Las Iguanas, Newcastle

Do you ever get restaurant envy?  It usually happens to me when I'm rushing up Grey Street and happen to take a glance in the direction of Las Iguanas.  The large windows always make me peak in and the people inside always seem to be having such a great time.  Each time this has happened I've promised myself that one day I will book a table to join in the fun ... somehow it's taken me over two years to get there!

Yes, shocking as it may sound, until last week I had never been to Las Iguanas!

We finally booked ourselves a table for a Thursday evening, making sure we were there for Happy Hour as I'd heard wonderful stories about the Buy One Get One Free cocktails.   Simon wasn't overly bothered by the offer as he had his heart firmly set on a Corona, so really this was all about me being greedy and wanting two cocktails.

The cocktail list was just as I expected, a plentiful amount of fun and fruity flavours.  I changed my mind quite a few times before finally settling on the Pink Passion Fruit, a new addition to the cocktail menu.  

My two glasses arrived, I felt a little naughty for all of two seconds and then had a lovely time with a cocktail for each hand.   The Pink Pigeon vanilla rum, apricot liqueur, passion fruit puree & vanilla sugar made for a fresh and zingy cocktail.

I had spent much of my day carefully studying the menu to select what to have, with a mouth watering choice of food it was a decision that definitely needed many hours dedicated to it.  I was particularly impressed that the menu was clearly labelled for those with food intolerances, as a nut allergy sufferer I really appreciate when a restaurant makes life a little easier for me.

When it comes to Mexican food I always end up making the same decision and ordering my favourite, Enchilada.  I would usually have it stuffed full of meat but the vegetarian option sounded delicious so instead I opted for roast butternut squash, roasted red peppers, spinach and cheese.

It came served with spring onion & garlic rice and was sitting in a generous helping of thick refried beans.  I loved my meal and was really impressed with the delicious flavours and subtle level of spice.  I could have perhaps done with a little more cheese, but maybe that's because I'm a cheese addict and would happily cover all of my food in half a block!

Simon chose a new addition to the menu for his main course, Camaro ala Criolla - prawns in a sauce of peppers, tomatoes, parsley, coriander, garlic, paprika, coconut milk, cumin & lime.  It came served with chilli & garlic buttered wheat & corn tortillas and spring onion & garlic rice.

Whenever we are out in a restaurant for the blog I like to quiz him intently about his meal. He was ready for me this time as the cheeky monkey tried to tell me it was horrible, just to put me off trying any.   Luckily I saw past his lies and paid him back by dunking my fork in and swiping a nice big mouthful to try.   

The prawns were plump and juicy and tasted amazing with the creamy sauce and rice.  He didn't let me take a tortilla ...next time!

As we tucked into our food I stupidly told Simon my story of how I'd often walked past Las Iguanas and enviously watched the people inside having a great time.  I wish I hadn't shared this as the next second he was performing his best dance moves to people outside the window - you can't take him anywhere!

Finally being a part of the "Las Iguanas crowd" was fantastic, it's a really fun restaurant to people watch in and we enjoyed seeing large groups of girlfriends drinking cocktails, families enjoying dinner and couples out for romantic meals.  The atmosphere was busy and happy.

We were, of course, looking forward to ordering dessert.  It doesn't matter how full we feel, it's a given that we will be wanting something sweet after our main meal.

I chose Aztec Chocolate Fudge Cake - warm spiced chocolate orange sponge cake served with vanilla ice cream.  WOW!   I am a huge fan of fudge cake at the best of times, but adding some orange to the mix is inspired.  It was beautiful.

Simon opted for Churros which I was very pleased about as I've been told countless times that you can't go to Las Iguanas without ordering them.  They come in a choice of sizes, the sensible option would have been to order a modest 3 Churros, but since when were we sensible?  Of course, we ordered 6!

The Churros were served with pots of chocolate ganache and dulce de leche. I will admit when they were put down on the table, I almost threw my fudge cake aside - they looked that good.

Despite being fit to bursting after wolfing down the fudge cake I still managed to pinch 2 Churros from Simon and covered them in a, some might say, greedy amount of chocolate ganache.   They were absolutely perfect - crispy on the outside, fluffy in the middle and covered in a generous sprinkling of sugar.

The dipping pots were so generous there was plenty left over once we'd finished the Churros. I sat on my hands to stop myself grabbing a spoon to scoop out the rest of the pots.

We loved our first experience at Las Iguanas and it's safe to say that next time I'm strolling past and see happy faces I will be walking through that door to join the party!