Nando’s serves up first Australian drive-thru restaurant and talks huge expansion over next five years

Hungry customers have a new way to pick up their next “cheeky” order of peri-peri chicken, with Nando’s pitting itself against other fast food giants by opening its first Australian drive-thru.

The flagship restaurant has opened in Roxburgh Park in Melbourne, with Nando’s saying it was driven by changing customer habits.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Nando’s opens its first Australian drive-thru.

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Drive-thru sales generate up to 70 per cent of revenue for quick service restaurants, and close to four in 10 people say it is their preferred way of ordering food, reports QSR.

“We’ve been privileged to be part of the Australian restaurant industry for 35 years and this marks yet another milestone of how Nando’s is evolving,” Amanda Banfield, the company’s chief executive for Australia and New Zealand, said.

Nando’s plans to open another 25 restaurants across the ANZ region in the next three years, and 70 new stores by 2030.

“Drive-thrus like Roxburgh Park are a key part of that growth story,” Banfield said.

Nando’s also appeared to fire a shot at its competitors “turning to AI”, saying it wants its drive-thru experience to be “unique, vibrant and enjoyable” for customers.

Hungry Jack’s confirmed this month it was using artificial intelligence to take orders after a customer posted their shock at being greeted by an AI assistant, rather than a human employee, at a restaurant in St Peters in Sydney.

Hungry Jack’s told 7NEWS.com.au it was trialling a new “digital voice-activated customer ordering system”.

More restaurants are set to be included in the trial before the end of the year.

“The test aims to determine the effectiveness of the technology in delivering service improvements,” the spokesperson said.

“Customer feedback will be sought during the trial period.”

McDonald’s and KFC are among eateries that have previously trialled AI-based order systems.