Las Iguanas, Nottingham

Las Iguanas is a lovely restaurant which can be found close to Fat Cats, near Market Square but also easily reached from Upper Parliament Street. This restaurant serves a wonderful mix of Latin American cuisine and has a great atmosphere! Lively Latino music plays in the background and gets you in a festival mood while the friendly serving staff make you feel comfortable and at ease. It's the perfect place to go after a busy week at work.

Mario ordered a mojito (£6.70) which is white rum over crushed ice, mint, sugar, fresh lime juice and soda. This was a lovely, refreshing-tasting drink which didn't have an overpowering rum-taste although Mario felt as though there wasn't enough mint in the drink.

I chose to drink a glass of the white wine punch (£3.90) which was a little like a sangria. White wine and gin with passion fruit syrup, peach, and apple juice. I loved this drink and thought it tasted quite like grapefruit. I was worried that it would be too sweet so I was pleasantly surprised.

For the starter, I opted to have calamares (£5.40) which, for those of you who don't know, are whole baby squids. 

These were served with a deliciously creamy aioli. These squid were amazing. Beautifully seasoned, these squid were crisp and not rubbery at all. These are not for the squeamish as there were quite a few sets of tentacles! I thought they were a little greasy but the aioli was a lovely accompaniment. 

Mario had the "spectacular" fish taco (5.60). 

The battered fish pieces were placed on soft tortillas and were topped with corn and sweet chilli salsa. These too were delicious. The fish wasn't too greasy, was well seasoned and didn't have too much batter on. The fish itself was flavourful and cooked to flaky perfection. The salsa added just enough spice to the taco but it wasn't too overpowering. Mario wishes that he had had this as a main as he thought it was amazing!

For my main course choice, I decided to be brave and choose the apparent "proud national dish of Brazil", named Feijoada de Puerco (£12.50).

This dish is a stew of braised beef, smoked pork chorizo, pork shoulder, red pepper and black beans in red wine. This delicious stew is served with spring onion, garlic and coriander rice, seasonal greens, orange wedges and a sprinkle of coconut. Oh my goodness, I want to marry this meal. The stew is so full of flavour and is complimented by the lightly flavoured rice. The sauce is quite rich and it became a little too much towards the end of the meal. The coconut on the stew went surprisingly well with the stew. The greens were cooked so there was still a little bite to them.

Mario chose to have the Churrasco Fiasco from the "barbacoa", which are essentially kebabs. He decided to have the steak, red onion and peppers churrasco, in a paprika and cumin marinade (£13.90) although there is an option to have chicken instead.

These kebabs are flame-grilled and served with a honey peri-peri sauce, salad and cassava fries. These kebabs are made up of rump steak which has been glazed in honey. The kebabs themselves were very tasty although Mario felt as though they were a little over-cooked. The meat was a bit dry and chewy, which took away from the tasty glaze. The salad was lightly dressed and was a very tasty side. The chips, however, were absolutely amazing and it's a shame this dish only came with a couple of them, although any more would have been too much to eat! 

This meal was lovely and enjoyable. Our experienced was enhanced by the friendly and attentive staff and also by the lively, carnival-feel that the background music gave. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys food from Latin America! To book a table, call 0115 9596390 or online at http://www.iguanas.co.uk/book-now/nottingham 

Spanky Van Dykes, Nottingham

Spanky Van Dykes, situated by the Royal Concert Hall on Goldsmith Street, describes itself as an "eatery" and a "funhouse". The décor inside is very intriguing and random and it is clear that it was designed with students in mind. The quirky pub hosts several events throughout the year and is a hotspot for students to hang out as it is complete with comfortable sofas and even offers student discount.

Mario and I decided to make the most of its Tuesday offer: 2-for-1 on burgers. We'd visited before for drinks but had never been when food was still being served (food is served until 9pm) so we decided to go for a late lunch.

The pub wasn't too busy and it was dimly lit. In fact, it was a shock that it was still daylight when we left after we'd finished! The staff were informal and friendly, which went with the relaxed atmosphere of the place perfectly.

The menu boasts that all of the burgers are handmade with British beef and are served in a "glazed bun with tomato, lettuce, red onion and homemade fries".

Mario opted to try the Ruby Jean's fried chicken with corn salsa "burger".

I say "burger", because it was more like a fried chicken sandwich. Mario was in heaven. The chicken was succulent and wonderfully crispy. It was perfectly seasoned too. The corn salsa was a lovely accompaniment and Mario was grateful that it wasn't put in side the burger, but came on the side, as he could choose when and how much he wanted to use. The salsa was a little too spicy for me, but Mario loves his spice, so he thoroughly enjoyed it.

The chips are amazing! The skins of the potatoes is left on, which adds to the crunch and we all love a nice crisp chip! Although they were delicious unseasoned, Mario and I added salt and pepper, which then boosted them to the next level.

I chose to have a beef burger topped with halloumi cheese and chorizo sausage.

I was a little hesitant to order this burger as I wasn't sure how well the cheese and the chorizo would go together, but I was glad I chose this. The cheese was lightly grilled and was deliciously creamy-tasting, which was great with the slightly-spicy chorizo. The chorizo sausage was fresh, cut along the middle and grilled to perfection. The burger was lovely and moist and not over-seasoned at all. The beef itself was delicious and cooked to excellence.

We will definitely be going back to Spanky's at some point in the future to sample some of their other dishes as the menu looks amazing! We would definitely recommend this pub for you if you are looking for a chilled-out and relaxed meal with some good (although sometimes strange) background music and interesting decorations!

Lee Rosy's Tea, Nottingham

Lee Rosy's Tea is a lovely tea room with a very relaxing atmosphere located on Broad Street, opposite Broadway cinema, in the Hockley area.

NTU

I decided to go with one of my friends, Tasha, on a Friday afternoon as I am a big fan of tea rooms and tea. Tasha had been doing a college course, which was located near to this tea room, and she raved about the sandwiches to me, so I was obliged to try one! The sandwiches are located in the fridge and are packaged ready to takeaway in plastic containers.

As you can see, I chose to have the chicken breast, green pesto and tomato salad sandwich which was £3.20. These sandwiches are made on site and the ingredients are very fresh. I personally think that the sandwich could be taken out of the packet when it is served to someone eating in the café, instead of just being placed on a plate in its plastic container.

The bread was sliced thickly and was wonderfully soft. There was only a thin layer of pesto in the sandwich which was nice as the flavour wasn't too overpowering and enhanced the other ingredients. The sandwich truly tasted fresh and there's always the worry that a sandwich with tomato in that the bread will be soggy. This hadn't happened with this sandwich!

Tasha had eaten lunch already so she chose to have one of the delicious cakes that Lee Rosy's Tea offers. She chose to have a slice of the lemon meringue pie (£2.40).

The selection of cakes was amazing and part of me wishes I'd had a cake instead of a sandwich! The lemon meringue pie was delicious. Tasha said that the meringue part of the pie was amazing; fluffy and light but also crunchy on the top. She did say that the lemon curd was a little too hard and the pastry base was a little too soft, although this could be due to the fact it was stored in a refrigerated space and may not have been fresh that day.

The tea took a little while to get to us and this is due to the fact they steep the tea for you so you don't have to mess around with the loose leaves from the tea. I chose to have a peppermint tea (£1.40), which is always a refreshing tea.

I was a little disappointed that my tea didn't come in a teapot as I think that's one of the lovely aspects about a tea room. I also didn't like that I was unable to choose the strength of my tea and wish I'd asked for it to be quite strong as the flavour wasn't strong enough for me. Although the tea was very tasty and was exactly what it said it was, I was hoping that the peppermint tea would have been fresh mint.

Tasha had an iced tea (£1.80), which is also available for takeaway. The tea room had run out of black tea so Tasha had a lemon and ginger iced tea.

Tasha said that the tea tasted a lot more of ginger than it did of lemon, but the tea was still very nice and not too sweet, which can be a problem with a lot of iced teas. She did also say that the tea wasn't that refreshing, which could have been amended by a stronger lemon flavour.

Lee Rosy's is a lovely, laid-back tea room perfect for students (due to the free wifi) but also those who want something a little more traditional for lunch. The tea room also sells loose leaf tea in the shop and on their website. In the evenings in the café, there are also events. Most Thursdays sees a film night, Tuesday night is the night for knitters and on the first Thursday of every month, there is a games' night.

Fat Cat Café Bar, Nottingham

On Thursday, which has become "date night" for Mario and myself, we decided to go to Fat Cat Café Bar, which is also a chain found in many cities in the UK. Located in the Chapel quarter of Nottingham, Fat Cat's is easily accessed by both bus, as it is close to Upper Parliament Street, and foot as is very close to Market Square.

Thursday is Ladies' Night in Fat Cat's whereby you can have two courses and a cocktail all for £11.95, not too shabby at all! Sunday to Thursday every week brings an offer os two courses for £12.45 from the standard menu. Outside was full once again due to the hot weather, so Mario and myself decided to sit inside, which was dimly lit for "ambience", one may assume.

We ordered a bottle of the house white, well one of the bottles as there was a selection of four. We opted for the Santo Isidro (£15.95) was was quite pleasant tasting and not too dry. Mario chose from the "Ladies' Night" menu therefore got a cocktail of his choice, which was an Amaretto Sours.

Mario is a big fan of Amaretto Sours ever since trying them in Coco Lounge a couple of years ago. He says that the Fat Cat's version wasn't the best he's ever had, but still a lot better than some of the attempts. He felt that this cocktail wasn't sour enough and didn't taste fresh enough for him.

The Ladies' Night menu has a different selection of meals from the normal menu, and he chose to have a Greek salad (£4.50) for his starter.

The salad was delicious and was exactly what it said on the tin. The addition of spinach to the salad was pleasant and the whole salad had a lovely fresh taste thanks to the mint that was in the salad dressing. The olives were delectable (although not as good as Jamie's Italians!) and the feta was wonderfully light and crumbly.

From the standard menu, I chose to do the two courses for £12.45. This meant that all items that have a star next to them on the menu are included in this offer. For my starter, I chose to have whitebait (£4.50).

I love that the fish was served in "newspaper" and I think that it added a nice touch to the presentation. I was surprised by the amount of fish you receive with this starter; I didn't think it was ever going to end! The whitebait was served with a garlic and lime mayonnaise, which was a lovely accompaniment to the crisp fish and fresh-tasting salad.

For his main course, Mario chose to have the steak burger (£7.45), which came with Cajun fries.

This course was very disappointing for a number of reasons. Firstly, the chips were a little too much like McDonald's chips, although the seasoning was very tasty. Secondly, the burger had been over-seasoned. Rosemary had been used in the burger, which is usually a delicious herb to use, but it was overpowering in this burger and we couldn't taste the actual meat at all. The actual burger was horribly dry and the bun was also chewy and tasted defrosted. One redeeming factor was the coleslaw, which was very tasty and full of flavour.

I decided to have fish and chips (£7.95) for my main course, which is served with chunky chips, mushy peas and homemade tartare sauce.

Once again, my fish was served in "newspaper", which was a lovely way to present the food. Contrary to the disappointing burger, my fish and chips were wonderful! The chips were perfectly cooked: crispy on the outside and fluffy inside. The mushy peas were a little dry for me, although Mario claims they were fine (I'm from the south therefore mushy peas are still a new "thing" to me!) but there was a minty taste to the peas which was lovely. The fish was lovely and flaky and the batter was so crisp. One thing I did like about it is that there wasn't too much batter on the fish and it wasn't too greasy. 

The meal came to £40.35 which was reasonable for the amount of food we received and we left feeling very full! Although there were some negative aspects to the meal, the staff were very engaging and friendly and the atmosphere was good.

To book a table, call 0115 947 5044 or book online