I have lived in the south for nearly nine years now. But I have very much stayed in my comfort zone when it comes to visiting the area; there are still so many areas that I have never visited. One of those places in Kingston. I’ve driven through it before, but never parked up and explored. So it was about time to change that, love where you live and all that. So we went to Kingston to have a mooch and grab some food.

Kingston has plenty of places to choose to eat. But a restaurant that was calling to us was Las Iguanas. We all love Mexican and South American food, so we were looking forward to trying it all out. I find there is a distinct lack of Mexican and South American restaurants in the UK (compared to when we lived in the US anyway). So it was nice to have a change to pizza or burgers.

First Impressions

To start with, I was really impressed by the decor of the restaurant. It is really modern and stylish, with an eclectic mix. Really funky and suits the restaurant. The next thing was how friendly and approachable the staff were, everyone that we came into contact with was so lovely and friendly. They were helpful when we had questions and offered suggestions for us too. I was very impressed.

When you’re eating with kids, it is always helpful if there are things for them to do. We try to bring a few toys and games for them, but the same old suff doesn’t always do it. So when they handed us crayons and the children’s menu for them to draw on, the kids got stuck in straight away. At the moment, they are also giving each child’s menu a free toy from their selection of animals, all designed by the folks at Aardman. I thought this was a really nice touch. Plus, one thing that we weren’t aware of until we got there:

over summer KIDS EAT FREE!

For every adult main meal you buy, kids can eat free. The kids meal, which includes a drink, main and a dessert is just under £6. So I know its not breaking the bank anyway. But it means I’d be more likely to go when I’m not paying £12 for both of my kids to eat. A really good incentive for the summer holidays.

The Food

I honestly don’t know where to start with the food, it all sounded so tasty. I took a while choosing what I wanted to eat on the menu! To start, we got a big bowl of nachos to share, topped with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole. Honestly, one of my favourite things to eat, so I was very pleased.

I need to also mention the drinks, too. They do normal soft drinks, of course, but all of their cocktails, whether alcoholic or non-alcoholic, are always two for one. So it is any excuse to have some tasty drinks. I got a raspberry cooler and the husband got a virgin piña colada. We swapped and had one of each and they were both amazing.

I chose the vegetarian burrito for my main, and the husband went for the spicy chicken. The portions are hearty, I was feeling rather full by the end, but the food was oh, so tasty! This is my perfect kind of food, and I was not disappointed by the flavours.

The kids both chose burgers for their meals (eye roll). When will they get more adventurous?! I did like that there are options for more traditional ‘kid’ food on the menu for them, like burgers, but there were things like quesadillas too.

On to desserts next… The kids get one included in their meal; Max chose the jelly and ice cream and Chloe chose the chocolate brownie and ice cream. The portions were just right for kids. I was honestly stuffed, but the husband wanted to try a dessert, so we chose a dulce de leche dessert with salted caramel ice cream and a kind of deconstructed peanut brittle. Not going to lie, I did have a taste. It was amazing! Peanuts and salted caramel are the dream!

We also got a platter of churros to share, because, well, churros. Between the caramel sauce and the chocolate sauce, plus the cinnamon taste of the churros, they all got cleared off between the four of us.

Overall?

I couldn’t find anything to fault or improve on. The restaurant was stylish, clean, and neat. The staff were brilliant, really helpful and friendly. But at the end of the day, the food is the main event, right? It all tasted so good and the prices were completely reasonable. My main was £10.95, for example. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Las Iguanas as a restaurant for your family to eat at, but I would especially recommend the Kingston branch – brilliant.

Have you ever eaten at Las Iguanas before? Do you think it is somewhere that you’d consider?

*we were gifted the meal in exchange for the review. All words and opinions are our own.