Barcelo’s Flame Grilled Chicken

The service is usually fair and items are pretty well made with a decent price point. Been going roughly since it opened. Sort of a Pepsi — coke to Nandos. Being closer to my house than nandos I came by often, at least 1 — 3 times a week for a quick bite. Food was good but not as refined compared to other similar spots. The last and only issue I had was on the weekend of 08÷30÷15 on this weekend the power had gone out. Food came out looking decent «chicken wrap» the food was slightly soggy but didn’t think much of it, issue came when I got home and had major stomach issues, called the restaurant and spoke to the manager «aman» who refused to acknowledge any issue and was essentially told it was a mute point since I had left. Point being I know when food isn’t prepped well and this was one of those time, won’t say it’s always like that but the inability to take my concern seriously worries me. Customer lost.

A true Nando’s competitor!!! I’s cheaper than Nando’s but personally, I found it to be better. Its a nice good clean place to get a healthy dinner (not considering sodium intake).
Overall, the place is nice and clean, mostly because it is brand new and operated by the family, who, when I spoke with one of the cashiers, owns the Canadian rights to the franchise.
Anyways, moving along, its about $ 2-​$ 3 cheaper than Nando’s, similar serving size but tastier. I got the double leg thigh combo with a side of veggies. I’ve always found their chicken to be a little juicer than Nando’s, could be the preparation. The taste is similar, if not better than Nando’s.
Overall, really good, highly recommend it. I’ve always believed in competition and hate monopolies (something which nando’s has). I can’t wait for more Barcelo’s to open up around Vancouver, hey if I could, I would definatly buy their franchise!

my new favourite flame grilled chicken restaurant!
ordered double chicken leg veri peri w/​2 sides (rice and wedges) for under 10 $!
The wait time wasn’t too long at all and food was totally worth the wait
If you haven’t visited this place, because it is fairly new, you have to go check it out!

If you are like me, you’ve driven by this place and said to yourself, «there has got to be a lawsuit coming».
Strangely enough, after doing some research, it turns out this is an actual international franchise. More competition is a good thing, and there’s no actual reason why Nandos deserves to corner the market on Portuguese chicken.
The only reason I ended up coming here was because Meditalia was closed, and I was in the mood for some shawarma. I figured that some chicken was better than no chicken. In the past, I’ve sort of craved Nandos, but for whatever the reason the cost of it all always throws a wrench into my plans.
Not so much the case with Barcelos, as everything here is priced about $ 2 – 3 cheaper than Nandos.
Let’s start then with the quality, now that the price is out of the way. Cheap is great and all, but I want quality too.
By no means am I a Nandos aficionado, and if I have one complaint with them it’s how slow they can be with their service. I get it, they cook their chicken on the spot so it’s fresh and all that, and the last thing you want is under-​cooked chicken but for whatever reason, it always just seems slow, and perception plays a large part on the dining experience in my opinion.
Anyways let’s get down to the food.
In a nut shell, you are getting exactly what you would get at Nandos. I don’t know how else to phrase it, or review it. You are getting more or less the same thing, but at a cheaper cost. I ordered my usual (Nandos order, that is) of the 2 Chicken Kebabs with 2 sides, which cost $ 9.99(!).
The sides I chose were the coleslaw and spicy potato wedges. Barcelos loses marks on the wedges because they just aren’t as good as Nandos. They are a little bland and plain, and a little salty, but not inedible by any means.
The chicken was great, and was stacked end to end on the skewer, and included roasted peppers as well which made for a nice accent to the taste. I chose mild peri spiciness, which to be honest was pretty… mild. Those who can’t handle spicy foods should probably stick to the mild peri (I can’t handle it very well either).
The coleslaw was fine, just what you would expect from a chicken place. Nothing mind blowing.
Really, everything here is like it was taken from Nandos. It’s almost as if they owner of Nandos went through a divorce, and the other half set up their own restaurant to spite them (clearly not the case, but I’m using this as an illustration).
The menu does have a few more offerings than Nandos, like a stir-​fry, and donairs for example. After I had received my food, I noticed they had a Chicken Shawarma wrap, but it was too late! I will be trying this out next time for sure.
The food was prepared on the spot in a timely fashion. I was offered hot sauces, and I ended up with the mild, and the super spicy one (I was warned by what appeared to be the manager). i tried both, and ended up using the super spicy one more, because, well, it didn’t seem that spicy going in. Coming out though, was an entirely different matter. It was quite spicy. I’ll be sticking to the mild next time.
Overall, if you want the Nandos experience but don’t want to pay what they charge, you really can’t go wrong with Barcelos as it is nearly identical, and a good portion cheaper.

First time trying this place. Very good grilled chicken. Excellent flavours. Good prices and service too. Will go back for sure.