Nando's Colchester - Tollgate in Colchester

We love Nando's and generally visit this one about once a month even though the one in the city centre is closer to us. We went at a busy time so were told there was a twenty minute wait for a table, but it actually turned out to be about fifteen. Previously when we've been told the wait time was much longer we've popped next door to the Princess Charlotte for a quick drink. As ever the service was first rate from the hard working and friendly staff. Our order was brought in good time and the food was hot and delicious. We've eaten at Nando's restaurants all over the country, plus two in Dubai, and this is definately one of the best.

Food was good… the second time they made it! I’ve never been to a Nando’s in the 20+ years I’ve been coming where my starter turned up within 90 odd seconds of our starters. We immediately abandoned the starters to focus on mains as we were conscious that this was the real reason we came in. We were then confronted by a staff member going us a service check which promptly followed a 3 minute lecture on why it was our fault for ordering in the app for the food coming at the same time. In this time we discovered our mains were cold the only hot thing in the plate was our corn on the cobs chicken were it not for the colour could have easily been mistaken for never seeing a oven or grill. Reluctantly the staff member (without apologising) took them away stating we’ll sort this. Here’s the hilarious part….. The Manager OMG! The newly cooked plates came back to our table via none less than the manger himself who again without apology told us that Nando’s sees itself like Wagamama (posh chicken shop with plates comparing itself to Wagamama made me laugh) and that any of the food can come as soon as it’s ready and that he made it clear three times that he was happy to hear that he was at the helm of the fastest Nando’s we’d visited and would congratulate his team but needed to go because he didn’t want our hot food to spoil. I have to say the food was hot the second time round thank god but your Wagamama standards still could only produce two wraps both with chicken one end and lettuce the other. Congratulations guys bravo! Will defo be going back to the branch in Ipswich as it may be further away but they don’t give anyone this sort of grief.

Great! Usual quality from Nandos! The service is always good here and even when it's busy the wait for a table isn't too bad.

A great post gym session meal with fantastic service especially from the manager Susie. She catered to our special requests on the chicken chickle burger and did everything to make sure we were happy! Thank you for your kindness on a wet Wednesday evening 😊

The food was BEYOND underwhelming, Caesar salad was shocking to say the least, chicken was burnt so couldn’t even taste any flavour and had to spruce it up at home which defeats the whole point of take out. Very disappointing

To noisy and couldn't hear myself speak of the the staff ! Service was good but to many screaming children out of control and not being controlled by the parents ! Will go of peak if go again at all

Great food as you'd expect from Nandos. Very slow service at peak hours however.

Good for chicken lovers. Need to wait for table during busy hours

Chicken was well done. It’s nice but too dirty. Also, I purchased the cake and saw covered in old foil that looked … let me stop here. Hygiene is questionable.

Always great food and quick service

Really nice place to eat food was good and not to busy when i went with my partner.

This nandos has always been great, and is very popular. Would recommend going earlier than planned as often a small wait for a table. Staff do their best with table waiting lists.

I recently visited Nando's at Tollgate Colchester and had a disappointing experience. After ordering a meal that included skewers, peas, and chips, I received it without the chips and peas. When I pointed this out to the staff, instead of promptly correcting the order, I was told to wait while my skewers went cold. The overall interaction left me feeling blamed for the mistake, which was frustrating. The service could definitely use improvement to enhance the dining experience. Paying £17.20 for that experience was awful.

Shared my grandson's birthday with my three other grandchildren. They loved it

Visited on the 9th Aug 2024. Food was very good compared to other nandos in the county. Let down by incredibly long time (more than 30mins) for our food to arrive (2x half chicken and side order) poor service. Existing waiting staff poor attendance, but only one member executed a good service recovery. Considering the restaurant was barely up to 1/4 table occupancy, both these areas are in need of significant improvement.

Never had a bad meal at a Nandos and this one is no exception. 12 of us turned up, we were seated in just over half an hour and we all had great food. Job done!!

Really quick service, got the order right, hot tasty food. Would recommend!

Food - Awful Chicken butterfly arrived - outer edges had a texture of cardboard. Disgusting. Sent it back and tried the chicken shaslick. Same problem. Clearly a prepared meal sachet from head office… Ended up having potato fries. Very disappointing as we have Nandos meals in the past (in Australia) and they have been great. There seems to have been different approach here in the UK and it's a massive FAILURE with their process of supply/preparation of these 2 meals. We won’t be back to their restaurants here. Service: The service was very friendly and helpful and they did give me a refund on the meal. Which was appreciated.

Horrible experience. Had lunch today-chicken wrap. 4 hours later i was extremely sick- vomiting. My husband (doctor fyi) phoned up Nandos and spoke to management. What a cheek … they said , “it cannot be the case as it takes 24 h to get sick” . Seriously? Since when Nandos managers are qualified healthcare specialist? No apology or anything-disgrace

First time dimng here. Staff were very friendly and worked extremely hard, as this was a busy Nandos! Unfortunately, food was mediocre, chicken overcooked, and chips not that hot. I guess like all Nandos, it's expensive chicken and chips at the end of the day!

Me and my family was enjoying our meal, but then us and the whole restuarant got evacuated because the fire alarm went off. They then said we’d all get our refunds back and i’ve honestly been waiting ever since the 22nd of June for my refund. I’m disappointed to be honest, it was a nice restuarant as well.

Very very noisy. Couldn't have a conversation.

Over £18 for a salad with a tiny piece of chicken……. I hate to do this but my shunning of Nando’s starts today without end

Great location, was quite noisy and did get a snooty comment over the ice machine but good for catch up with a friend, food good quality

Ordered a takeaway, absolutely loads of chicken in my pitta, very happy

Went for a Friday evening meal. Had to wait for a table took 5mins max. Really good food and good service. Wasn’t rushed out and could enjoy the food and company.

The staff did a fantastic job given how busy they were. We were told a 40-50 minute wait for a table but actually ended up waiting well over an hour... The food was good though. The atmosphere was very chaotic given how busy the place was but that's to be expected for a Saturday evening.

My daughter and I have been a couple of times recently. Both times, the staff were really kind and helpful. I found that the service was brilliant, considering we've been during quiet and busy times. My daughter has an allergy, and they were so careful. They really do go above and beyond.

Excellent consistency as with all Nandos restaurants. Super easy to order in app, staff are quick and friendly. The restaurant is also very clean. If going for lunch, get in before 12:30, as after this time appears to be when it gets busiest and there will be a wait for a table. Dinner, I've never had to wait. Always good, highly recommended for what feels like quality food with fast-food convenience.

I love Nando’s and have been to many different locations, the food is always good for me and I can’t fault it…. This review however is to do with the customer care I received tonight. I was with my family and my 6 year old ended up being sick at the table on her dinner as she thought the sauce was hot (was mild). A lovely lady name crystal came over helped us clear up and offered to re-do the meal without the sauce or a refund for the meal. This wasn’t their fault what so ever for my girl being sick yet it’s like she took responsibility and ended up giving her the same meal without the sauce. For free which we had offered to pay for but she wouldn’t take payment. We even offered to at least buy her a drink which she also refused. Thank you for the fantastic customer care you gave us and kindness you gave my daughter !!

Very very average nandos. My chicken wasn’t properly cooked and was a bit pink. Came here for my birthday but poor service.

Food poisoning. Fantastic, didn’t even make it home. Hadn’t eaten anything else all day so Nandos is the culprit.

It's Nando's, but it suffers a bit from its location and building. I'd hate to go there on a weekend 😫 you'll never get out of the dreaded Stane Park. The building is a bit like a converted warehouse, but the food is good and the staff is very professional.

Nando’s can do so do it or don’t go do not think don’t hesitate do go to Nando’s cause they do!

£85 for 2 adults +2 teenagers. Ordered on the QR Code at the table and paid very little to do with serving staff. It's chicken good chicken.

If you like this kind of restaurant experience I'm sure it's fine but my ratings are based on the fact it's noisy, hectic and impersonal.

Very crowded and waited for a table, food is good and service prompt.

Ordered take away, always ready on time and only once have I received the wrong order. Who doesn't love a nandos!

Typical nandos with good quick service.

This is the worst Nando’s we’ve ever been to. Friday, 6 pm. Pounding, club like music, could hardly hear ourselves. Chicken was tiny, overcooked, really tough. It took ages to get to us. Staff never checked on us. Toilets were wet, and unclean. If we weren’t in a hurry, and it was a Friday and everywhere would be busy, we would’ve left. Has put us off Nando’s for a good while.

Nice place to dine with lovely staff at your service.

Love, love, love Nandos. Reasonable prices, tasty menu with a good range of options 😋

1.40PM Really poor service. We was infront of 3 or 4 other family’s waiting yet they got called over it sit down before us. There was loads of spare tables yet loads of people waiting. Really poor this time round. Why was we waiting when we was the first was waiting. Doesn’t make sense especially the fact there was loads of spare tables.

Chicken cooked well, service was great, the tables here seem bigger than at other locations which made the meal feel less cramped

Awful , they took payment not once but three times still waiting for a refund for the other two. Due to a payment error, will be contacting bank for a charge back if this doesn’t get resolved.

Took family they loved it, food was great the service i must say was top notch they really looked after us Thank you Xxx

Took the family up to Nando’s they loved it wonderful food, what i must say is they were very busy but people who work in there still had so much time for us great service Xxx

Brilliant & amazing My best place to eat especially this branch

Like always, Nando's is a very good choice to eat 😋 Staff also provide the good service 👍

Lovely place and even better food. Superb peri peri flavoured chicken. Absolutely loved it. 👌🏻😍👌🏻

Always had a great time when visiting Nando’s, the staff are always really good too. Unfortunately one young girl was unable to get her name, long red/brown hair rudely walked right into me as she was getting through as I was waiting in the Q - no apologie nor even excuse me. She was seen just chatting away to customers not sure if they was her friends.. another young lady black hair in a bun Nando’s top and blue jeans was seen doing nothing while all other staff was running around. Shame really! Other than that great person who served me as always food was lovely!

While ordering on the app we had problems paying, our waitress named Aimee suggested ordering at the till, and had also marked our order as priority. The food came quick and was hot and full of flavour! The chocolate pudding was a great choice for dessert!

Great Nandos which is out of town so no horrible car park fees. Very busy weekends so plan to wait for a table! Why would you not wait when the service on multiple occasions has been 5 star. Attentive staff who are always welcoming and checking on you. Love this place long may the high service standards remain!!

Fantastic. Very quick service and plenty of room to sit

Ordered via the App, collecting a huge meal for a family of five. Restaurant was super busy when I arrived just before my collection slot. Filled with trepidation of a potential delay or inaccurate delivery. Shouldn't have worried - delivery was bang on time and the order fulfilled perfectly!! Scrumptious!!!

Food and service excellent. But oh the screaming and badly behaved children with ineffective do nothing pathetic mothers was horrendous. I felt sorry for the staff who had to clear up the mess left by these feral folks.

Busy restaurant, but food is always delicious!

Nandos is nandos. But a chicken shop shouldn’t sell dry over cooked chicken

Service was a little slow, but food was as expected. Restaurant was busy and music seemed loud for an afternoon, more what you would expect in the evening.

Sadly my usual great experience wasn't equalled this visit. The chicken breast pitta didn't have a whole breast...just bits of chicken that didn't make a breast. The meat was dry and overcooked. The service was slow and people who came in well after us were served first. We had to chase our dinner. No apology. Noone in the staff smiled and it wasn't even that busy. Such a shame. I did communicate my dissatisfaction but noone spoke to me or tried to sort the issue. I won't be going to the Stanway branch again.

Always a great visit….food is great, love the feel of this place - marked improvement on the town centre Nando’s! Will always come here….

I like coming to the Nandos at Tollgate mainly because there is parking. The atmosphere is nice and the staff are polite. Food is always nice, hence being a Nandos fan. Last time I went, I ordered the new fully loaded fries, which says it can feed 2-3 people. Well, it fed just me. Maybe I was really hungry, lol. But the portion doesn't look that big to feed 3 people. Oh, and I wish there was more cheese in the full loaded fries.

When we arrived all tables were taken and had a 20 minute wait. Once we got seated by our lovely server we ordered food, which you can do via app or till. Food took less than 10 minutes, very quick and perfectly cooked. Great place for a quick bite to eat of pretty decent food.

Retrain your staff they are absolutely talentless. Awful experience and very basic food. Just awful

Pigeon wings, not chicken wings, for £7... Dry, small, overcooked

Gotta push your way through - particularly if you "look different". Yes sounds weird for Nandos but this particular branch been here thrice and same experience!

One of the more efficient Nando's I've been to, food was very quick to come and was great. My only negative is that the music is too loud, it makes it hard to talk to eachother if you have any trouble hearing - I like a bit of background music but it was a bit too loud.

A good as any Nando's. Does what it says on the tin. Found parking near by easy.

The manger in last night service 20/04/23 was really rude and with bad manners to deal with the customers. The service was bad as ——-! She shouted on us because we asked for our food after 25 minutes of sitting and wait in the restaurant- there is no comparison between Nando’s Colchester town and this one in Staneway. Especially the girls services were very bad with no etiquettes. The food served cold and we were intimidated by the manger who was really bully! She took the roaster sign from our table, as she was asking us to leave the restaurant with her aggressive attitude she doesn’t deserve to serve people who were working all day and trying to find some peace. I waisted my time, money and my family was not happy after that. Worse experience ever! I won’t repeat it. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to go there.

Fast seating most days and quick just like Nando’s normally is 👌

We had to chase up our order and when we did the starters came but then it was another 20 minutes until the mains came. 40 minutes in total from ordering and paying to receiving our mains. It’s doubly annoying when tables that came in well after us had their orders fulfilled and had even finished their meal before we received our mid sized. Very poor service for what is essentially an expensive chicken shop. Also despite sitting nowhere near a door there was a very cold draught almost like the aircon was on. Unenjoyable and it’ll be a while before we return

We went here on the way home from Colchester. The service was very quick, the staff were very friendly and the food was spot on my only small complaint was that the music was far too loud.

Really good customer service especially from our waiter Ezra who made us feel really looked after

Disgusting attitude from the lady at the front door taking names of people writing them on the list. We came around 5:45pm today 12-2-2023 she ask my wife’s name and told us about 30 minutes waiting and we said that’s fine with us and sat in the waiting area.After a while there are more people arriving and the lady who is obviously assigned to sort out and writing the names of arriving customers waiting to be seated asked and wrote down their names on the lists,which of course will be behind my wife’s name because we came in first ahead of those people!! But when this lady was calling out people’s name to be seated we noticed that she called out first a couple of people that obviously came behind us to be seated on the table Furious we just decided to go out and we will never come to that place or any Nando’s restaurant again.

Probably my favourite Nando’s location. Staff are friendly, food is great and comes out in good time regardless of how busy it is.

Awful experience here. RUDE MANAGER. We was served everyone’s food apart from 1 of us. We finished our food and the other persons had came out. We waited half an hour before questioning it, the manager said it’s not her problem and the food will come when it’s ready, they then told us they will have to put it in a takeaway bag as our time at the table was up, we had no apology from the manager or other staff. Manager was so rude we was all shocked (tall woman with pink shirt and blonde hair with highlights at the front)

Went in to get a table and was waiting in the queue. Two other people came and passed me as if I was not there whilst the employee saw all these but didn’t say anything instead he went on to serve them. I was actually disappointed but didn’t complain about it as I wanted to confirm if there is a different or new procedure that I wasn’t aware of. When I asked the employee about it he went on (with an attitude may I add) to ask if I wanted to book a table or not?! I was shocked since he just needed to answer my query then I answer. When I repeated the question he again with an attitude asked if I want to wait in or out. There is a reason people queue and to override this is out order and to add insults by having an attitude also doesn’t help if you want to exercise a power that’s not the place. Disappointed and will not be recommending it.

Denis was very welcoming and patient with our long order, food came very quickly and was delicious :)

Made us wait ages then offered us a free chocolate cake then had none left and also to got our coleslaw not a great evening

We decided last minute to place a nandos order via online. We scheduled our order to pick up for 6.45pm and we arrived at 6.40pm and it was ready bang on time! As I walked through the door, the food was about to be placed in our takeaway bag. The front of staff that were there on 18.11.2022 were so lovely! Greeting customers with the right attitude and conversation! It’s just a shame they don’t deliver to us!

Very very disappointed to arrive and see this huge empty space where their outdoor tables used to be. Covid hasn’t ended for people like me and outdoor seating is like step free access to me. I’m so fed up of society ignoring the needs of the severely immune compromised. Why on earth get rid of one of the few places where it’s safe for people like me to venture out of our sheilding. Yes for us it’s still as dangerous as it was in March 2020. Why can’t organisations like nandos be considerate and allow us to be part of society instead of isolated in our own homes.

Took my partner here at the weekend and I was a little worried about the restaurant being wheelchair friendly. I explained this on the phone and the lady who answered said not to worry and come down. We was greeted at the door with a big smile and the lady gave us a choice on where we would be most happy which just got everything started on great foot. Food was lovely! 10/10

Friendly staff, food as expected, no hot drinks but a choice of cold drinks as refills. Found some of the tables a bit too close together. Only one toilet, which also accommodates disabled, it was clean and stocked no problems. All in all ok experience.

Place was filthy the we sat on the back row of tables and every table on that row was left full of old plates and glasses. Food took over an hour to come out and everything except the chips was cold and dry. 2 tables came in after us sat down ordered their food ate their food and left before we even got the halloumi starters. There was no coldslaw and all the cold drinks were out of order except for the coke. Staff were stood around talking and not clearing tables even when bringing food to us they didn't consider taking the dirty used stuff off the table next to us back to the kitchen where they were heading. I'm honestly not sure whether this has anything to do with the massive amount of takeaway orders they have going on as there was clearly a lot or if its just incompetence. Either way service and food was shocking.

pricey but excellent service and very tasty food. Food comes up quick and vibrant, happy atmosphere. whole family loved it.

Popped in earlier to have a cheeky Nando’s with the famalam. As always the service was efficient and speedy and friendly even though it was extremely busy. The food was superb and the chicken was to die for, I like mine xtra spicy 🌶 where as the rest had herb 🌿 and garlic 🧄 . You cannot go wrong visiting this restaurant at Tolgate.

Very busy place. Some staff are very grumpy. Delay in getting food as well.

As you'll probably know I'm a girl that loves her food..... Read my many reviews & this fact is clearly true! So here we are at Nandos Tollgate (it's not too far from the mega huge Sainsbury's) I've been here a number of times to collect food, I've never dined in (as yet). The restaurant is well thought out with the open kitchen one end as you enter & the bar is on the right hand side with the rest of the space given over to tables. It is quite big as it goes. The food is as ever very very good. I do highly recommend it. I always have the same things, Starter; Halloumi with sweet chilli dip Sunset burger with lemon Nandos garlic bread & fries on the side I share the food as it's too much for me on my own, whilst I love my food I don't have a huge appetite. So I usually take a little of everything & I'm happy as a piggie in his sty!! We all have our own favourites.... Enjoy!! Love always Justine xXx StyleOutYourHome

Ended up having to ask for our glasses as waited & waited. Then didn't bring the correct amount. Wine missing & had to ask for that. We were table of 4 & ordered Two persons each and ended up eating not together as one half of our party had to wait so long. Whole idea is to eat together. We ordered within 2 mins of each other.

Great restaurant as there is parking outside (limited to 3 hours) situated just off the a12 in a retail park. The staff were very polite and helpful plus who can go wrong with a “cheeky nandos” . Restaurant and toilet always clean and tidy.

Currently (jokingly) completing a Nando’s world tour with my best friend. We visit a Nando’s when we venture away anywhere at least once (though we also very much like to branch out and try other things/restaurants too on our travels). You always know what to expect with a Nandos, but this one in stanway…. Honestly is THE BEST. I’ve never had a bad meal here, we have had a bad Nando’s before but here- nah, here gets it bang on! Every time. Service is fast, efficient and staff friendly without being invasive or false. Food is delicious and always cooked to perfection, it’s always busy but doesn’t give long waits and never taints the food. Keep it up! Work in hospitality myself and know how horrible it can be but Nandos truly needs to recognise this site and the staff!!!

We have always had fab service and amazing food from this restaurant. We also love the takeaway option. Very convenient free parking. Five stars!

If you want a quick and tasty meal that will not cost the earth this is the place for you. Staff are friendly and helpful and the food was good. Better choice of food than there used to be (i.e just chicken).

Simple job yet can't take simple orders. No care just in and out.

The worst Nandos experience we have had. When did a chicken breast in a pitta wrap change to three thin small strips of chicken, padded out with dry coleslaw mix? On the upside the vegetarian burger was delicious but everything took a long time to hit the table. It wasn't busy at the time we visited... very early Sunday lunch

Good food if you like chicken and not too pricey.

Best Nandos we’ve had. Service polite and friendly. Couldn’t fault it but for the odd layout

Best nando in the east Midlands, best place to get some chickens after a long competition day.

You get exactly what you expect, it's the perfect in-between of a restaurant experience and fast food. My partner and I visit at least twice a month and much prefer this Nandos over the one in town even though it's closer. Never a super long wait and the food hits the spot every time. Definitely recommend getting a Nandos card so you can claim rewards and free food!

Speedy and friendly service. Great chicken!