Nando's
Nando's is a global Portuguese-themed fast food restaurant, with an East African influence.
Nando's differs from most fast food franchises in that orders are placed and payed for at the counter, before having the meal.
Chicken dishes in lemon and herb, mild, medium or hot peri-peri marinades are served with spicy rice, chips, coleslaw, cous cous. Customers collect their plates and cutlery plus additional peri-peri sauces. The meal is then brought out to the table when ready. Take-away orders are also available.
Notable is the hot chicken, old style chips and peri mayonnaise. Both their desserts and soft drinks are "bottomless" in many places. Many Nando's stores are halal to cater for the members of Muslim communities.
History
The name Nando's comes from Fernando, the name of one of the founders of the chain. He and a friend bought a restaurant called Chickenland in a suburb Rosettenville, south of Johannesburg, South Africa. This became the first Nando's restaurant [1].
The restaurant incorporated influences by former Portuguese colonists from Mozambique, many of whom settled on the south-eastern side of Johannesburg.
Nando's is sometimes still referred to as Nando's Chickenland.
A global franchise from Africa
Most Nando's stores are franchises.
There are now franchises in Australia, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. It is the first major fast food franchise from Africa, and one of the few examples of commercial brand based globalisation originating from Africa.