Nando’s Peri-Peri, Tenleytown, Washington, DC

I went to the Nando’s Peri-Peri in Tenleytown with my friend Jon Breul. He and better half Nancy were visiting from Maine for our 30-somethingth annual New Year’s Eve Observed celebration, featuring a big lobster dinner, held this year on December 4. The Breuls are in Maine and Bob Leland and Vicki Doff are in Florida on New Year’s, so we adjust.

With the prospect of a big lobster dinner that evening, Jon and I decided to eat light. Actually, Jon did, and not having been to a Nando’s in over 10 years, I agreed to eat light this once. The Nando’s in Tenleytown, or North Cleveland Park, if you prefer, is in the former Armand’s location. (I initially wrote Maggie’s. I get them mixed up, as I do so many things.) A renovation seems to be in progress, but without any dust or dirt. Maybe they’re intentionally keeping an industrial look.

There are some covered tables outside, a good sized dining room, and an overflow dining area upstairs. Dining in currently is limited to 25 percent of capacity so there’s plenty of room. Here’s the drill: You’re greeted at the door by an employee who explains the process. You order at the counter and the food comes to your table promptly, but not suspiciously promptly. There’s a counter with napkins, plastic forks, and knives (Jon thought they used metal utensils pre-COVID) wrapped in plastic, bottles of the sauces, and a machine dispensing a whole bunch of different sodas.

Nando’s menu is centered around flame-cooked chicken with Peri-Peri, the African Birds-Eye chili pepper, and sauces derived from the pepper. It’s a spicy pepper, but the various sauces are tempered so that you can order it Mild, Regular, Hot, and Very Hot. Clear bottles of extra sauces are available, as is a menacing black bottle marked “Xtra Hot.”

Jon ordered the chicken thigh skewer (regular) with slaw as his side.

I ordered three thighs (hot) with Portuguese rice.

As you can see, the thighs were very small, so it was indeed a light lunch. The Portuguese rice was seasoned with turmeric and dotted with peppers, and had a good flavor.

Jon was well pleased with his skewer. The chicken was moist and flavorful, and like the onions and peppers had that flame char. The vegetables had not been pre-cooked and were still a little crunchy. Nice.

My chicken thighs also were similarly moist, and graced with that light char. The hot sauce was indeed fairly hot, and that was just what I wanted. I also tried some of the other sauces.

The garlic sauce was very good, more tangy than garlicky, and the Very Hot sauce was hot. The Xtra Hot sauce, not shown, had about the same heat level as the Very Hot, but a slightly different flavor. The rice was good by itself, but it mainly served as a vehicle for testing the various sauces.

Nando’s also offers sandwiches and salads and various big platters, one of which I saw a group sharing enthusiastically. Jon and I both chose thigh meat, but they have breasts as well, and vegetarian options. And there are a whole bunch of sides. Nando’s has a limited beer and wine selection and, as I noted, they offer all sorts of soft drink choices. Jon and I settled for water.

All in all, I was pleased with Nando’s. The food is good, and you can spice it to your own taste. The seasoning is more distinctive, more of a welcome change of pace than most quick lunch places. I’d go there again for a quick (and light!) lunch. And the food should hold up well for carryout or even delivery — as long as you stay away from fries. Give it a try.

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