drinks from the counter, suggesting a fast food ethos which is lived up to with the prompt arrival of our orders.

The menu is straight-forward, unpretentious, no starters just nuts or olives for appetisers, dishes don't come with accompaniments, you can pick sides yourself chips/rice/corn-on-the-cob/coleslaw and mains are of course chicken - the raison d'etre of the restaurant - burgers or salads.

Dishes come in four levels of hotness: lemon and herbs, medium, hot and very hot. We went for the hot thinking, the warning "not for the fainthearted" must only be a precaution to avoid getting sued by the feebly bland-palated. This was a mistake. Be warned: hot means mouth-burning, lip-tingling taste-bud-debilitating hot. Interesting Brahma Brazilian beer was on hand to flush this away - but a whole bottle was needed to do this! Portuguese and South African beers and wines are also on the menu.

The emphasis is very much on the chicken and although the menu claims, "we love vegetarians, all our chickens are vegetarian," the veggie burger wasn't exactly worth the trip by itself. But the chicken did come some way towards their boast of "the best chicken in the world."

Nandos can't be described as haute cuisine but it suits the families and the teenagers that frequent it well, it is inexpensive, not too unhealthy and gives just enough energy for a few rounds of bowling.

There is another branch of Nandos, with the same menu and atmoshphere on Regent Street.