Loving Las Iguanas

Sian Elvin reviews Leamington’s latest offer in Latin American cuisine

Although there is already a plethora of different restaurants and places to eat in Leamington, over the summer yet another chain store opened in Regent Court. This time it was in the form of Las Iguanas, which offers Latin-American style cuisine, infused with the exotic 16th-century roots of India, Spain, Portugal and Africa. When I went travelling across Central America last summer, I became pretty well versed in Latin American food, and it has since been one of my top culinary choices. So naturally, I couldn’t resist when given the opportunity to review the new Leamington Spa branch.

We headed along on a Sunday lunchtime when the weather was bright, thinking that the restaurant would be fairly quiet as they don’t serve your traditional roast dinners. However, we couldn’t be more wrong – the outside section of the restaurant was packed, and when we entered, the inside was beginning to fill up too. I was pleasantly surprised by the decor, which, much like a number of shops in Leamington, preserves the original architecture of the town’s beautiful buildings. The lit-up bar and singular lightbulbs lighting the restaurant give it a subtle ambience and lightness which would be perfect for hanging out with your friends of an evening.

Photo: Sian Elvin

We were welcomed very warmly, and sat on a round table in a delicately lit corner. As a student on an extremely tight budget, I was wary of Las Iguanas as I thought it would be too much on the pricey side for me. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the value of the meals – the chicken dishes are around £10, sandwiches and salads about £9 and sides (which are absolutely huge) are roughly £3. The grills and prawn dishes are, of course, a little more expensive.

However instead of one main meal, we decided to opt for the sharing tapas platter, as it allowed us to sample a wide range of dishes across the menu – they all sounded absolutely delicious and we were indecisive about what we would like to try. You can share three tapas dishes for £14.40 and five for £24, so we went for some nachos, quesadillas, chicken wings, chorizo and spicy duck wraps called pato taquitos. The food was absolutely delicious and fantastically presented, and the chorizo was by far my favourite dish on the table; it just crumbled beautifully, instead of being fatty and chewy like I have found it to be at some restaurants. The food was fairly messy to eat – it seems that Las Iguanas certainly encourages eating with your fingers – so a bowl of warm lemon water was provided to wash your hands in. The only complaint I would have is that the tables were far too small to fit all the food on!

Las Iguanas is definitely top for food, as the tapas is such great value and you get so much for your money

Naturally, as the restaurant is alongside popular student choices Turtle Bay and Nando’s, and opposite new favourite Bill’s, it would only be fair to compare Las Iguanas to its competition. Both Turtle Bay and Las Iguanas offer two-for-one cocktails during their happy hours (Turtle Bay 12-7pm and 10pmclose every day, Las Iguanas all day Sunday to Wednesday and 9.30pmclose Thursday to Saturday), which are of very similar price, but the vibrant music and emphasis on the bar in the centre of the Turtle Bay restaurant makes it a better place for drinking. However, Las Iguanas is definitely top for food, as the tapas is such great value and you get so much for your money (in hindsight, five dishes were far too much between two, and three would have been plenty!).

Photo: Sian Elvin

Overall, although Bill’s would be a better place for a date as it is much more intimate, Las Iguanas is easily as good as other restaurants in the area because its tapas is fairly unique. It is not overpriced, but offers a food experience of higher quality than somewhere like Nando’s, which, let’s be honest, is far too expensive for what you get.

If you want to change it up a little and celebrate a more special occasion with your friends, Las Iguanas is the perfect place in Leamington. Oh, and if you need any more convincing, the churros are out of this world.