Las Iguanas
I do like Sheffield. It is a lovely city with wonderfully contoured roads and comparatively a lot of greenery. However, one of things that irk me about this place is the lack of bargain lunch deals (yes, I know Pizza Volante does a fabulous soup and pasta or pizza lunch deal for £5). As convenient as the Interval bar is, sometimes a girl hankers for a bit more variety and a more satisfying meal.
In order to celebrate the end of deadlines with my architect housemates we decided to have lunch at Las Iguanas. (I have much respect for architects as they do a colossal amount of work – 14 hour days in the Arts Tower! This concept boggles the mind.) As it was a nice sunny day we sat at the tables outside, although it must be mentioned that the décor inside seemed pretty relaxing and stylish. Both my housemate Sarah and I took advantage of the two courses for £7 lunch and early evening offer.
For starters I ordered the calamares (baby squid in a tomato and coconut sauce) and carne (grilled rump steak topped with a free-range egg cooked in salsita and served with cassava fries). Sarah (a vegetarian) ordered hongos ajillos (mushrooms in garlic and chilli butter) and queso fritos (golden crisp brie, mango and ginger parcel served on fresh salad). Feeling rather extravagant and famished, Heather chose the corvina rellenos (roast whole sea bass brushed with garlic butter and cooked with lemon, served on grilled vegetables and sweet potato - £12.50).
The West One complex is one of the nice bits of Sheffield as it includes one of my favourite eateries (East One Noodle bar, which I’m sure is not at all stereotypical for a Chinese person) and other swish-looking cafés, bars and restaurants. Las Iguanas is itself is a chain restaurant and has its own website here. It was about a 15-minute wait until the starters arrived. I was somewhat disappointed with the calamares. It consisted of about five sad-looking baby squid swimming in a watery, yet fragrant coconut sauce, scattered with sliced peppers and chillis.
Nevertheless, I proceeded to impale a little squid victim to have a taste. It was clear that the little squid were mistreated after their deaths. Firstly, they were overcooked so that they were quite tough and rubbery. Secondly, they were not at all fresh. On closer inspection, they smelled and tasted as if they had been left out of the fridge too long, and they had developed a very unpleasant ‘fishy’ taste and smell which would not be found in the freshest and most well-preserved of squid or seafood in general. It would explain why the sauce was particularly tasty. That dish was deeply disappointing. However, Sarah seemed to enjoy her starter which was a good sign.
After the fiasco with the calamares I did not have high hopes for the main course, but I thought that a steak is not that easy to mess up. Within about 15 minutes of our starters being taken away, our main courses arrived. Heather’s sea bass looked delicious and the portions were of a generous size. Unfortunately the same could not be said about Sarah’s or my main courses. My rump steak seemed hidden by the fried egg atop it. It was a little smaller than a mug coaster but admittedly nearly an inch thick. The salsita that accompanied the steak and egg was a little too spicy for my liking and seemed to mask the taste of food, rather than complement it. This seemed a bit of a shame as the egg was nicely fried (runny yolk- my favourite) and the steak was very nicely grilled with a succulent pink centre. Despite its size, it was one of the nicest steaks I have had in a long time. The cassava fries were particularly tasty with a crispy coating and firm but starchy texture.
Sarah commented that her main course was also somewhat undersized. Swamped by the salad and served in a very large plate, her brie parcels looked even smaller. Heather noted that her ‘grilled vegetables’ seemed to consistent only of courgettes, but she was sufficiently stuffed by her meal and didn’t quite manage to finish all her sea bass. With a glass of coke and two passionfruit and orange liquados the total bill came to £33.00. Las Iguanas is not a particularly cheap place to eat out and the lunch and early evening deals offer dubious value for money. Perhaps I was just unlucky that day with the disappointing quality of the squid but I cannot help but think that after two failed attempts to book a table there for my last two birthdays, I’m glad I was spared the full dining experience!
Food: 5.5/10
Service: 7/10
Ambience: 9/10
Value for money: 5/10
By Katie Hau
