RESTAURANT REVIEW: Las Iguanas in Resorts World Birmingham

Last night, I travelled to the exotic and vibrant Las Iguanas with high expectations, for I had already been before, and had always had a good time.

This visit, however, exceeded every expectation I had. It was my friend’s first time, so was great to relive the Las Iguanas experience once more.

A fiery start was had when we arrived at the bar to understand it was happy hour, slogan of which read: “Create Your Happy Hour”, with a choice of 25 cocktails to mark 25 years of Las Iguanas. With mixologist Kevin’s help, the first hour was a truly happy one, imbibing rum and ginger based cocktails that had some heat kick.
The happiness ensued as we finished our cocktails (Dark’n’Stormy x2, and a Ginger and Orange Caipirinha) to be escorted by a very friendly front of house member of the team who took us to our table, enthusiastically explaining everything on the menu ensuring we knew what to do.

The mixture of Latin music and the effervescent energy of the staff contributed to an atmosphere worthy of the tropics. The mood was certainly heightened once Josh, our waiter, had introduced himself and by offering to help us choose some Tapas to try for starters. We took Josh’s recommendations and ordered Gambas (king prawns in garlic, lemon and chillie sauce); Nachos; and Pato Taquito (roasted duck with caramelised onion rolled in a flour tortilla, with a spicy cranberry salsa), all of which only cost £15. The prawns were a sensation with an incendiary edge that lingered warmly on the palate, with a zest that equalled the fire of the chillie. This was my plus-1’s favourite dish of the night, having spooned the remains of the sauce and come close to asking the waiter to doggy-bag the rest. For me, the duck was the winner with tender and meaty chunks, dipped in a cranberry salsa ingeniously corrupted by chillie. After many a dip, I don’t think cranberry and chillie should ever be divorced from each other again!

Being a returnee, I went for my favourite dish at Las Iguanas which was Marinated strip-steak Fajitas (£15.95), while my guest had the Sea Bass (£13.50). The sound of the steak sizzling was part of the Fajita experience at Las Iguanas, where you can hear it come before you see it. It was accompanied by generous sides (guacamole, soured cream, jalapeños, tomato salsa, cheese) all to go on my warm and soft wheat tortillas. The Sea Bass, according to my friend, was of a rustic nature, appeared and tasted fresh and was as comforting as a stew on a cold winter’ day (appropriate of course!)
After finishing all our food, I was teased by the dessert menu, but had no room for more; a shame as I would have loved to have tried either the Dulce de Leche Macadamia Cheesecake, or the Aztec Chocolate Fudge Cake, which appeared particularly special with it being made with spiced orange sponge.
Las Iguanas did itself proud again, with an excellent atmosphere, to-die-for food, and second-to-none service, especially from Kevin and Josh who both went out of their way to satisfy our queries and make us feel at home. We are already talking about the next trip. If you want a hot experience in a wintery season, go to Las Iguanas!