Date night @ Las Iguanas (1/2/14)
Me and Leigh wanted to make the most of Newcastle restaurant week and decided to have an early Valentine’s celebration at Las Iguanas. We've eaten here before for Leigh’s 30th birthday and thoroughly enjoyed it.
The restaurant week offer was a starter, main and drink for £10. We got two glasses of the house red, as part of the offer, which Leigh found to be a good quality wine. Good start. I got a Passion fruit & orange cooler, which I found a bit too sour for my taste. Leigh took advantage of the Happy Hour offer and got a buy-one-get-one-free cocktail. He found his Long Island Iced Teas on the sour side too. Must be a preference of the bar man there.
We got the Classic champiñones and Quesadilla for starters. For some reason, I was expecting big breaded chunky mushrooms; and small pieces of mushroom in a sauce came. The description did say “Thick-sliced mushrooms in a creamy smoked chilli sauce, served with warmed soft wheat tortillas”. Twas tasty, though I would have preferred bigger pieces of mushroom and a thicker sauce. The tortillas were a treat – lovely and soft.
What runs through all of Las Iguanas’ dishes is freshness and flavour. The food here is done really well. It does seem expensive when there isn’t an offer on. E.g. The mains are normally £9.90. However, I think that it’s worth it for the quality of the food/size of the portions. It is also an enjoyable eating experience. The staff are friendly and highly efficient. The atmosphere in the restaurant is a fun and bustling one. When we ate here last, Leigh got a free drink as it was his birthday. He also got to order a buy-one-get-one-free cocktail despite Happy Hour being over. It’s little touches like this that make Las Iguanas a pleasure to eat at. You do have to book early, as it does get filled up quickly. Go on, treat yourself!
The restaurant week offer was a starter, main and drink for £10. We got two glasses of the house red, as part of the offer, which Leigh found to be a good quality wine. Good start. I got a Passion fruit & orange cooler, which I found a bit too sour for my taste. Leigh took advantage of the Happy Hour offer and got a buy-one-get-one-free cocktail. He found his Long Island Iced Teas on the sour side too. Must be a preference of the bar man there.
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| Passion fruit & orange cooler and Long Island Iced Tea |
We got the Classic champiñones and Quesadilla for starters. For some reason, I was expecting big breaded chunky mushrooms; and small pieces of mushroom in a sauce came. The description did say “Thick-sliced mushrooms in a creamy smoked chilli sauce, served with warmed soft wheat tortillas”. Twas tasty, though I would have preferred bigger pieces of mushroom and a thicker sauce. The tortillas were a treat – lovely and soft.
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| Classic champiñones |
Our second starter was the Quesadilla – “Tortilla, folded, char-grilled & rammed with Spicy chicken, peppers, onion & cheese. Served with a home-made tomato salsa”. I’ve had quesadillas before and this has to be one of, if not, the tastiest!
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| Quesadilla |
Like the starters, we got two different mains, so we could have half of each one. What I liked about the set menu was that there was plenty of choice and most of them I would choose to eat!
We got the Chili Con Carne - “Slow-braised chunky beef, minced beef, black beans & spicy tomatoes, with spring onion, garlic & coriander rice. Topped with pink pickled onions & soured cream, served with warmed soft wheat tortillas”.
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| Chilli Con Carne |
And The Classic Burger with Curly fries – “The Las Igs’ signature burger; lightly spiced beef patty, in a toasted bun with beef tomato, baby gem & fried onions. With a beefy mayo & tomato gherkin sauce. Comes with slaw & your choice of fries or salad”.
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| The Classic Burger |
Both the mains were good sized portions, full of flavour and really enjoyable to eat.
I was impressed with the Chilli, as I make my own at home, and it doesn’t taste like the way they do it. I may try slow cooking it with chunks of beef like Las Iguanas do.
I have to say that I was especially taken with the burger. Again, I make my own at home but they cannot compare to this. One of the best burgers I have ever eaten. Definitely. The patty was cooked perfectly - crispy and charred on the outside / juicy and flavourful on the inside. The bread bun was delicious and the accompaniments inside (the onions and sauce) went perfectly with the patty. The sides of curly fries and coleslaw were average, but the burger was a stand-alone winner for me. I would go back and pay full price for this.
We decided to get a dessert to share. Again, there were many to choose from that I would have liked to eat! We went for our favourite dessert – cheesecake. Dulce de leche Macadamia Cheesecake - “A whopping wedge of creamy vanilla cheesecake stacked with roasted macadamia nuts & dulce de leche sauce”. For people with a sweet tooth, this would be for you. A very sweet cheesecake that me and Leigh polished off in no time! A delicious finish to a delicious meal.
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| Dulce de leche Macadamia Cheesecake |
What runs through all of Las Iguanas’ dishes is freshness and flavour. The food here is done really well. It does seem expensive when there isn’t an offer on. E.g. The mains are normally £9.90. However, I think that it’s worth it for the quality of the food/size of the portions. It is also an enjoyable eating experience. The staff are friendly and highly efficient. The atmosphere in the restaurant is a fun and bustling one. When we ate here last, Leigh got a free drink as it was his birthday. He also got to order a buy-one-get-one-free cocktail despite Happy Hour being over. It’s little touches like this that make Las Iguanas a pleasure to eat at. You do have to book early, as it does get filled up quickly. Go on, treat yourself!
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