Las Iguanas

Last year was my first time to Las Iguanas for a friend birthday meal, and first time having Mexican food. It was really busy as always and had a lovely atmosphere, was full of couples, groups of friends and families. The staff were friendly, accommodating and very good value for money.

I have visited Las Iguanas many a times for dinner. It is always very busy (which is a good sign) so this particular time we had to wait about 15 mins to be seated. Non the less we were sent over to the bar where they have some good cocktails on offer and Tequila.
Cocktails are great and they have a happy hour, buy one get one free until 7pm so we had a few while we waited. Only thing was you had to get 2 of the same one.
Food was delicious! So many veggie options on the menu — I ordered 3 small tapas style plates which were all really tasty and filling. The black bean bolhinos and spuds on sticks were yummy. My sister had the xinxim and said it was one of best Mexican dishes she has eaten!
Service was friendly — we asked for bread and olives to start and the waitress reccommended we didn’t as we had ordered quite a lot of food already! Very honest of her, and she was right! We wouldn’t have been able to eat everything!
Will definately go back again to try some of the other interesting dishes on the menu and perhaps dessert too next time!

I haven’t been to las iguanas for about five years, but was pleasantly surprised by my return visit. There was a much wider selection of food than I remembered and separate menus for several dietary requirements. I ordered a halloumi and vegetable skewer which had a really good mix of vegetables (not just peppers and onions) but was a little too chargrilled in places. The cocktails were a little too sweet but that’s because I’m a bit of a nerd about these things.
Whilst I found the music a bit too loud that might just be because I’m getting old. It’s got a wide appeal and whilst I won’t be a regular, it had something which would keep most people happy.
Full food review on my blog:

I haven’t been to Las Iguanas in quite a few years now, but on Saturday I was in Birmingham for Pride, and we wanted to go for something nice to eat that wasn’t too expensive. Everyone thought Las Iguanas would be the best option, although I did have my reservations, as when I had been previously, I didn’t think the food was that great.
My mind has been changed! It seems Las Iguanas has had a bit of a menu overhall, with more dishes, and a lot more cocktails added to their menu.
Our waitress was fantastic, not too overbearing but happy to make suggestions on food and cocktails. I had a lamb epanada and Jerk chicken wings to start (I was really hungry) and some sort of chilli beef baguette for my main, along with a couple of Passion Fruit based cocktails that were simply delicious.
Another thing I was impressed with was that there is a whole separate vegetarian menu, rather than 4 or 5 mushroom based plates on the main menu. We had a vegetarian in the group, and he was suitably impressed with this.
Based on this experience, I’m going to go to Las Iguanas in Brighton again at some point. They did good!

Food was amazing and really big portions! But the service was slow and patchy! It was really quiet and had to wait long period of time for drinks and then the bill

I have eaten here a couple of times as it is convenient for The Hippodrome and The Glee Club. The food is a surprisingly wide array of South American dishes. I’ve had a creamy coconutty chicken dish and a spicy half roast chicken. Neither blew me away but both were fine. Prices are in the £10-£15 range and cocktails are around £6. There are a lot of cocktails to choose from! It’s got a nice bar area to sit and have a cocktail in and you can order sharing type dishes such as prawns and nachos. The atmosphere is fun and the staff are friendly. It’s a ggood fall back option.

I love mexican food, and I really like Las Iguanas. Do not go from friday evening to end of weekend if you got no table booked. Gets really busy and most likely won’t get table. Any restaurant around there is hard to get table weeekends.
They do really good burritos (The Titanic) it is really big and floating on beans and burrito being the Titanic. Also their tortillas are quite good and comes steaming hot.
Staff are friendly and depending on the time you are there. On a busy hour, you probably won’t get a great service but never bad.

I’m feeling the love for Las Iguanas. Its veggie-​friendly menu is fabulous — who cares if it’s a chain!
This was my first visit and I had a largish group in tow. We booked ahead in case it was busy and were treated to a lovely big booth. Our server was quick, friendly and very patient.
We opted for the smaller lunchtime menu which had some great choices and was reasonably priced. If you’ve not been before the food has a heavy Mexican and South American/​Latin influence, so expect lots of hot fresh zingy flavours. You’ll find familiar foods like burritos, empanadas and nachos alongside some others that perhaps you won’t have heard of before.
We took our time over cocktails and courses and lingered well into the late afternoon after a stunning lunch. The staff were great and at no time did we feel rushed. Of the five of us dining, three were vegetarian, yet we all managed to choose something different. The verdict was unanimous — we all love Las Iguanas.
Observations: Great spot for large groups. Tables are well spaced. Budget friendly 241 Cocktails. Reasonably priced beers. Super staff. Handy for pre-​Glee Club!
Las Iguanas has just this week opened a branch in Glasgow. Guess where I’m going next!

Las Iguanas is a safe bet. Reasonably priced, tasty food and there’s usually quite a nice atmosphere to the place. The menu is quite extensive with everything from burritos and enchiladas through to some deliciously prepared lamb and seafood dishes. And, situated in the Arcadian, it’s perfectly located for a bite to eat before a show at the Hippodrome or Glee Club.
If you do plan to eat early there’s a bunch of offers to be taken advantage of. A small but cheap lunch/​early evening menu, also happy hour (or about 3 hours) with bogof’s on glasses and pitchers of cocktails and special offers on tapas (3 dishes for £14 or 5 for £19 ish).
We’ve eaten there on dozens of occasions and the service is almost always efficient yet friendly and they are pretty good at accommodating large groups.
Unfortunately on our most recent visit it seemed lacking somewhat. Slightly disinterested staff served us with luke warm starters that were quite dry and disappointing — the albondigas and the gambas are normally succulent and delicious yet this time seemed mediocre and passable. However the main courses were up to standard. I can highly recommend the Henrique Rapadura, a slow cooked lamb steak in a sticky sweet yet not overpowering sauce, and also the Camarão de Calabaza — a veritable volcano of prawns and tomato sauce in a hollowed out butternut squash.
If I had never been before I would have given Las Iguanas a 3 star review, but on the strength of previous visits it still gets my recommendation.

I’ve been here a few times, the first time i went i was very excited that there was more than one or two vegetarian options on the menu, and also they do a couple of non alcoholic ‘mocktails’ which was great. You can get a main meal on the lunch menu for around £5, i ordered the burrito which was so good, guacamole was lovely too. You can’t really complain when considering the price! I visited for lunch again and this time i ordered the vegetarian wrap which was lovely and light, just right for lunch.
So having fast become a fan of the place i booked our work Christmas meal here. Unfortunately the quality of the food just wasn’t the same, i think the problem was that they were bulk making the food and there were a few other Christmas meals on at the same time. Needless to say not everyone enjoyed the food that evening, most of my colleagues found it quite bland.
The non –alcoholic cocktails we ordered were BOGOF… which was just as well as the glasses was half full of ice. Don’t get me wrong they were tasty, it just would have been nice to have more drink in the glass.
I recently went back at lunch, and ordered the vegetarian enchilada which was surprisingly yummy when compared to my last visit and a decent portion size. So I’m putting the disappointing Christmas meal down to a one off. I will definitely visit again, I find the food is very similar to Chiquitos but a lot more reasonably priced.

A Mexican place by no means giving off a traditional cantina vibe.
I’m not sure whether it’s a chain or not, but it feels and looks like one, and I’d compare Las Iguanas more to a Chiqutos than a Bodega. (Names that you should know if you’re a Mexican-​Lover living in Birmingham.)
The cocktail menu is extensive, but I wouldn’t say bountiful. They have a BOGOF offer on some cocktails before 7:30, so I ended up with a couple of Long Island Ice Teas. However, I wished that I didn’t have one, never mind two. I can honestly say that they were the worst attempt at Long Islands that I’ve ever tasted. (And I drink them fairly regularly.) As a previous cocktail bartender myself, I might be more critical than most– but anyone who saw them being made would realise that different spirits were put into the two glasses that were meant to be identical drinks. I was very disappointed as I’d heard great things about cocktails here.
My partner’s enchilada was nothing spectacular, but my main course of meatballs was very nice. We were part of a large group, and the couple sitting opposite us received their mains after my partner had finished his– not good at all.
There are far better Mexican’s in Birmingham, that will end in a much smaller bill.

I went here last weekend with a group of 10 people, though this quickly turned to 12. i booked on the wednesday and they managed to fit us in for 6.30, which was perfect for us. We were seated promptly at 6.30 which was great and drinks orders were soon taken.
We ordered a whole range of drinks and food and I would definitely recommend taking full advantage of the 2−4−1 cocktails on offer throughout the week, especially the pitchers! I personally ordered the fajitas, my all time favourite mexican dish. The portion seemed rather small in comparison to other places I’ve visited and the wraps were on the small side. For the first time I ended up with chicken left and no wraps to have them in. I understand that this may be because at some point there was wastage, i understand now that I could have asked for me but I was just so hungry at the the time!
We skipped desert as we were running out of time of the table. Even though this was the case, the staff did ask us to move in a very polite way and set up an area for us to move to in the bar area. Overall, it was a pleasant experience and the food was good, but bigger portions would have been better for me.

I first went to Las Iguanas many years ago. It was before the start of my great food adventure and the key thing was being able to find something on a menu that I could eat. A restaurant surrounded by guacamole and sour cream was not high on my list.
I was pleased with my experience; my fajitas were pleasant. Sour cream and guacamole were avoided at my request. Other than a couple of quick lunches, I didn’t really give the place much more thought.
It wasn’t until a good few years later when, unable to have my standard Nando’s experience in Leeds that I ended up back in a Las Iguanas. I had a great time. So that meant it was time to go back to Birmingham and see if we measured up!
In the last 12 months, I have been 2 or 3 times (my partner is almost obsessed with the place!). Birmingham’s restaurant is located in the Arcadian Centre; a fairly central location. I would strongly advise booking on a weekend. It is almost always fully booked on a Saturday night.
The cocktail menu is extensive; they also have a great range of 2 for 1 cocktails most nights of the week. The menu has a range of staples that you would expect from a South American chain: Burritos, Tacos, enchilada’s etc. However, they also have a range of more non-​canonical dishes. This section of the menu appears to change relatively frequently. This is good; it means that your old classics are there if you want something familiar, but you get a regular shot of something a little different if you’re in the mood to be adventurous.
I have always found the food to be well cooked and full of flavour. The last dish I had was the bottom half of a roasted butternut squash filled with prawns and squash chunks in a spiced tomato broth, accompanied with rice and topped with a whole king prawn. The whole dish was exceptional. And this place isn’t shy with it’s prawns; the squash was full of them!
The place isn’t perfect. I find the décor a little dark; it can make me feel a little sleepy! The staff are always lovely, but not always attentive. The last two times I have been, it has taken me about half an hour to pay. Plates were cleared, desert was refused and then… nothing! If you dine from the a la carte menu, it isn’t cheap, but the quality is good. I’ve never felt that I haven’t had my money’s worth. The pre-​theatre menu, however, is a steal. If you’re in town and need a rest after a hard day’s shopping, you could certainly do a lot worse!
There are plenty of chain restaurants out there to choose from. In my opinion, this is one of the best, and Birmingham’s branch is great. I highly recommend it. Oh, and if you were wondering, I’ve still managed to avoid all sour cream (I have, however, learned my lesson with guacamole!).

I tend to book Las Iguana’s when there is a fairly large group eating out. It does get booked up pretty quickly, so remember to bag a table if you are going out of an evening.
They do a pretty good lunch menu from about 12:00 — 6:30pm. You can get 2 courses for around £10 (depending on what you want) and add an additional beer or a glass of wine for £2. Alternatively, they do a pretty varied cocktail menu and BOGOF (on glasses or jugs) between 12 — 7:30. I recommend the Long Island Iced tea. Yum!
The A La Carte menu is also pretty nice — I love the albondigas. Lamb meatballs = WIN!
The staff have always been quite speedy and responsive for us. They have also gone out of their way to do something special if you’re out for an occasion. The music is correctly pitched to the atmosphere and not so loud that you can’t have a conversation.
A good all rounder of a restaurant.

Las Iguanas is situated in the Arcadian complex and serves their own take on Latin American food. The food is very good — we had tapas and calamari when we went and both were very tasty.
A big feature of Las Iguanas are the cocktails, in fact if you are going to visit then I advise you try one as the cocktails as these are very drinkable and potent to boot. They’re not the cheapest cocktails in town but there are happy hours and occasional two for one deals which can bring the price down substantially.
The Arcadian complex is not always the best place in Birmingham to eat but Las Iguanas is one of the better eateries there, and is probably a good bet if you are planning a night at the the nearby theatres or the adjacent Hurst Street.

Without risking sounding like a complete wino, I won’t be able to judge Las Iguanas on the quality of its food. This may sound a bit like a cop-​out but, trust me, there’s no reason why you can’t spend a very worthwhile hour or two sampling the place’s sumptiously good cocktails.
The drinks available within the Arcadian complex aren’t exactly the cheapest to be found in the city, so I vote if you want to at least spend the money on something worth the notes you’ll be shelling out then the Las Iguanas cocktail menu is a good place to start. As the previous review states, you can take advantage of 2 for 1 deals during the venue’s ‘happy hour’ period, and I’m sure this was true on a Saturday at around 5pm earlier this year — however, don’t trust me on that, as the spicy ginger concoction I doubled up on soon had me a little bit tipsy-​turvy.
Regardless, this is a fine addition to the Arcadian and you won’t wait too long at the bar. Beware that it is first and foremost a restaurant so, if it’s busy, tables will be taken up by diners (btw, the food does look and smell pretty damn good too) but if you’re willing to enjoy your drink at the bar then this is a great starting point for a hazy evening around Hurst Street.

Situated in the Arcadia Centre, Iguanas is perfect for a pre-​theatre meal; be warned though, it gets busy very early on, so booking is advised.
The food is a blend of Tex-​Mex and Latin, so there’s plenty to choose from (I’d recommend trying something a little more adventurous than fajitas and buritos — there are some interesting dishes on the menu!). The starter portions were very generous, but the main courses were aren’t so much, so choose wisely…
Everything we had (3 starters, 4 main courses) was very tasty and well presented and if we hadn’t been in a hurry to get to the theatre, we would have done the desert menu a bit of damage, too.
They run a 2-​for-​1 on certain drinks (including cocktails) up until 7:30 between Mon and Fri (I *think*), so you can have a pretty cost-​effective meal if you and a friend like drinking the same thing!
The service was ok, but got noticeably slower as the place filled up, but if plan your meal time appropriately, it’s certainly worth a look.

Lively atmosphere and impressive food. Also the cocktails here are spot on!

One of my biggest downfalls in the constant struggle for a size 0 bum has been Latin food, specifically Carne Asada burritos.
Imagine my delight when, upon moving to Britain, I discovered that there is no decent Latin food, and that I’d only have to contend with chips, toad in the hole and mince pies.
That all changed recently, when going to see The Nutcracker ballet at The Hippodrome in Birmingham. My husband needed some alcohol to soothe his balletphobia, so we couldn’t grace Chinatown with our presence.
I Googled around looking for a cheapish bite to eat, and found Las Iguanas web page. Seeing that they did an early dinner special of £1 drinks and under £7 main meal, and are part of the easily-​located Arcadian Centre, we made a booking.
During the pre-​Christmas rush (we visited 4 December), they were absolutely slammed with Christmas party bookings. At my insistent whinging, they fitted us into a small table near the front of the restaurant.
The décor is fab, with the ever-​popular exposed-​ventilation-​system-​ceiling, lovely low uplighting, and fresh «Brazilian» colouring.
The restaurant is built on a tiered plan, making the most of the space, and creating a more private dining feel.
The menu is a bit basic, and could definitely be more expansive. We ate in the Early Meal deal, which made us feel like pensioners, but needs must. With three beers each (we took the train in, officer), starters and a main meal, we ate out for £25.
The food was impeccable, delicious, freshly prepared and full of flavours that knocked our socks off. The beef in the burritos had obviously been marinated in wonderful spices. It was a hefty size, so I couldn’t finish mine, but it was absolutely gorgeous.
For our starter, we had the mango quesadilla (pronounce it correctly as kay-​suh-​dee-​ya for extra Latin points), which was very small, but again, had delicious flavours.
The service was prompt, impeccable and friendly, and our waiter good-​naturedly put up with my Santana jokes. He delivered everything we asked for very quickly, and with good humour, though he was obviously serving a few very large tables.
We told the host that we needed to eat quickly, and he assured us they would do what they could to get us served promptly. Delivered exactly, as we were in and out in just under an hour.
The bathrooms were really clean, and very stylish, and the music was genuinely Brazilian and helped set the tone.
We loved it, and much to the detriment of the size of my bum, we will be going again.
If you’re going on a weekend night, I’d suggest making a reservation.

A wonderful warm atmosphere, fast and friendly service, a diverse range of Latin dishes and interesting cocktails make this place a winner with me!
The atmosphere is the best thing about the place, with moody and warm lighting highlighting the curvaceous, organic shapes of the interior and upbeat Latin music completing the ambience.
The menu is diverse and authentic, with Brazilian and Mexican styles featuring prominently but clear influences from all over the Americas. I started with a couple of brie and mango empanadas — a unique and tasty take on typical Latin street food. My duck enchilada was good but could have been a bit spicier (and bigger). But they redeemed themselves at dessert time — a perfect chocolate banoffee tart with a crunchy digestive base accompanied by wonderful and surprising single-​source Ipanema coffee from Brazil.
The drinks menu is fantastic — a wide range of cocktails (many featuring cachaca which they impressively make themselves from sugar cane), 6 different kinds of tequila and around a dozen wines available by the glass.
To top it all off I was delighted to see they had packets of Venezuelan corn flour for sale — proving that they really do use authentic ingredients and making me very happy as I hadn’t seen it in a long time!