Albondigas
Firstly, before Friday night I had never set foot in a branch of Las Iguanas, having never before been on my radar as a place to eat. With its extravagant décor and promising smells that drifted from the open plan restaurant, I was keen to try something new.
Las Iguanas is a Latin American restaurant and we were invited to the branch in Manchester, Trafford Centre to sample our first taste of America!
We were greeted by Ben who gave us a large central table so we could soak up the atmosphere and tempt ourselves with other people’s dishes being served around us.
The restaurant is decked out like an outdoor eatery in the middle of somewhere in central or southern America. With palm trees, cacti and large canopies, the company has spared no expense in making you feel like you have been transported right to the heart of a holiday setting.
With the earthy tones of oranges, greens, yellows and browns, you feel like kicking back with a cocktail and taking in some rays. So thank goodness for Happy Hour where if you dine before 7.30 pm- you can get 2 for 1 on cocktails!
We began with a cocktail each- me with a non-alcoholic Pina Colada as I was driving- which tasted just like the real thing- and my partner had a Las Iguanas Magnificent Cachaca. With a blend of cachaça, fresh lime, caster sugar and crushed ice- it's a lovely zesty drink to accompany one of the hotter dishes or simply to cleanse the palate before diving into your meal.
To start with our waiter, Martin encouraged us to sample one of the Taco Sharing Trays- little corn and wheat tortillas, loaded with melted cheeses, salsa, pink picked onion, radish, spring onion, soured cream and you choice of three fillings. We decided on Spicy lemon, chili and garlic prawns, roasted coconut butternut squash and barbecue and jalapeno shredded steak.
If you are planning to eat here of an evening, don’t eat anything all day, for the starter is huge never mind the main course!
Martin was very patient with us as we had not been before and very confident in his recommendations- he also gave us resting time between courses as we let our starters settle.
Like a mini fajita kit, a sharing platter is the best way to get your fingers dirty and the conversation flowing. This dish encourages you to be social as you sample all of the spices and flavours of the food. Having only had larger versions of something similar to this in the past, it was nice to be able to have a bit of each filling and enjoy new textures and flavour combinations.
For main course I had The Extraordinary XinXim- Lime chicken in a crayfish and peanut sauce with spring onions and garlic rice and fine green beans, toasted coconut farofa to sprinkles and sweet plantains. As an existing fan of sweeter curries, this is the closest thing to compare it to- sweet meat and sauce, with the option to make it sweeter with the sprinkles and the savoury rice. The crayfish gives it that something different to make the sauce more interesting and added another layer of flavour.
My partner has the Hot Guyanese Pepperpot- Chunky, succulent slow braised mutton, fired up with hot scotch bonnets peppers. Simmered slowly with cloves, orange zest, cinnamon, and lime juice. Served steaming with sweet plantain, orange wedges and spring onion and garlic rice. Heated up by the scotch bonnets but mellowed out by the orange zest, this has spicy and sweet in perfect equilibrium.
As you can see by the list of ingredients, a lot has gone into making these dishes and when you eat the food, it’s evident that the flavours have been carefully thought out to make everything so complimentary of one another.
Unfortunately we were far too full from a dessert, although they did look lovely judging by the food being passed around on our neighbour’s tables. So the main message if you are eating as Las Iguanas is to pace yourself and let your stomach prepare for the ride!
I will be returning to Las Iguanas as I want to introduce my parents to some new culinary delights and I think this is the perfect place to do so.
The one thing I would conclude about this restaurant is to be wary of its location. For those who are not looking or it, it is located behind the big screen in the food hall of the Trafford Centre, so if you can't find it, I would suggest asking at the information desk, as we had to. Because it’s tucked away, I would assume that it has missed out on some passing trade, which is a shame as it’s always nice to break the mould and eat somewhere different to your usual haunts.
All I would say in my parting message is make the effort to seek out this restaurant for the next time you are hungry and in the mall. It’s well worth taking the leap and experiencing something different, rather than sticking with the old tried and tested. I am hoping that after reading this review the restaurant will be on your radar and will continue to be for it is somewhere I will be frequenting in future.
Thanks to Martin for your time and attention and for making our visit one to remember!
Tagged in Manchester