly for people incapable of properly seasoning their own cooking.

I wish I'd bought shares a few years back, mind. They must have skyrocketed.

>>5902
I know someone who worked at spoons. The steaks are green before they are cooked. Also they treat staff like shit.

Never been to a Nando's but I'm a Subway fan. You get the convenience of fast food but less grease than Burger King or Macdonald's. And I like how you can actually choose exactly what goes on your sub. I'm sure the ingredients aren't super top notch but no fast food ever will be.

Are you by any chance friends with a number of "LADs"?

If so, this is why.
They are mental for eating that crap.

>>8690
I was first introduced to Nandos by a friend I met at university, who wasn't exactly a LAD, but decidedly working class. I was horrified that I was supposed to eat chicken with my hands, having been raised by middle-class parents to always respect proper table etiquette. It didn't even taste good.

>>8689
Can't you get that at any sandwich shop?

>>5987

>I'd place it in the same league as places like Bella Italia or Pizza Express, rather than Maccy Dees. Stuff you could do yourself, but they just do it a little bit better

Bella Italia, Zizzi, Nandos and especially Pizza Express all fall into a class of eatery I call "mediocre food for mediocre people". The culinary equivalent of an All-Bar-One.

If I'm paying twice the price of what it'd cost to produce at home, I expect a meal that's twice as good - and in these places you simply don't receive it.

Not that I'm really complaining that someone took the time to look for a related thread before posting, but this thread is almost 2 years old.

I remember posting in it, but it was so long ago that I no longer recognise which post might be mine. Still, I've not been to Nandos yet and I noticed one in Stirling. Seeing this thread again has put me right off again, so probably worked out best.

I've been once. Never again.

Thankfully it seems the place is so fucking popular now there's an hour or two to wait to eat there, so I never have to face it even if my idiot friends want it. "Oh no but we're hungry now, that's a shame we'll have to go somewhere that actually sells food"

I have been to a Halal nandos. I don't mind nandos, I don't know why everyone is up in arms about it.

>>8696

Food snobbery is a socially acceptable form of cuntery?

Still, I agree with them for the most part. I really like chicken, cook it all the time. The stories I hear do not endear the place to me.

>>8697
>Food snobbery is a socially acceptable form of cuntery
How dare you post this on /nom/. Fuck you.

>>8694
I wouldn't have been arsed to trawl through all the pages in the hope the thread still existed. It's a good job we have the catalogue. I didn't realise the thread was so old, though. I sort of enjoy reading (or guessing which ones are) my old posts.

>>8698

Now, now. I'm implicit in it, but that doesn't mean I don't recognise it for what it is.

I'm the guy who replies in disgust everytime someone posts about putting milk in their tea. Are you trying to insinuate, regardless of wether or not I'm right or wrong, I'm not a cunt?

>>8699
>I didn't realise the thread was so old, though.
Yeah, it's not like each post has a timestamp telling you when it was posted, is it?

>>8701
I meant before I clicked on the thread in the catalogue, silly sausage.

I'd honestly rather eat at Maccy D's since unlike Nando's I can't cook it at home cheaper, better, and without the company of twig-bothering HR staff. Blumenthal himself would struggle to recreate the ethereal, sponge-like burgers in question.

There's something quite sad about people seeing a place like Nando's as aspirational. It reminds me of reading about some poorer, Asian countries where eating KFC is treated as a formal night out.

>>8703
McDonald's does nothing for me. The fries taste like warm, salty paper and the burgers are incredibly bland and tasteless.

At least at Burger King the burgers taste meaty, even if it is horse.

>>8692
Well I don't know of a great number of independant sandwich shops where I live. So given a choice between Subway or Maccy's, I'll easily choose Subway.

>>8705
If I've read /sentry/ right (probably not) then you're from Hull. If you're in town then go to Trinity Market, there's a couple of sandwich stalls that don't look like much but offer cracking sandwiches.

I posted >>5912 two years ago and thought I'd check if Nando's policy had changed. It's nearly identical, except that they've removed the bit about getting chicken breasts from Holland and Germany (even though they still qualify all the chicken they source from Britain being "whole") and, suspiciously, the part about the chickens being "fed non-GM feed and are free from antibiotic growth promoters". Hmmmmm.

>>8706
Never been to Hull in my life I'm afraid. Problem with where I am is it's full of tourists, so really easy to get ripped off with them if you're not careful.

I like Nando's. I have no delusions as to what it is, but that's pretty tasty food for not a lot of money.

>>8706
Ahh Freshco, next to that barmy Italian guy selling home made pizzas and pasta! They offer good scotch eggs.
Do you remember Skeltons selling cheesy scotch eggs, with a layer of cheese between the meat and egg?

>>8706
Has the pizza bloke fucked off for good? The sandwich stall next to him is amazing, I'm assuming it's one of the ones you're on about. Newland Carvery is also great for a carvery-in-a-sandwich.

>>8849
I can't say I've seen him in a while. Last time I was in Newland Carvery the woman there kept offering me meat to try, afterwards I barely had room for the sandwich I'd bought. I've also heard that there's a sandwich shop about 100 yards down Hessle Road that's very generous with the fillings they give you and I still need to try Olive Garden on Prinny Ave.

Since we're talking about nice independent places do any of you know anywhere good outside the Arndale Market in Manchester?

>>8878
>I still need to try Olive Garden on Prinny Ave.

Had a Mediterranean Melt from Olive Tree today. Ruddy gorgeous. No wonder the Subway down there is always dead.

>>5902

The food at spoons isn't passable. The mash is hydrated powder and the meat (even the 'steaks' 'pork chops' and bacon) is microwaved, reformed and barely hit for humans.

Theres a reason you can get a hot meat and 2 veg meal and a pint for 5 quid...

>>9194
n1 m9. dat 25 month old post dont no wots hit it.

>>9194

This is demonstrably false, lad. I worked there, you're a complete berk.

Ask down your local about how they cook their stuff and what produce they use, you'll get a demo. Their meat isn't reformed in anyway.

>>9194
Careful with that axe, Eugene

>>9193
Sad to think that on one of our fanciest avenues the best food place is a sandwich shop, isn't it? Bar a few which are obviously wank before you even go in I've eaten everywhere down Prinny Ave and nowt's impressed me that much. A mate of mine was a chef at Boar's Nest and the owner packed up and moved to South Cave, his comment being "people come down here to get pissed, I'm not going to get taken seriously as a restaurant down here".

On the topic of delightful indie establishments, though, have any of you hullfa.gs been to English Muse for a nice coffee yet? It's not bad. More and more coffee shops popping up, it's good to see.

>>9196

I can second this. Furthermore, especially considering what you pay for it, their meat is actually surprisingly good quality.

And the mash is brought in frozen, not dehydrated.

>>9198
My favourite down there is Thai House. Laundry is alright, but I found the service quite poor.

Aside from Raj Pavilion I reckon the best places are around town; Lion & Key, Garbo's, Wilson on the marina does a fantastic gammon and chips and if you can afford it then the food at 1884 is exquisite. I've also heard good things about Swadh on the old Hedon Road.

I've never heard of English Muse, it sounds like the kind of place you'd get down Newland Ave.

>>8703

In fairness that's how Americans see us with Pizza Hut; in fact our Pizza Huts are far more upmarket than they are Stateside. I think it's the same for KFC in many Asian countries.

>>9198
>>9200

I've always found the Real Sandwich shop in Ezzle square and just along from the McDonalds in town really nice, their Turkey/cranberry/stuffing bap has helped overcome many rough heads.

I'm quite fond of that Hitchcock's Vegetarian restaurant in town, you can take in your own booze too. The only weird thing is how it's a buffet. Napoleon's restaurant isn't too bad either from what I can remember, though we just got a cheap meal each and won back enough to cover the meal and a taxi home with the vouchers they give you...

>>9202
I've been to Hitchcocks many times and I almost always end up bored by the food as it tends to be bland and stodgy. The only time I've been impressed was when they had some lovely marinated carrots. If it wasn't for the puddings I'd leave their hungry.

If you're after veggie food then Zoo isn't bad. It always tickles me when their specials are whatever is on offer at Jack Fultons across the road.

(A good day to you Sir!)

>>9203
Banned for mixing up their and there? This is why I shouldn't post on my phone while I'm having a poo at work; I was literally shitposting.

>>9236

It was the correct use of "their" but

>their specials are whatever is on offer

>>9238
What should it say?

>>9239

In the context of the original sentence:

>when their specials or whatever are on offer at Jack Fultons across the road.

>>9240

Maybe it should be "Jack Fulton's" with an apostrophe too but some establishments omit the apostrophe in their name.

>>9240
But that means something different. What he was saying is that the specials menu comprises whatever happens be on offer at Jack Fulton.

>>9238
I thought it would have been for

>If it wasn't for the puddings I'd leave their hungry.

>>9241
I've just looked it up. They're actually called Fultons Foods.

There seems to be a few of us up early this morning.

>>9242

You're right. I completely misinterpreted it.

>>9244

It's amazing how my eyes and brain autocorrect their/there mix-ups. I was picking out spurious grammatical errors like a blackout drunk confabulating memories to fill in the blanks.

>>9200
>Laundry is alright
You think? I thought their menu was trying to be fancy but their chefs just couldn't match up to it. I took our department there for Christmas dinner and everyone's food came a bit wrong somehow, my rosti was rock hard and more people's veg was "a bit too al dente" (the phrase that was getting thrown around). Also the only two people that had steak got food poisoning.

I went to 1884 the other night and it was honestly the best dining experience I've ever had without having to leave Hull for it. Not quite on par with Pipe & Glass near Bev, obviously, but not as pricey either. I'm now desperate for an excuse to go back.

Never tried Hitchcock's, nor have I tried Green Ginger but I've wanted to for a while. I'm just not a big fan of mushrooms and I've heard veggie types tend to eat a lot of them because they secretly miss meat and mushrooms are as close as they can get.

Without turning this into yet another Hull thread (too late for that, soz everyone else), I'd love some more recommendations around here as I'm running out of new places to eat.

>>9299
>they secretly miss meat
You don't really know any vegetarians, do you?

>>9300
I was just being a cock. I know a few. I once watched a vegetarian ease his way back into meat-eating by having a tuna sandwich. He basically orgasmed right there in the pub.

>>9299
It's well over a year since I went to Laundry, but I found the food very agreeable. I guess it helps that when I went it was almost empty and the chefs won't have been rushed like they would over Christmas.

There's not a lot of mushrooms at the buffet at Hitchcocks. It's a different theme every night (whoever books first for the night gets to choose the menu) but it's quite bland. I think that their core clientele* are so grateful just to have a vegetarian restaurant instead of having to make yet another choice between a cheese and tomato tart or five bean chilli that they lap it up regardless.

If you like fish then I recommend Lion & Key. The chefs there used to work at Ceruttis, which is probably the best fish restaurant in Hull but it's very dated and a bit stuffy inside. Tony Cerutti is very welcoming, though. I'm also fond of Green Dragon in Welton, it's a Marstons but the food is far superior to what's on offer at the likes of Goldcrest and Warton Arms.

<sub>As far as I can tell, there are 3 main groups of people you will see at Hitchcocks:-

1. Students who like the informal hippy vibe.
2. People who have dragged their friends, date or family there for a special occasion, usually a birthday. If it's family then the dad will invariably make a quip about having a plate full of chips and nothing else or popping to a takeaway on the way home to get a burger. The stubborn attitude of the dad makes the veggie more determined to like Hitchcocks.
3. Banshees. Groups of up to 20 women who spend the evening working their way through several bottles of wine and cackling like witches. They're too pissed to care what's actually on the plate in front of them.</sub>

>>9302

>Banshees

Oh Jesus Christ that description triggered my PTSD. No good can come of a table like that, and apparently they don't even tip as they are protecting their fucking pooled 'kitty' like its the holy sacrament. Just shuffle credit cards like normal fucking people. But try to refuse them service, I dare you.

>>9302
>Cerutti's
I was going to bung that in my post and ask if anyone's tried it, actually. It's always closed when I wander past but I've heard nothing but good things about the menu. Two Rivers in The Deep is apparently shite food and you're basically just sitting in a canteen that's had an evening makeover but I still want to try it out.

Speaking of dated and stuffy inside, have you tried Lantern on Whitefri'gate? I went years not even knowing it's there but I went in January and the food is just great. It's supposed to be Cypriot food but everyone I know that's been has had steak because they were told the steak is amazing. I had the steak, it was amazing. Paid the reasonable £17 for a fillet and it didn't disappoint at all. You pay for your veggies on the side but if you're paying £17 for steak then £3 for something to go with doesn't really take the piss. Decor is reminiscent of a Teddy's Amusements that hasn't been done up since the seventies, plastic ornaments and dusty curtains and all that. We had the restaurant to ourselves, I'd love to go again in spite of the time travel.

>>9316
I've been to Two Rivers with work, it's not in the canteen. We were sat between the sharks and the Amazon tank. I can't recall much about the food, though.

I've never been to Lantern but I've had it recommended before. I might look into it.

>>9318
I went to Lantern again on Wednesday and was again the only person in the restaurant for some time. However, I was treat like a king and my steak was amazing. If you can catch them when they're open, I highly recommend you go.

>>9347
Another Hull lad here, I shall check out Lantern, is that the one next to that leather jacket shop that is obviously some seedy ciggy smuggling front and up those stairs?

I know I'm more than a little late to this thread, but I might as well throw my oar in as I ate at a Nando's for the first time a few weeks ago. I had basically the OP with a coke, no dessert. I'm surprised they're a rising success because to me it just tasted like fast-food chicken and fast-food chips. Which is alright, I'm not that snobby about my food, but it cost over a tenner and for that kind of money I expect (and can easily get elsewhere) some proper food.

Won't be going there again unless I can't avoid it.

>>9443
Yes it is and it's amazing. I'm surprised you actually pinpointed its location, it's quite easy to walk right past even if you're looking for it.

I've actually been back again because my friend wanted steak last week and I didn't know where else to take him. I'll recommend you get the fillet steak because it really is perfect and supplement with some french fried onions (onion rings) and the peppercorn sauce but whatever you decide to get do let me know how it is because I feel a bit bad getting the same thing every time I go back.

To put things into scope, I regularly eat three meals a day consisting of fish and sometimes have to make the conscious effort to eat something that isn't fish, Lantern has a menu with about ten different kinds of fish and I don't even give them a look after trying that steak. It's really a case of "I could try this... but I know I'm going to leave happy with the steak".

>I regularly eat three meals a day consisting of fish
Are you married to a fishmonger or something?

>>9445
Maybe a "Hullfag" meeting may be in order at the Lantern in the next year or so. Would be a laugh, then we could get trolleyed on the Marina or in the Olde White Hart.

>>9447
Didn't there used to be a truly vile sailor's pub by one of the dock entrances? It's either there or in immingham. Unbelievably rough.

>>9448
There are a few really gash pubs in the Saltend side of the city, truly awful. Plimsoll Hotel in Witham ranks highly on the shit scale.

>>9449
As does the rest of Witham.

>>9449
Really... gash... pubs?

>>9446
No, I'm just a stickler for fish.

>>9447
I'm soon to become a "Mancfag", actually, but that does sound like a good idea - I've actually never been out around Old Town. Given the nature of Hull, you know we'd all get there and already know each other somehow.

>>9451
Sandringham in Paragon Square is a good example of such a pub too, really terrible. Probably a good place pick up any 40-50 year olds for a shag.

>>9502
A example of a gash pub?

>>9503
Gash is also common slang for rubbish, matey. Although it's more a sailor/cannon fodder saying.

>>9504
If you say so. I thought it was a vulgar reference to lady parts.

>>9506

It's both.

>>9506
Don't be a cunt.

>>5889
>Anyway Spoons isn't great but it's better than Nandos. But why would you bother going to either when every town in the country has a better, cheaper option?

Very late to the party here but my local 'Spoons (Zachariah Pearson, to continue the Hullfa.gs theme) do kids eat free, so my missus and I can have a burger with a J20/Pepsi and the kids can have pasta, spag bol, a mini roast of the day or sausages and mash with a Fruit Shoot and see change from a tenner.

For comparative purposes, the equivalent from Pizza Hut, Frankie & Benny's or another pub chain would be around £30-£45 for no discernible difference in quality. Last time we went to Ask it cost over £20 on food and drink just for our two kids, but I'm adamant that the service there is deliberately glacial so you'll spend more on drinks.

I'd never go to 'Spoons without the kids, though.

>>9512

>I'd never go to 'Spoons without the kids, though.

BROKEN BRITAIN

Went to Nandos today because it was the only source of food open in the sad little shopping mall I found myself in. I have come to the conclusion that the whole operation was designed from the ground up to accommodate people who do not belong in a proper restaurant, and I include both the customers and staff in this judgement. The first sign is the fact they assign you a table, but then make you get up and walk to a counter to order and pay for your food, which threw me entirely off balance. Why do this? Why employ servers at all? Why not just construct a spicy chicken trough in the centre of the floor? I suppose it's because they can't trust the plebs who are their target audience to pay after their meal like normal humans.

The food was fine, it was warm and tasted like chicken, so somebody's done the research at least, but unwisely they had built an open kitchen in the place, and I managed to spot four or five pretty serious violations of the food safety act. I had to stop watching them before I got depressed. I accept that no kitchen is perfect, but if you're at the point where you don't even care that people can see you failing to wash your hands and throwing allergens all over your station, then you're at rock bottom.

Restaurants are quite possibly the last business that actually has a decent amount of independently owned ventures, each unique and most very high quality indeed, and it's depressing to see a line outside of yet another chain. There's an hour wait at Nandos but there's a rosette cafe down the road that will make you the worlds tastiest toad in the hole for less than a large mcnandos and cheese, and it's half fucking empty. Because people want to walk into any city in the country and get their usual at Starbucks, cafe rouge, giraffe, or so it appears.

>>9514

>Because people want to walk into any city in the country and get their usual at Starbucks, cafe rouge, giraffe, or so it appears.

Careful lad, sounds like you are thinking a little too much for modern Britain. Any more like this and you'll be off to Gitmo.

>>9514
That's an impressive review. It made me revisit my memories of visiting that shithole of a "restaurant". Do more reviews on different restaurants mate.

>>9514
I've never been in one and never will after reading this thread, but this business about going to a counter and paying before you've eaten: is there actually a waiter/waitress or not? I suppose it sounds a bit like a Wetherspoons.

>the plebs who are their target audience
A major reason people who don't even aspire to Nandos go on Jeremy Kyle and play the fool is because the producers put them up in a hotel, and they've never stayed in a hotel before. A lot of people don't know that.

>>9514
>Why not just construct a spicy chicken trough in the centre of the floor?

This image is wonderful.

>>9520

> A major reason people who don't even aspire to Nandos go on Jeremy Kyle and play the fool is because the producers put them up in a hotel, and they've never stayed in a hotel before. A lot of people don't know that.

c'mon then; us takin t'kids t'travelodge up donny

>>9514

> Restaurants are quite possibly the last business that actually has a decent amount of independently owned ventures, each unique and most very high quality indeed

I'm wont to agree with you, but once I learned to do a bit of basic cooking I found out that most restaurants are actually pretty pants. If I pay five times what it'd take me to produce the same meal at home, I'd like a meal that's about five times better. I very rarely get it.

>>9525

Agreed. With the right ingredients and decent recipes, it's quite easy to match, and often exceed the level of cooking found in the vast majority of restaurants.

>>9526

Of course plenty of places aspire to be nothing more than sustenance at a slight profit, and the number of restaurants that make you say "how did he do that" decrease as your culinary knowledge increases, but there reaches a certain level of cooking where your thought is "now why didn't I think of that", and the meal is always enjoyable, no matter how faithfully you could recreate it at home.

But there are restaurants for people who just don't happen to be at home when they're hungry, and then there are restaurants for people who leave their house to go visit them. The difference should be obvious but both should be saved from the wrath of Nandos.

>>9519

I will be taking requests. Chains would be the best, of course, but I'm willing to pencil in any local oddities if I happen to be in the area.

>>9514
Bill Bryson has written about this. This was in the late nineties regarding America. Is it time to worry that it's applying to us too?

_{I remember the first time I tasted European chocolate. It was in the central railway station in Antwerp on 21 March 1972 my second day in Europe as a young backpacker. While waiting for a train I bought a bar of Belgian chocolate from a station kiosk, tore off a bite, and, after a moment of startled delight, began to emit a series of involuntary rapturous noises of an intensity sufficient to draw stares from 20 yards away. You know how a baby eats a bowl of pudding - with noise and gusto and an alarming amount of gurgly drool? Well that was me. I couldn't help myself. I didn't know that chocolate could be this good. I didn't know that anything could be this good. American chocolate bars, as you are perhaps aware, are mysteriously bland affairs. I have been told that it wasn't always so. Many times I have heard from people of my parents generation that when they were young American chocolate bars packed a proper wallop - that they were fatter, creamier, more lusciously endowed with nuts and nougat and gustatory ecstasy. My father reminisced fondly about candy bars of the 1920s so chewy that they would take most of the day to eat and a couple of weeks to digest. The same bars now are pallid little nothings. The popular explanation is that these products have been constantly reformulated - perhaps I should say deformulated - over the years to hold down costs and to broaden their appeal to people with less intensive palates. It is certainly true that an awful lot of American foodstuffs - white bread, most domestic cheeses, nearly all convenience foods, the bulk of beers, a good deal of the coffee - are nothing like as robust and flavourful and varied as their counterparts almost anywhere in Europe, Britain included. It's an odd thing in a country that loves to eat, but there you are. I put it down to two things. The first is cost. Everything in America is predicated on cost far more than in other countries. If price is a factor between competing businesses, and it always is, then the cheaper will inevitably drive out the costlier, and this seldom leads to improved quality. Actually it never leads to improved quality. There used to be a good fast food Mexican restaurant in the next town from where I live. Then about a year ago Taco Bell, part of a national chain, opened up across the road. I don't believe there is a person alive who would argue that Taco bell offers really good Mexican food. But it is cheap, at least 25 per cent cheaper than the restaurant it was competing with across the road. Within a year the old restaurant was gone. So now if you want Mexican fast food in our neck of the woods you have to settle for the cheap but carefully uninspired offering of Taco Bell. Because Taco Bell is so vigorously competitive on price its dominance is well nigh universal. Almost wherever you go along the American highway these days, if you want a taco you must settle for Taco Bell. The stupefying thing is that this seems to be the way most people want it. And here we come to the second of our factors - the strange unshakeable attachment of American consumers to predictable uniformity. Americans in a word like things to be the same wherever they go. This is the part that mystifies me. Take Starbucks a chain of coffee shops for which I have a mild and possibly irrational dislike if only because they are becoming ubiquitous. Starbucks started quietly in Seattle some years ago but in the last five years the number of its outlets has grown tenfold to 1,270, and the number is intended to double roughly in the next two years. Already in many cities if you are looking for a coffee bar the choice is pretty well Starbucks or nothing. Now there is nothing wrong with Starbucks, but nothing all that special either. It offers a decent cup of coffee. Big deal. I can give you a decent cup of coffee. The impression you get is that Starbucks principal motivating force is not to produce the finest coffees but rather to produce more Starbucks. If the American coffee drinking public demands truly excellent coffee then Starbucks will have to provide it if it wants to stay pre-eminent, but the American public won't demand that so there won't be any particular pressure on Starbucks to provide exceptional quality. It may, but there won't be any commercial necessity for it, especially because in most places a) it will be the only coffee bar around, and b) its customers will be completely habituated to the Starbucks brand. We have two very congenial coffee bars in Hanover but I am certain that if Starbucks were to open here people would be excited. You should have seen the delirium when The Gap moved in. Starbucks would be seen as a kind of affirmation for the town from the outside world. Visitors, on whom the town depends, would almost certainly favour it overwhelmingly because they know it and are comfortable with it. People have grown so used to uniformity that they have become, as it were, hypnotized by it. About five miles from where I live there was, until recently, a nice old fashioned family-owned restaurant. A couple of years ago a McDonald's opened opposite it. Almost at once the bulk of passing trade transferred from one side of the road to the other. Last summer the family owned restaurant closed. Shortly afterwards I mentioned to a neighbour how disappointing I found it that people would forsake a local establishment for the universal appeal of McDonald's. "Yeah", my neighbour said in that thoughtful drawn out way that indicates a proposition not entirely agreed with. "But at least you know where you are with McDonald's, "don't you?" "Exactly", I cried with feeling. "Don't you see that's the whole problem?" I wanted to grab him by the lapels and explain to him that it was because of this kind of thinking that chocolate in America has no kick, white bread tastes like wadding and cheese has a hundred names - colby, Monterey jack, cheddar, American, provolone - but just one flavour, one texture, and one vivid yellow hue. But I could see there was no point. He was like one of the pod people in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The forces of blandness had captured his spirit and there was no getting it back. He had become a McPerson. He looked at me uneasily - people don't usually get excited in our street - and I could see he was thinking, "Whoa! Emotional fellow!" Maybe he was right. I have to admit I have been a little out of sorts in recent months. I put it down to severe chocolate deprivation.}

>>9514

You're exactly right. The marketing jargon is that Nando's is a "fast casual" restaurant, intended to sit in the market niche between fast food and the bottom end of the chain restaurant business (Ask, Frankie & Benny's etc).

They have worked very hard to completely dominate that niche, with very careful marketing. Nando's restaurants feel a bit like a proper restaurant, but they're completely non-intimidating. The servers seat you to give an air of formality, but they leave you alone to peruse the menu and order in your own time. The menu is simple, offering just enough choice without being overwhelming. It even explains how to place your order.

If you're 17 and trying to impress a girl, Nando's is absolutely perfect. It feels like a proper restaurant, but it's totally within your fast food comfort zone. At no point are you going to look like a knob. It's eating out with training wheels, no manners required.

Approaching the niche from the other direction, it offers a greasy fast food fix for people who consider themselves slightly too good for KFC. You can kid yourself that you're eating healthily because you have ratatouille and macho peas with your half chicken. For a certain strata of the lower middle class, Nando's is the acceptable face of fast food.

Absolute bloody genius.

>>9553
>For a certain strata of the lower middle class, Nando's is the acceptable face of fast food.
I have just been hit with an overwhelming realisation that I am poor. It is like being shot.

>>9554
I imagine it must feel like that, if you've been living in a bubble of self-importance all this time.

I still find it terrible that less than a quarter identify as working class.

>>9555
Why is that terrible? The modern working class is a horrible thing, it's not so much a matte of aspiring to be middle class anymore, more a case of dreading being working class. The classic British working class is near dead.

>>9556
Because the more people who think they aren't poor working class, the easier it is to ostracise the poor working class.

>>9557
Why?

>>9558
What a stupid question.

>>9557
Exactly and this is an American import, part of the 1980s and 1990s Neo-Liberal dogma. It has never been easier to ostracise the poor, the disabled and the sick. It has never been easier to make everyone race to the bottom while dismantling unions and workers' rights, rights which took decades to fight for.

>>9559
Should be easy to answer then.

>>9560
Extra holidays don't mean much when there's no jobs.

>>9557

The modern left has deliberately disregarded the distinction between the working class and the lumpenproletariat - the non-working class. In Marxist and Leninist terms, most poor people in modern Britain are at best irrelevant and at worst an active impediment to class consciousness. It's only a very modern and very feeble strain of leftist politics that regards those outside the wage-labour system as victims rather than parasites. Redistribution (especially redistribution to the non-working poor) is just a tool to maintain the current social order, creating an underclass who are dependent on the political system. Every safe Labour seat represents tens of thousands of people who have been bought off by the political class, communities where the capitalist masters who owned the pit or mill have been replaced by political masters who control the flow of government spending.

From The Communist Manifesto

"The lumpenproletariat, the social scum, that passively rotting mass thrown off by the lowest layers of the old society, may, here and there, be swept into the movement by a proletarian revolution; its conditions of life, however, prepare it far more for the part of a bribed tool of reactionary intrigue."

>>9552
I had some Hersheys the other day. It may have been because it was dark chocolate and cookies and cream, but it wasn't as God awful as I remembered it to be. I don't know if that means chocolate over there is getting better or chocolate over here is getting worse.

>>9563
Since kraft has taken over cadburys it's getting worse.

>>9552
That's rather good, thanks for posting it. I keep meaning to read his books.

>>9562
It's a bad left-winger that follows Marx et al. uncritically, and I consider such stratification of the 'lumpenprole' completely apposite to the ideals of socialism. Distinctions of class are roles within society that are imposed upon them, not inherent to the nature of the individual. That no-one is considered beyond participation is my theory, and that no-one is denied the right to receive is my practice.

Attitudes like yours are the reason Cameron is able to talk about a non-existent 'something for nothing culture'. They're the reason people worry about, for instance, an epidemic of benefit fraud when the stats show only 0.7% of all claims are fraudulent, and then use this notion to dismantle the entire benefit system. Maybe some people will always be a detriment to society, but I will not exclude them if I must exclude every other needy person with them.

>>9566

The 0.7% figure is the stupidest statistic in all of politics. 0.7% of benefit claims are *proven* to be fraudulent. It's like measuring the burglary rate based on the number of convictions, it's a comical underestimate of the true figure.

During the New Labour government, the number of Jobseeker's Allowance claims fell by over a million, but the number of Incapacity Benefit claims increased by over a million. Nearly all of this increase is of people with back pain or depression, two disorders that are essentially impossible to disprove. In some parts of the country, 20% of the working-age population are claiming Incapacity Benefit. By some extraordinary co-incidence, these are all areas with a high rate of long-term unemployment. Are there really terrible clusters of disease, or is the benefits system being used to pacify an underclass?

>>9567
It's the only figure we have - or do you erroneously think your speculation that there's a much higher percentage of actual fraud is somehow a valid justification for policy?

So you're suggesting that in some parts of the country 20% of the working-age population are skiving and sponging and all your other Tory terms of abuse? They've all collectively managed to slip one by the assessors, because the assessors are corrupt Labour shills?

>>9568>>9568
Card carrying LP man here. All I can say is fuck, we're fucked unless we let the Stalinist style reindustialisation and modernisation of the infrastructure and economy commence. Fuck the City, the free market has spoken in favour of hair extensions and lip gloss, we will slide to 20th economy in a decade unless we really pull our socks up.

>>9569
Yes, we can't 'lose' the 'economic race', can we, 'card carrying' 'LP' 'man'.

>>9568

I'm saying that successive governments have paid off the poor to stop them from rioting. I'm saying that the benefits system is designed to pacify people in ex-industrial communities, trapping them in a culture of dependence on the state. I'm saying that benefits are part of the problem, not the solution - we need an economy that provides meaningful work for all, not an economy that consigns millions to the scrapheap. The left is in cahoots with the right and the debate over cuts is just a pantomime to distract us from the real issues. Benefits aren't ther for the good of the people, they're a tool of oppression. Bread and circuses, that's all. The political elite offer a few crumbs from the table and call it socialism and we buy right into it.

The shining vision of a Labour government is an extra fiver on your giro and a new coat of paint on the leisure centre. It's a sop, a pathetic bribe for your compliance, it's the same old shit sandwich with a sprinkling of sugar. You can stick it up your arse, I want a revolution.

>>9572
I don't agree with your views on the welfare state. It is designed to protect the vulnerable, not pacify the workshy. If it does the latter it's not a good enough reason to have everybody fend for themselves. People don't go on benefits because it's 'too easy' to claim them, they go on benefits because there's no better alternative. If we fix the economy the rest will fix itself.

And no true social democrat votes Labour, so there's no need to go on about the 'political elite'.

>>9568
We have next to no figures for corruption - may as well legalise it!

>>9573
> It is designed to protect the vulnerable, not pacify the workshy.

That was the vision, once upon a time, then people realised it can be used to trap voters.

>they go on benefits because there's no better alternative.
No preferable alternative to them. Not the same thing.

>And no true social democrat votes Labour,

that's sort of the point, they don't serve those who believe in the welfare state, they serve those who have no choice but to support state control else their world falls apart.

>>9572
>we need an economy that provides meaningful work for all

But how much of what work is available is meaningful? It's service industry crap that provides nothing of real value aside from helping to carry on a centuries-old work ethic which is very clearly unsuitable for the modern world.

I'd like to see people trained for a life of leisure. I'd like to see an end to working any more than three days per week. I'd like people to use some of that extra time to fulfill the roles in their local communities that statutory services now do a terrible and expensive job of doing.

>>9576
I presume that's what he meant. Unless I've grossly overestimated his lefty credentials.

The Daily Mail has been on the case. Contrary to what Nando's claims about animal welfare, it buys chickens that are mass produced in hanger-like sheds and force-fed so that at six-weeks-old the chicks have the same size breasts as fully grown chickens.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2362445/Why-Nandos-chicken-isnt-wholesome-think-Celebrities-love-To-middle-classes-guilt-free-fast-food-If-knew-story-.html

Keeping the Hullfa.gs theme going, What's next? Best place for a pint? Best place for a takeaway? Best place for a haircut? I should be off to Swadh on the old Hedon road in the next fortnight so I'll post a quick review afterwards. I'm tempted by the Uthappam - down on the menus as a 'South Indian version of pizza made of rice and lentil batter with masala toppings'.

>>9628
I am back from finishing uni and looking for any old admin/clerical work in town, so hopefully I strike lucky and I may be able to join a Hullfa.gs meet. Will make a /map/ thread.

This thread has given me a tin foil hat with regards to food. It is a gift I am most welcoming of.

And BTW, the last fast-food-cum-restaurant I ate at was Pizza Hut, what's wrong with that? Because there's probably something, right?

>>9657
I get dehydrated after eating there. Possibly because of all the salt in their pizzas (they probably use tons as a unit of measurement for salt added to every pizza).

>>9657
There's nothing tinfoil about it. If you didn't think Nando's meat was questionable two years ago then it certainly is now. The Mail article in >>9628 tallies up with the findings of >>8712.

>>9659
I went to triple-check my post. Again, nearly identical, except 'Assured Chicken Production' standards has been replaced with Red Tractor. But interestingly they have placed a link on this page to their official response to the Daily Mail article, which I'll also reproduce here.

<sub>At Nando’s, sourcing responsibly is incredibly important to us. All of our chicken is of Red Tractor assured standard, with about 80% of chicken in the UK produced to this standard. It guarantees chicken welfare standards and ensures we are supporting the British Farming industry. We’re strongly committed to giving our customers the best value chicken at the highest possible welfare standard.

Our chickens are barn-reared and traceable back to individual farms, with the majority provided with natural daylight and their environments enriched in ways above and beyond what’s required of the Red Tractor standard. As a result, we’re confident that they are reared responsibly and with care, in a way that our loyal customers would expect from us.

We sell over half a million chickens each week and after ongoing and recent reviews of our entire supply chain, we don’t believe there are enough suitable chickens available in the UK at a higher welfare standard above Red Tractor to meet the demands of our growing business.

We’re constantly monitoring the industry and should the situation change, then we would of course fully explore other viable options. In the meantime, we’re committed to doing everything we can to source and rear our chickens responsibly, not only in line with the Red Tractor assured standard, but actually exceeding it.</sub>

Growing their business takes priority over protecting the welfare of animals. Well that's nice of them to admit isn't it?

My mate told me they add chemicals or starch or something at Chinese buffets to make you feel more full.

Is this true? I'm hesitant to believe him because he believes in all kinds of conspiracies.

>>9661
He could have been referring to textured vegetable protein, which is added to processed meat to bulk it up. That's not a specifically Chinese thing. Monosodium glutamate, however, is a staple of Asian ingredients, and makes things taste 'meatier'.

>>9660

> We sell over half a million chickens each week and after ongoing and recent reviews of our entire supply chain, we don’t believe there are enough suitable chickens available in the UK at a higher welfare standard above Red Tractor to meet the demands of our growing business.

> Growing their business takes priority over protecting the welfare of animals. Well that's nice of them to admit isn't it?

To be fair, I don't think there's much they can do beyond Red Tractor other than start using only organic chickens. I don't believe that anyone expects that a national low end chain like Nando's can logistically supply all its stores with organic chickens. It just wouldn't be practical.

>>9663
No, I wouldn't necessarily expect a large and growing business to have an ethical, decent quality supply chain either. What's your point?

Some of my friends love nandos and seem to go there often. Can't speak of the chicken as I'm a veggie but they have more than one veggie option which is something. Chips are nicer than wetherspoons' dry crumbly offerings, desserts are atrocious, on the whole it's ok but not somewhere I'd want to go given the choice. Pretty much everything this thread says, straddles the line between upmarket fast food place and low-end restaurant. Still better than frankie and benny's though.

>>9657
Probably the pizza being a salty greasy mess. The cookie dessert they do though is amazing and worth the shame of going there.

>>9723
>Still better than frankie and benny's though.

Bollocks. Maybe for vegetarians, but there's nothing at Nando's as nice as bacon steaks. Hell, even their Cajun chicken burger is probably better than Nando's fodder.

>>9724 Oh the food at F&B is nice, way better than anything at nandos. I just find it too pricey and tacky. The service is also rubbish, at least at my nearest one, but then again the only reason the service at nandos isn't complete shit is because you have to do almost everything yourself

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/may/16/nandos-fast-food-chipmunk-tinchy

>Do you go to Nando's? Of course you do. Only those who never let a non-organic French fry pass their lips or who live a long way from a town or are hardcore multinational refuseniks don't go to Nando's.

Right...

>>9743
It did remind me how great a word "refusenik" is, though.

>>9743

Why has this person written a love letter to Nandos? It reads like one of those "reviews" restaurants pay local papers to write. I suspected it was sarcastic when she started quoting Tulisa's usual order, but it seems like she was just aiming for free spicy rice for life.

Jesus Christ.

>>9745

This was my thought too.

>>9745

Credit where credit is due, the Nando's card is an incredible guerilla marketing coup.

>>9747
Giving free shit to celebrities. Revolutionary.

Went with my sister today for the first time.

We had to wait to be seated, then when we got a table we had to wait in a bloody queue to order!

The menu has about 3 different things, all basically bland chicken. It didn't taste terrible, but it was pretty uninspiring. Not worth the money at all.

The worst thing was the horrible, horrible hum of the 'restaurant'. It was incredibly loud. It really felt like a McDonalds.

And yes, there was a lot of, er, semi-chavs and lad types in there. Not sure how to describe it.

>>9749
>Went with my sister today for the first time.
Sick fuck.

>>9748
I'm not who you were responding to, but do many other places give a card that grants a lifetime of free shit to celebrities, whenever they fancy it? I have no clue, maybe it's commonplace, but either way it seems like a particularly suave proposition for fast food companies. Whatever they lose in inventory (next to nothing), they gain massively from having those people seen there, whether they're snapped in the act by paparazzi or just gawked at by the "semi-chavs and lad types".

>>9751

A huge amount of businesses do this. Certain kinds of restaurants live and die on whether its cool or not to eat there, so celebrities get to eat and drink free. It's cheaper than any other sort of advertising.

I once gave Rory McGrath a free bottle of prosecco.

http://www.nandos.co.uk/faq/what-high-5black-card
http://www.nandosblackcard.com/
Subtle.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/may/16/nandos-fast-food-chipmunk-tinchy

Jesus fucking wept!

(A good day to you Sir!)

>>9753

Jesus christ I've seen less heavy handed PR done as satire. It feeds back nicely into how Nandos is truly lowest common denominator food - only the most pitiful, bland, lifeless moron would fall for the excitement and aspiration of maybe, just maybe, getting a card that gives you free fucking spicy chicken for a year. You'd be just like David Beckham, stuffing your fat face with poorly prepared poultry in a bleak shopping centre. I bet you don't even have to wait in the cue at the till!!!

>>9753 >>9755
The donate button and the domain associated with it suggests to me that Nandos aren't behind it but a sad and deluded "internet entrepreneur".

>>9757

The first link is official and is depressing enough. The second link, as you say, is sad evidence people fall for this shit. The comments on the articles are all "I'm poor can I have a black card where do I get one lol xxx"

Oh sweethearts, they're free to those that can afford it.

I really like Nandos. Eat it about once a month. Has good vegetarian/vegan options and the chips are great. Fuck all of you.

>>9760
>the chips are great

No, lad. Maybe it's because I'm from East Yorkshire, where the majority of takeaways have been using chip spice for donkeys years, but there's nowt special at Nando's.

Do you also use terms like 'real good'? Do you watch Embarrassing Bodies? Do you wear G-Star Raw, Evisu, Hollister and A&F clothing?

>>9760
>the chips are great
I'm not going to dig into you like the guy above, but honestly, I can't see how that's right by anyone's measure. Their chips could not be any more average - they're just good enough to be edible, on a par with kebab shop chips.

>>9760

>I really like McDonalds. Eat it about once a month. Has good vegetarian/vegan options and the chips are great. Fuck all of you.

Don't kid yourself into thinking you're eating in a classy joint. Your need for brand familiarity means you're missing out on some quality chicken.

Get your fat arse into an italian resteraunt and eat something that wont clog up you taste buds.

>>9761
I wear Evisu. What's embarrassing bodies?

>>9764
Typical Channel 4 fodder. Elderly people getting their haemorrhoids prodded, lasses with wonky tits or smelly fannies and lads with knob rot.

>>9761
>Do you wear G-Star Raw, Evisu, Hollister and A&F clothing?
I am becoming an old man, I don't think I've ever heard of any of these. I did a google image search for Hollister as that was the only one that made me think I might recognise the name and it seemed to be nothing but sepia pictures of really buff topless guys at the beach.

I don't think I fit that demographic.

>>9766
I'd heard of Hollister and A&F. I know about American Apparel because of their prominent and eye-catching adverts in Vice magazine.

I buy my clothes from Primark and charity shops - I enjoy looking quite nondescript and think there are better things to spend money on than clothes. Not Nando's either.

>>9767
>I am familiar with American Apparel because I know softcore pornography when I see it.
Fixed.

>>9767>>9768
Derailing the thread somewhat, but I've only ever known American Apparel as the main supplier many printers like cafepress use. Don't know why, their tshirts seem both more expensive and lower quality than others.

>>9806

AA shirts look brilliant - the cut is extremely flattering to your typical skinny hipster and the fabric drapes beautifully. People buying printed t-shirts recognise the brand and know how the shirt will fit, because AA are so popular. The problem is that Charney hasn't managed the increase in demand very well, so manufacturing standards have gone to shit. Screenprinters are moving over to Continental blanks, but the cachet of the AA brand will make them difficult to displace.

>>9809

Agreed. The fit of AA is incredible. They are cut like my tailored shirts.

I had a spinach and pepperoni pizza at Pizza Hut the other day (I'm using this as the 'mediocre chain restaurants thread') and I counted that it had 11 of the meanest, most thinnest slices of pepperoni I have ever seen. 11 slices of pepperoni, they really are stingy bastards.

>>9928
What size was the pizza?

>>9809
>>9811
What're they like for bulkier guys, as opposed to skinny twats?

>>9937

Not great. They're cut to fit tall and thin people and the fabric clings to the body because it's very soft and lightweight. If you're hiding a bit of podge, you'd be better off with a traditional heavyweight T from FotL or Hanes. If you're buying plain T-shirts, I wouldn't recommend American Apparel, because the quality has gone to pot.

http://www.barone.co.uk/products/t-shirts/1

>>9936
Regular sized, so 9". Large enough that it should not average out at fewer than 2 slices of pepperoni per slice of pizza.

I had to go on their website to check the sizes and it turns out they're doing a cheeseburger crust pizza. Looks like an abomination.

>>9939
This is what it actually looks like.

>>9941

Merciful Christ.

>>9941
If it wasn't for the red onions I would probably eat that.

Even from the official Pizza Hut photo you can tell it will be shite. They're trying to make it look as nice as possible but you can tell that the actual crust will be too hard and crunchy. The garlic bread looks also looks the same instead of nice and chewy, in fact there doesn't seem to be any garlic in the garlic bread. There can't be more than a dozen potato wedges on that plate and they probably charge £2.99 for it. The whole layout of the picture, especially the sides, looks very amateur.

>>9939
Reminds me of the Japanese approach, they do all sorts of weird shit with pizza as a medium.

>>9944
As long as it's consensual, who are you to call it weird?

>>9945
That's okonomiyaki, which often gets called "Japanese pizza" for some reason. I don't know why, there's no bread in it, no tomatoes and no cheese. It's round I suppose. It's fucking lovely too but that's by the by.

This is what I meant:
http://www.chachich.com/mdchachi/jpizza.html

>>9945

Why someone would want to eat a pizza that looks like a suicide bomber's charred ripped off face that has rotted in a ditch for 2 weeks is beyond me.

>>9946
There was an Indian 'pizza' mentioned earlier in the thread. It sounds shite, though. >>9628

A lifelong vegetarian who has never eaten meat was left distraught after eating a chicken sandwich served by mistake at a Birmingham restaurant.

“I never would have thought that I would need to double-check my food. I trusted them and they have let me down. I was in shock and started crying in the restaurant. I cried all night and couldn’t sleep. They can never say or do anything to make this up to me,” she said. “Nothing can compensate me for those 28 years. I can feel it sitting there in my stomach. I feel like it’s not my body anymore. They took away my choice about what to put in my body and now I can’t ever say that I have never eaten meat. I have devoted myself to this for 28 years and someone has taken this away from me.”

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/birmingham-womans-shock-after-being-6451684

Is giving a vegetarian meat akin to rape? That's how she makes it sound. I thought they were alright with it if they did it unwittingly?

>Carnivore culture.

>>10253
>now I can’t ever say that I have never eaten meat

Christ. It's wrong of them to serve her something she didn't order but what a complete over-reaction. If all you've achieved over 28 years is not eating a certain type of food then you really need to re-evaluate your life and self-righteousness.

>>10253

Speaking as a lifelong vegetarian, I think she's a pathetic cunt. I mean for fuck's sake, how do you eat most of a chicken sandwich without realising it? Does she just swallow her food whole? I have no real sense of the texture or flavour of chicken, but I'm pretty fucking sure that I could tell that it isn't halloumi.

Kitchen mistakes happen. I'd far rather that chefs focus their efforts on serious health and safety issues like cross-contamination and allergens than the petty dietary whims of pricks like myself. If you're that fucking nesh that you'll cry all night about eating a bit of chicken, then how about looking at the food on your bloody plate before you cram it down your gullet?

Also, shame on the Birmingham Mail for printing this bullshit, it's the Hindu equivalent of those squalid little scare stories you get in the Daily Mail about schools serving halal meat - divisive, pointless scaremongering.

>>10255
>>10256
Agreed. Vegetarianism is done for the sake of animals or the sake of one's religion, it's not a fucking game where you have to go as long as possible without swallowing meat, and it doesn't change who you are if it happens by mistake. I think she has some issues with food that need to be treated with therapy.

>>10253
The next time I'm served meat on Friday during Lent by mistake, I'll make sure to call all local papers. My body shall not be desecrated with no consequences ever again.

I went teetotal for several years, when I took it up I did it because I had started drinking in the morning and before presentations/speeches to calm the nerves. Went a good half a decade without having a single drop of alcohol. I accidentally broke it by accidentally drinking some baileys in a curry house forgetting there was alcohol in it. One thing I did learn from it is I am a boring bastard when I'm sober. At least when I'm tipsy I don't care if I'm a boring bastard.

I didn't feel that upset about accidentally drinking the baileys like this veggie woman. But then again am I being a knob for this comparison.

>>10259
I think we should rope are Nadia into another sketch for her showreel.

Meataholics going off the wagon at the first bite.

>>10257

There's a certain kind of histrionic twit who goes running to the papers over trivial things.

She isn't upset because the incident damaged her health. She isn't upset because the incident compromised her ethics.

>now I can’t ever say that I have never eaten meat

Apparently she want to be vegetarian so she can SAY she is one.

>>10253
Why would you go to Nando's and expect nothing else than disappointing chicken?
Also: why would you give money to a company that specialises in cooking up chicken if you felt that strongly about being a vegetarian?

>>10263
I know a few people who have been raised vegetarian and none of them are more concerned about animal welfare than the average person. Most of them have admitted they probably wouldn't be vegetarian if they hadn't been so since birth and they only continue to do so out of habit/because eating meat seems a bit alien to them. Plus,she looks like a prissy, spoilt desi bint.

I want spicy chicken now.

>>10263
Bloody vegetarians, coming over here, expecting to be able to go to the same restaurants decent hard-working carnivores like you and me do, they make me sick.

>>10267

>Bloody vegetarians
>they make me sick.

Better stick to beef and chicken then.