Las Iguanas

Berry Mexican Mess

Las Iguanas

Festival Terrace

Southbank Centre

Belvedere Road

London SE1 8XX

Tel: 020 7620 1328

We were looking for something interesting to eat on London’s Southbank and came across Las Iguanas.  We soon discovered this is the best place to go for South American fusion food.  Early evening and it was full, they have a bar area where you could eat nibbles and have drinks and hidden in the back down a few steps is a large dinning area.  London marathoners, proudly brandishing their medals and telling tales of exhaustion and exhilaration after completing the grueling 26 miles, joined and had adopted Las Iguanas as their temporary home.

Patatas Bravas

The menu covers a lot of the planet.  You can choose from Mexico, Chile, Peru, Cuba and Brazil and that’s just the cocktail list.  This is a fantastic destination to take the family or meet up with friends.  You can just graze or really go for it.  Not formal, but relaxed in every way it is hard to beat the fun aspect here.  There is also an organic children’s menu with blended foods for seven months plus, a real steal at £1.90.  The older children’s menu is only £5.90 with a good selection of food from around the globe.

Chicken Fajita

After a few delicious appetising drinks we moved on to select our food.  International was the way forward.  Bread and olives came and went then a large taco tray for sharing.  There are various fillings; shredded beef, spiced shredded lamb (my favourite), chillies, oven dried tomatoes with feta to fill up the warm corn and wheat tortillas.  At £13.90 for four of us this is better value than ordering separately and it’s great fun to dip in and share the same food.  The kids loved this bit of the meal.

Roasted Tomatoes with Feta

Chicken Fajita ready to go

For the mains we went our separate ways.  I ended up in Brazil with feijoada de Puerco, a stew made with beef, pork shoulder, chorizo and garlic served with rice and slices of orange on the side.  It had an authentic, rustic feel to it.  Every nation has its own special stew this one is no less than most others and pepped up by the citric addition.  M travelled less and enjoyed chicken fajitas.  They came sizzling with coriander and lime and the usual components.  Hearty large finger food that, we as a family really enjoy, tasting and sharing.  Other dishes were around (it’s easy to over order here as there is so much choice), a children’s pizza came with sliced peppers and carrots on the side.

Kids Pizza

Feijoada De Puerco

An Aztec chocolate fudge cake was nice and spicy and danced on the plate with vanilla ice cream. A triumph in chocolate.  The berry Mexican mess was as the menu describes ‘A pretty pile up’ was a kind of Eton mess but with hibiscus syrup, mascarpone, yoghurt and a sprinkling of crushed meringue with obligatory strawberries.  This was fab and had us all drooling.  The youngest one chose from the kids menu a chocolate brownie with ice cream and he decided to have a mini milk ice lolly ‘chaser’.  I think all that talk of exotic cocktails had gone to his head.

Chocolate Fudge Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream

So as we left the exhausted runners sipping their revivers, I felt that as a family we may not have run 26 miles but it felt as if we had just eaten 26 courses.  A great fun lively place to eat that doesn’t take itself too seriously but does get a lot of things right.