Las Iguanas

In my youth, the great challenge in life, both for locals and tourists, was to sample as many of the drinking establishments on Rose Street as could be stomached in a single sitting. George Street was home to bars in the single figure scale: I recall Styx, Madogs, the hotel bars and that was about it.

Now there are many more bars and restaurants on George Street than Rose Street could ever accommodate. Las Iguanas is the latest addition to their number, having opened just a few weeks ago.

I was joined today by Ross, who had previously quested to such fine establishments as The Huxley, Bar Soba and Angel’s Share.

Las Iguanas has that new place feel about it, with the furniture and decor radiating a pristine quality. It feels slightly generic but pleasant, nevertheless.

The menu is one of those that’s so extensive and interdependent that it requires some explaining. Fortunately for me, I arrived a little late, so Ross copped the brunt of this info burst.

That aside, it became abundantly clear that service was a clear strength. Not only did we have a very good, attentive and helpful waitress, but the pervading service paradigm seemed very well pitched.

We both decided to go with their light and quick lunch menu, which runs until 6.30pm. I opened with their coconut squash taco, then followed with their burger, while Ross started with the smoky turkey empanada, then chose spicy chicken for main.

Starters were with us presently looking simple and a little underwhelming. My squash dish was OK, with a decent spicy kick to it, but was far from memorable. Ross’s empanada looked very sad.

Their burger was again on the lukewarm side of thrilling. The ratio of bun to burger was poorly judged making it a necessary knife and fork job and rather a stodgy eat. The curly fries were good, but much in the style of the wedges from Snax.

Ross was similarly underwhelmed with his chicken dish, which was fine but little beyond. The coleslaw, we agreed, was very mediocre fare.

So overall, Las Iguanas has very good service, which is to be commended, but the food is less enticing. It strays little beyond the generic and needs a fair amount of pepping up before it could ever be considered an exciting prospect.

Scores
2.5/5 for food
2/5 for presentation
4/5 for service
3.5/5 for service
giving an overall 12/20

Today’s questers were: Ross, Blythe

We ate: turkey and cranberry empanada; coconut squash taco; burger; half chicken

We drank: water

We wore: beards (2)

Total bill: £22.15