Nandos, Park Street | The 'Beanie' Burger


Nandos, 49 Park Street, Bristol BS1 5NT | 0117 929 9263 | Sun - Thurs 11:30am - 10:30pm | Fri - Sat 11:30am - 11pm
 
To fully complete my induction into being a vegetarian, I thought it was about time I introduced myself to a vegetarian burger. And what better place to try out & talk about than Nandos? I have always been a huge lover of Nandos (especially their chips & sweetcorn), but I'd never re-visited since becoming a vegetarian, despite their (albeit small) veggie offerings. I can guess that people wouldn't be all that tempted to go to a chicken restaurant if they're a veggie, but my Dad had never been and wanted to try it out, and I liked the sound of one of their veggie burgers, so yesterday lunchtime we took a trip to the Park Street branch.


The Nandos Vegetarian menu features three different 'burgers', which come in either a burger bun, tortilla wrap or pitta bread. Mayonnaise, chilli jam and salad are free optional extras. They have the Veggie, a spicy soya and tomato burger with spring onion, green chilli and cayenne pepper; the Beanie, a cheddar cheese, chickpea and sweetcorn burger, packed with pumpkin seeds, lentils and peas and finally, a whole Portobello mushroom topped with grilled Halloumi cheese. All of their side dishes are suitable for vegetarians, and almost all (the mashed potato and coleslaw being the exception) are vegan.
 
I Ordered:
The Beanie Burger; no mayo, just salad; Plain-ish Peri-Peri
Regular Chips
Corn on the Cob
Bottomless Drink; Orange Fanta
The Beanie burger was surprisingly nice. You could definitely taste the cheese, which I enjoyed, and the texture was great, basically like a regular beef burger. The sweetcorn and pumpkin seeds gave a nice bite admist the not-quite-mushy texture.  It had a nice taste, although was definitely improved with self-added salt and ketchup. It wasn't exactly bland, but it wasn't bursting with flavour, either. My 'salad' on top was literally one slice of lettuce and one large tomato, which I wasn't particularly impressed with (I gave the tomato to my Dad) but added a nice cold, fresh contrast to the burger. I think I'm definitely going to have it in a pitta bread next time, though, purely because I prefer them to the burger roll, which I find a tad too tough. I also think that the flavour would be improved by choosing a different Peri-Peri sauce. I chose the Plain-ish one, as it's the one I always have, but might graduate to the Medium or maybe even try out the Lemon & Herb one instead. My chips and corn on the cob sides were, as usual, delicious.
 
Overall, I'm quite happy with my first ever veggie burger! I expect a lot of people will be confused over why I chose to go to a chicken restaurant whilst being a vegetarian, but the way I see it, no restaurant is going to continue offering vegetarian options unless people actually order them! And I thought that trying one out and offering my thoughts might be useful to some other veggies who are considering it. Plus the Park Street Nandos is so nice - the staff are polite and helpful and the décor is really rustic and cool. It wasn't overwhelmingly busy, despite it being a lunchtime. I'm definitely going to return to this one, rather than re-visit the one in Cabot Circus. xx
 
Disclaimer: this isn't a sponsored post, I just really wanted to share my thoughts on their vegetarian menu!

10 comments

  1. I am pretty sure I have been to this Nando's before, it has a nice atmosphere :)
    I don't eat meat either so Nando's can be a little tricky, I usually have the Beanie burger but medium. It adds a bit of spice to it which definitely makes the burger more interesting! They aren't the best veggie burgers I have ever had, but you can't beat Nando's chips, so I think it's worth it!

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    1. I definitely am going to try the medium peri-peri next time, it might make it a bit more exciting! x

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  2. Definitely keeping this in mind, I never put any thought into the Beanie burgers! Thanks for sharing this great post! :) Xoxo

    http://thoughtsintiffanyblue.blogspot.com/

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    1. I never realised they were on the menu either! Thank you! xx

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  3. That looks so good! I've never tried a veggie burger before.

    Renee
    www.losetheroad.blogspot.ca

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    1. It was pretty nice! The sweetcorn & chips were amazing! x

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  4. Unrelated to this post but I just stumbled across your blog and I am so, so in love with it!
    Cannot wait to read more posts in the future :)

    Love, Lucy
    www.farawaylucy.com

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    1. Aw, thank you so much! That's so lovely to hear :) x

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  5. I've been trying to collate a few vegetarian recipes as I'm thinking about going vegetarian in the new year. I'm very fussy so I didn't want to just jump into it without knowing a good selection of meals to make because I know i'd be discouraged then! Anyway, I've been wondering about the nandos selections (love nandos!) and the beanie burger sounds great. I hate onion, so the fact that it doesn't have any wins me over!

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    1. I really don't like onion either, so was really happy to finally find a veggie burger that doesn't have it in! I'm a super fussy vegetarian too, but it's been fun to experiment. The Quorn substitues are really lovely, though! x

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