Nando's (Soho)

Soho branch of the popular nationwide spicy chicken chain started in Joannesburgh in 1987 by Robert Brozin and Fernando Duarte, who in 1992 took the business to London — both suburban Ealing and former gay ghetto Earls Court — and kick-started a UK phenomenon that would embrace their quality-fast-food take on Portuguese/African-style peri-peri (aka piri-piri) chicken on a big scale. The chicken is marinated for 24 hours in a tasty sauce that makes use of African bird's eye chili, then grilled to order. Portions are not über-generous, but as a food option that veers somewhere between hearty snack and full-blown meal, it's decent value. As of 2016 there were 339 Nando's in Britain, and in 2014 the HBO gay comedy drama LOOKING introduced what must be America's first ever TV chef character devoted to peri-peri chicken. One of London's more atmospheric Nando's outlets is located under the arches in Vauxhall, halfway between the Hoist and the Royal Vauxhall Tavern (opened 2013). This Soho branch gave itself an 'arty' makeover in August 2017.