10 'cheapy' Nando's MoneySaving tips & hacks
Including ordering off a different part of the menu to save up to £10+, and a free delivery trick for Deliveroo newbies
If you've been craving a cheeky Nando's, you can make some peri nice savings whether you're happy enough to dine out, or you want to order to eat at home.
We've tips on how to max the savings or cut the cost of your chicken 'n' chips fix, however you choose to order it. As always, please eat responsibly.
Save up to £10.45 ordering the exact same food on a different part of the menu
If there are two or more of you, it's cheaper to buy a sharing platter than ordering individual meals.
For example, a family buying two whole chickens and five large sides (enough to feed four to six people) can save £10.45 ordering the 'Family Platter' instead or individual meals. As each chicken actually comes in quarters (rather than as one whole chicken), it makes sharing – and social distancing – easy.
The table below shows how much you can save when ordering the same food from the sharing menu:
WHAT YOU'RE ORDERING |
PRICE BOUGHT AS INDIVIDUAL MEALS |
PRICE AS SHARING PLATTER |
| Two whole chickens and five large sides | £55.40 | £44.95 for the 'Family Platter' - a £10.45 saving |
| Chicken butterfly, four chicken thighs, and two large sides | £27.20 | £23.95 for the 'Boneless Platter' - a £3.25 saving |
| Whole chicken and two large sides | £24.95 | £21.95 for the 'Full Platter' - a £3 saving |
| Whole chicken and four regular sides | £23.50 (when buying two lots of ½ chicken with two regular sides meals) | £21.95 for the 'Full Platter' - a £1.55 saving |
| 10 chicken wings and two large sides | £21.95 | £18.50 for the 'Wing Platter' - a £3.45 saving |
| 10 chicken wings and four regular sides | £19.90 (when buying two lots of five chicken wings with two regular sides meals) | £18.50 for the 'Wing Platter' - a £1.40 saving |
We've compared the sharing platters to the cheapest way of ordering the same food as individual meals – for example, if you want a whole chicken and four regular sides, it's cheaper to buy two lots of ½ chicken with sides meals than a whole chicken and four sides separately – though ordering a sharing platter, as we've shown above, saves even more.
There are two ways you can order a Nando's delivery – online via the Nando's website, or via Deliveroo. Even if you order via the Nando's site, it links with Deliveroo's system so your experience, and (more importantly) prices will be the same regardless. However, there's a short-term delivery trick which means there's an advantage booking through Deliveroo if you're spending £15 or more.
New Deliveroo accounts can get 14 days free delivery in these 400+ locations on any order of £15 or more when signing up and making an order by 11.59pm on Sun 11 July.
Once you've entered your postcode at Deliveroo, a pop-up and banner (see image) will tell you you're eligible for the offer.
The cost of delivery depends on how close you are to the restaurant, but when we checked a few Nando's, it was £2-£3ish.
Check if you've 'free' food on your Nando's Card – those extended due to lockdown expire in August
Any Nando's regular will know its free Nando's Card is a no-brainer. You get a 'chilli' (basically a rewards point) when you spend £7 or more, and after you earn enough chillies, you can claim a reward such as a free ¼ chicken (norm £4.25) when you earn three chillies, or a free whole chicken (norm £13.95) when you earn 10 chillies.
Rewards normally expire after one year – don't use 'em and you'll lose 'em. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Nando's has extended any rewards due to expire between January 2020 and March 2021 to Tue 31 Aug 2021.
So if you’ve a Nando’s Card, it’s worth doing a quick check online (you'll need to register it if you haven't), or check in a Nando’s restaurant, to see if there’s anything on it you need to claim before it expires.
Two of you ordering fries? Get MORE for £1 less
If two of you want fries you may just automatically think to order two separate regular portions for £3.50 each (£7 in total). However, you should order a large fries for £6 instead and split it between you. Not only do you save £1 but you actually get more fries.
Two regular portions on the left, and one large portion on the right
You can tell the difference when looking at the portions side-by-side (see above) but of course, we wanted to prove this 'scientifically' – so MSE Laura B weighed the portions. When she tested it, two regular portions of fries weighed 332g, while the cheaper large portion of fries weighed 341g – and gave us about 15 extra fries.
Order chicken butterfly? Get more meat for 50p less (if you don't mind bones)
If chicken butterfly is your go-to at Nando's, it's worth knowing you can get more chicken for 50p less by ordering something else entirely. If you don’t mind your chicken on the bone, the ½ chicken is £7.75, compared to £8.25 for the butterfly.
The 1/2 chicken is on the left, with the chicken butterfly on the right
When side-by-side, it looked like the ½ chicken was meatier than the butterfly, but of course as the ½ chicken is on the bone, it was hard to tell for sure – so in true MSE style, we stripped the ½ chicken off the bone and weighed them both. As you can see below, we got 84g more meat on the cheaper ½ chicken.
NHS, emergency services and forces get 20% off orders up to £20
If you work for the NHS, police, fire or ambulance service you can get a 20% discount off food and drink orders up to £20 (so a maximum £4 discount). Just show a valid photocard ID when you order – you can use the discount once per day. If you're with a group and want to give others the discount too, you'll need to put everyone's meals on the same order – but remember the 20% off only works up to £20 – anything over that won't get the discount.
You can use the 20% discount on eat-in or takeaway orders, but not delivery or click and collect – except for NHS workers who can get the discount on click and collect. You'll need to register online at Nando's and verify your NHS email address every six months.
Costco members can get £10 off £80 of Nando's gift cards – but only do it if you'll definitely spend 'em
We're not generally big fans of gift cards at MSE – people often forget about them, many expire, or become useless if the company goes bust. Yet if you know you'll be eating out at Nando's often and spending £80 or more, there's a way to save £10 if you're a Costco member. You can buy two packs of two £20 Nando's gift cards (so £80 total) online at Costco for £69.98 delivered, while stock lasts.
Unfortunately, as there's a minimum purchase of two packs, you can't get a discount if buying less than £80 of gift cards – as this isn't a small amount of money, be sure you'll definitely use it before buying. You can use the gift cards when paying in a restaurant and for click and collect orders via the Nando's website.
Make your own PERInaise and save 60p
If you want Nando's PERInaise it'll cost you 60p to add it as an extra to your meal – but it's possible to make a version of it yourself.
When we checked, Nando's no longer include mayonnaise at the condiments bar, but instead you're able to ask for some in a pot. Then add a bit of your Nando's sauce of choice (we think Peri-Peri Medium works best), give it a mix and hey presto, DIY PERInaise. It may not be the exact same taste, but it's a cheaper alternative.
Of course, you can do this at home too. If you're already ordering one of the 125g sauces (or have some bought at a supermarket), and assuming you already have mayonnaise, then you can just whip up some PERInaise in the same way, by mixing a bit of each.
We tested it out, and although it wasn't exactly the same taste, we still enjoyed it
Avoid the sugar tax and save 20p
Fizzy drinks that are higher in sugar are more expensive because of the sugar tax introduced back in 2018. This means original Coca-Cola will cost you 20p more than Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Fanta, and Sprite Zero when ordering at Nando's. Opt for any of those drinks instead if you want to avoid the extra levy.
Have a go at making Nando’s at home
It’s not strictly a real Nando’s, but you can save a whole lot on your meal by having a go at making it yourself. You can pick up Nando’s branded cooking marinades, peri-peri salt, spice rubs and more at the major supermarkets to make yourself a Nando’s at home.
Of course, you can save even more money by making your own version totally from scratch, but you may want to use Nando's products to get as close to the real thing as possible.
For example you can recreate a Nando's whole chicken (£13.95 for the real thing) by getting a supermarket whole chicken (£3ish) and two packs of Nando's 25g peri-peri rub (95p each) – meaning you can make a DIY Nando's whole chicken for £4.90ish, a £9+ saving.
To recreate a butterfly chicken meal for two (£24.50 for the real thing), you could pick up a Nando's bag and bake (£1.35), two packs of two chicken breasts (£3.50ish), some peri-peri rice (£1.60ish), and two corn on the cob (£1.30ish) – meaning you can make a DIY Nando's butterfly chicken meal for two with sides for £7.75ish, almost a £17 saving.
We asked MoneySavers who'd given DIY Nando's a go to send us their homemade creations, so take a look below for some inspiration...
Here's MoneySaver Scott's attempt. Are you sure that's a chicken Scott? It's a whopper!
MoneySaver Alex got his grill going. They certainly look like they'd taste good
You can see a bumper list of recipes on the Nando's website to make it all yourself from home.
Do you have any Nando's tips or hacks of your own? Have you tried a DIY Nando's at home? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter @MSE_Deals.
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