When I go to Nandos, I always have the Portobello mushroom and halloumi option. Well, almost always. It’s actually been a while since I was there, and there are a few more vegetarian options available now, so I decided to try out the beanie burger and see what it was like. On this occasion I ordered it to come with two sides – chips and garlic bread. I also went for the medium sauce, although I would normally have the mushroom burger plain. Unfortunately, once the plate came, I began to wish that I had ordered the mushroom like normal: the burger is quite thin, without much substance to it at all. It is also soft and chewy with what I would almost describe as a stringy cheesy texture, though this is not so much carried over to the taste. With a bland flavour, it was up to the appearance of the burger itself to tell me exactly what was in it. Looking closely I could see sunflower seeds, sweetcorn, some kind of leaf, and not much else. The rest was just a brown, vague mush. The bread was easy to chew but with a hard crust – I actually quite like the Nandos bread, although I do sometimes find that the rough edges can be a bit sore on the inside of your mouth. Inside the bun you do however find a nice large lettuce leaf, as well as the medium sauce dressing. Even though it is rated only at medium, it is still spicy, and can overpower the taste of the rest of the meal. This is why I usually have mine plain, just so I can taste the flavours of what I actually ordered instead of only being able to taste the sauce. The bread in the burger bun is the same as the garlic bread, which is actually probably the nicest part of the meal. Any tougher and it would be hard to eat, so the consistency is good. It is not overpoweringly strong garlic, however, which is a great thing for those who do not like it too strong. Personally, I could probably go for a little more garlic on there. The chips are your average restaurant chips, fine to eat but certainly nothing special. All in all, though the meal was filling and the sides were tasty, I would say that I was disappointed with this burger. Next time, I’ll stick with what I know.
On the VegBurge scale, I give this…
Taste – 5/10
Price – 4/10
Rest of experience – 5/10
