Las Iguanas

Las Iguanas is possibly the best of the chain restaurants available in the Trafford Centre’s food hall. You won’t get anything here that you can’t get at any of their other branches, but the staff are well trained, friendly and efficient and the food is reliably decent Tex-​Mex fayre. They have a separate veggie menu (really just the veggie items off the main menu collected together) which is handy, and being Tex-​Mex there are plenty of veggie options available.
We shared a starter and went on to order 1 burrito and 1 enchilada, both with small customisations (drop one ingredient in the burrito, change the type of rice under the enchilada) which were handled without fault. The service and delivery of food were perfectly timed in a half filled restaurant.
Having tried a fair few of the other outlets sharing the Great Hall at the Trafford Centre (and all that hold any appeal), Las Iguanas is one of a select few that we don’t mind returning to.

There was a high bar to beat during our latest trip to Las Iguanas, having only sampled some excellent tapas at a friend’s house the day before, but we were willing to give it a try.
The style is more Latin-​Spanish than Spanish-​Spanish, with a combination of ‘Tapas Time’ and regular dishes — if you’re in the mood for sharing (and why wouldn’t you be?) you can, or if you’re just wanting to keep to yourself, that’s OK too.
One the regular menu there are a host of pretty difficult to pronounce treats — you could plump for the Brazilian Xinxim, the Bahia Moqueca or the Camãrio a lo Criolla. And the dishes are more than a mouthful as far as portions are concerned too, with plenty on the plate you won’t go away hungry…
We were in the mood for a little Tapas though, and took them up on the offer of 5 dishes for £24. If you just wanted to pick at one or two, they range between £5 and £7 each. You can also get 3 for £14 — handy if you’re on your own.
So, what did we go for?
— Calamares — a firm favourite, crispy squid (including the tentacles!) with a spiced aioli,
— Gambas in a mild garlic and chilli sauce,
— Pato Taquito; basically a duck fajita with a really good spiced cranberry sauce
— Cha-​Cha Chorizo — Chorizo in a spicy tomato sauce
— Quesadilla — we went for the chiken
We also got a side of ‘Patas Bravas in Bits’ — the traditional potato dish, but deconstructed with the tomato and aioli in a separate dish. I think this is a brilliant idea; you don’t have to deal with soggy spud — crispy all the way!
The venue itself is a little on the small side, and seems a bit swamped in the hugeness that is the Great Hall, and some of the tables feel a little cramped. The ambiance is OK, but sat around the back I felt we were missing out somehow (not a feeling I’ve had when I’ve been sat out the front).
The staff were great, really friendly, and made up for some of the disappointing bits.
Overall, an OK, rather than good Tapas place, a bit commercial, and definitely not authentic, but worth a try if you’re in the Trafford Centre and want to eat (and quite a bit of a step up over Maccy D’s).

I was intrigued by the Brazilian/​Mexican mixture that this restaurant touts and wasn’t sure what to expect on a recent visit. The nachos appetizer was very light and not heavy as I’m accustomed to here in the US. I tried the enchilada for my entrée and was not disappointed. It had a very smoky flavor and offered a great twist on the traditional Mexican offering. A great surprise was the 2 for 1 happy hour that they have running throughout the week.

After deciding to run the gauntlet of the Trafford centre with one week to go before Xmas, a spot of dinner was on our minds. It’s fair to say that the TC is full on «chain central» — the place where every well known fast food venue rubs up against «family type restaurants» that are common in retail parks and out of town locations off a motorway.
However, my wife and myself have always enjoyed the offerings of Las Iguanas and for a chain, it was the beacon of light amongst the others. LI have always changed their menu regularly and do a good job of offering all sorts of region specific South American cuisine as opposed to just the usual Tex Mex.
You may see I’ve reviewed LI as a 2 but I wish I could offer it 2.5 stars as it was worth a little bit more.
First off the staff were very friendly but the food was a game of two halves (if you’ll excuse my football analogy…) The nachos with pulled beef was a great sharing starter between the 3 of us and set us up for the main event. However… after spending the past few hours salivating about the thought of having a steak — we were served up 2 Sirloins that were as tough as old boots, had no seasoning and were so dry, that I was almost calling for extra water just to wash it down with!
Such a shame and the Steak was a bad choice on my part. Especially due to the fact that they were over £16 each. Unfortunately it was reminiscent of a Steak I had at a Premier Inn one night when I was too full of a cold to leave the hotel when away with work. I felt embarrassed on both occasions that a cow had given up their life for this offering!
I will go back to LI one day but definitely not for steak!

Do like this restaurant, have been to one on Deansgate a couple of times but this was my first visit to the Trafford Centre branch.
Had a butternut squash dish here which was ½ a butternut squash, roasted and filled with king prawns covered in a lovely garlicky spicy sauce topped with a butterflied shell on prawn. It came with a coriander and lime rice. It was delish and they weren’t shy with the prawns (i find that most places are a bit shy with the prawns!). Glad I skipped the starter as it was v filling!
They also do a good range of cocktails and do 2 4 1 during the week. I unfortunately couldn’t sample any as i was driving :(
My friends who i was with had a butternut squash, feta and spinach enchilada with black beans which also looked very nice and was also a good size.
Enjoyed my evening here considering the restaurant was open and not enclosed by walls we lost track of time and were here for nearly 3 hours chatting, eating and catching up –the servers didn’t try and rush us out which was welcome.

Love it! Love the food, I’m a vegetarian and there is loads of choice and it’s all amazing! Love the ambiance, love the music! The staff are always friendly and helpful, love the fact that you get a free birthday cocktail!
Prices are a bit high so if I could give 4.5 stars I would, but they deserve 5 for everything else being so amazing!

I’ve been coming here for the a good few years, it’s one of only three places I’ll actually eat at in the Trafford Centre. The food is always good and it has more choice and unusual dishes than the average Mexican places. It is a chain but doesn’t really have much of a chain feel, the ingredients always seem to be of good quality.
The breakfast menu is lacking though and this is where it misses out on a five star rating. They used to do a fantastic breakfast menu with many Mexican style meals, now a bacon butty is on there and a breakfast burrito a little disappointing compared to the crisp tortilla, scrambled eggs and chorizo they used to do. They do however still do churros, but only at breakfast, it’d be nice to see them on the main menu too.
The lunch menu is pretty good money wise but the dishes are scaled down from the main menu. Desserts are pricey but very good, as are the drinks.

Now I’ve been to Las Iguanas many times but only actually eaten here once and that was only because we had 2 for 1 vouchers. That said the food was really good.
It’s a bit out of the way and I often forget it’s there and hence go to one of the other many resturants about the place.
Biggest plus is that it’s the latest opening, so when all the other places are shutting it’s still open.

Las Iguanas is situated in the Orient in the Trafford Centre andi must say it really was a experience I expected something with more of a chain feel but it wasn’t like that at all, it was very personal and more classy than I imagined it would be. The main course meals were delicious and the menu is broad enough to give a good choice but not over-​broad. We both really enjoyed it. Drinks were slightly more expensive than I would have liked but overall, a reasonably priced meal — £50 inc tip for 2 on a Saturday night.

I LOVE this place! The food is good and reasonable deals and offers are in place. Its also halal. Not everything on the menu is for everyones taste– but you need to know what your ordering before, rather than being too spontaneous in this place! Love the cocktails, especially the passionfruit cooler! The fajitas never go a miss!
Desserts are good too, the trio of brulees were amazing, especially the ginger one!
The atmosphere is very lively and cosy love the latin music, keeps you in a really jolly mood!
Service is fantastic everytime!

This is a great place for a casual lunch or dinner or even a few drinks at the bar. The food is different and of consistently great quality. There are specials for tapas and other dishes so its great value also. Its a mix of Latin and south american food and there is lots of variety. The décor is trendy and some of the booth are quite private.