Las Iguanas, Cheshire Oaks is located on the Coliseum Leisure Park among a number of other eateries. A mere ten minute walk from the main shopping circuit, this is the ideal place to retire to after a gruelling day of shopping. Or, like me and my husband if you just want to eat somewhere not too close to home for a chance of scenery.
Guacamole
Inside the restaurant was very attractive, the ceiling was covered in globe shaped lightshades of all different colours so it looked like there were lots of bubbles above us. It was beautiful and the ideal setting for a date night on the day before the most romantic day of the year.
When we arrived our table wasn't quite ready so we sat at the bar and took a look through the cocktails menu as suggested by Mike who greeted us. Preferring to drink them at the table we waited to order them once we were settled in our spot for the night. We arrived during happy hour when 25 cocktails and coolers are on buy one get one free. We began with a non-alcoholic Tropical Cooler- A bend of mango, pineapple, lime and lemonade which quenched our thirst and encouraged the conversation to flow until our starter arrived.
We were initially served by Faith who was really helpful when it came to explaining the menu, as my husband's steak came with lots of options and she described each one so he could make an informed choice.
I would highly recommend the Totopus- Spice dusted corn chips with tomato salsa. A light but tasty starter that has just enough spice without being too hot. Las Iguanas' answer to Doritos and a dip- just better!
We then had another cocktail- this time as Raspberry Cooler- Funkin raspberry puree and bottlegreen elderflower refresher. Elisha brought them over for us right before our main course arrived and they lasted us through our meal.
I enjoyed the Three mushroom Fajita- Freshly cooked to order in our special mix of coriander, lime, paprika, cumin, onions and peppers. Dished up sizzling, with chunky guacamole, soured crème, jalapenos, tomato salsa and soft wheat tortillas. It did indeed come out sizzling- this dish is quite messy, so perhaps not ideal for a Valentine's date with a new partner, but I have been with my hubby for a while now so he didn't mind! Great for the indecisive eater- so you can pick and choose what you put on your tortillas and can change the contents of each one if you want. It was really filling and the veg tasted fresh and was just the right amount of al dente for me.
My husband had the Pichanha Steak- 8oz Rump cap steak, chargrilled, rested and sprinkled with sea salt. Served with molho a campanha; tomato, chilli, onion, green pepper, lime and parsley salsa with mixed sweet potato and cassava fries. He really liked the fact that there was a mixture of fries as it added even more variation to the dish. Sadly we had to wait a while for our main meal so his steak was cold, however it had been cooked the way he asked and overall he really enjoyed his choice.
For dessert we were so full we could only share and had the Aztec Chcocolate Fudge Cake- Warm spiced chocolate orange sponge cake with vanilla ice cream. Again it wasn't warm as the menu suggested but it was very gooey and tasted just as a fudge cake should. The orange was a welcome change and made it tangy against the creaminess of the chocolate.
Considering it was the night before Valentine's Day and most couples had clearly opted to dine on this day, the staff coped really well under the pressure. Having a review on one of the busiest nights of the year cannot be easy and we were grateful for the attention of Mike, Faith and Elisha.
I often find it difficult to dine with my husband now as we both want such different things from a meal. He is all about the meat and I am vegetarian so one of us always come away disappointed (usually me) because there generally isn't the choice for vegetarians. The thing I love about Las Iguanas is that we are always both really happy when we come away because it caters for all eating preferences; meat lovers, vegans, vegetarians and people with gluten allergies.
This is my third time eating at Las Iguanas and I will continue to go back as long as they keep catering for such a wide spectrum of people- keep it up guys!