Nando’s
| 832 Bay Street, Toronto www.nandos.ca | View on Google Maps |
We had a small taste of South African food on a recent visit to Nando’s Bay Street location (832 Bay Street). We say we only a taste, not because of the small portions (which they weren’t), but because saying we ate South African food would be like proclaiming we had Canadian food only by eating pancakes and maple syrup. South African food, not unlike Canada, is very diverse. It is made up of the cuisines of the indigenous people of Africa as well as the successive waves of colonizers and immigrations. Nando’s take on South African food is based on Peri Peri which, according to their website, is also known as the African Bird’s Eye Chili. The chili is mixed with a variety of ingredients such as oil, vinegar and spices to make Peri Peri sauce, of which Nando’s makes a variety of types differing by levels of spiciness and flavour. The origin of the sauce, however, is not South African. Variations of the sauce have been around since the 15th century when the Portuguese came to Africa to countries such as Mozambique and Angola. Like many good culinary inventions, it crossed the border to South Africa and in 1987 the worldwide chain of restaurants now know as Nando’s was born. All that is to say, when going to Nando’s, don’t expect a large and wide-ranging menu. They serve grilled chicken with Peri Peri sauce; you pick the type/portion size of chicken, the level of spiciness and your sides. You can also have sandwiches with chicken and Peri Peri and salads with Peri Peri chicken– we think you get the picture. Well, this is not entirely true, you can get several non-chicken options, but we’re pretty sure you can add Peri Peri chicken to them if you want! We, of course, tried the Peri Peri chicken, including in a salad, and a variety of sides. We found the sauces all quite spicy, except for the lemon and herb sauce. One of the highlights of our meal was the generous glass of South African KWV Vinecrafter Chenin Blanc. Chenin Blanc is South Africa’s most planted grape variety, so how could we not.
