Las Iguanas - Leicester — Restaurant in Great Britain

My husband and I visited Las Iguanas in Leicester around 3 PM on a Friday afternoon, drawn in by signage outside advertising the lunchtime deal. However, when we were seated, we were given the full-price menu and had to specifically ask for the lunchtime menu ourselves. Our server seemed unsure and unaware of whether the lunchtime deal was even available, which was surprising considering it was clearly being advertised outside.

We were warmly welcomed upon arrival and asked if we had a reservation. We didn’t, but as the restaurant was completely empty at the time, we were invited to sit wherever we liked and chose a table by the window.

A short while later, a few parties arrived for bottomless brunch. When our server returned to take our drinks order, we opted for two "Day of the Dead" cocktails, which were part of a two-for-one offer. When bringing them over, he commented that the manager wasn’t in and that he now had to make a lot of cocktails for the brunch tables. While probably meant to be lighthearted, the sighing and tone made it feel unprofessional and gave off the impression that he was overwhelmed, which made us feel a little awkward.

The food arrived quickly, which was a positive, but unfortunately, it didn’t meet the standard we’ve come to expect from Las Iguanas. We’ve visited other branches in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, and Sheffield where the food has always been vibrant, fresh, and full of flavour. On this occasion, however, the food was quite underwhelming and lacked that usual flair—it honestly felt more like something you’d get at Wetherspoons, which was disappointing for a restaurant that normally delivers so much more.

While we were waiting, we also overheard the same waiter having a loud personal phone conversation at the bar. He was discussing a night out and someone having to be taken home drunk. It was clearly a private conversation and felt inappropriate in a professional setting, making us feel uncomfortable during our meal.

When it came time to pay, the card machine at our table wasn’t working, so my husband was asked to go to the bar to settle the bill. We didn’t mind this, as technical issues happen and it wasn’t the server’s fault. However, while at the bar, he overheard the waiter joking with two women having bottomless brunch, saying, “Since the manager’s not here, do you want a good piña colada or a shit piña colada?” When they asked what the difference was, he replied, “A good one is stronger.” This added yet another layer to the ongoing sense of unprofessionalism and made my husband feel even more uncomfortable.

In summary, although the service started off friendly and the food was served quickly, the overall experience lacked the quality, consistency, and professionalism we’ve come to expect from Las Iguanas. I would seriously question whether I’d return to this particular Leicester location in the near future, especially when other branches continue to offer a far more enjoyable and...

Managers in front desk incredibly welcoming and accommodating, we hadn't booked. Food fantastic, fresh and really tasty, couldn't fault it. Sadly however the service from waiting staff was some of the worst I have ever experienced! After eventually getting a waiter's attention, (he was stood at the till, staring intently for over 10 minutes) he came and took our order- it might haven been easier for him to get it correct had he not been staring at himself in the mirrors to our right. Food arrived promptly, starters were great. We had to ask for our starters to be cleared then the mains arrived, all but one...... The mirror obsessed waiter had failed to put the order through to the kitchen. In fairness it arrived within 10 minutes of the others. We asked for some water for the table, 3 times, when it arrived 4 glasses were only provided after asking for them 3 times, unfortunately only 4 glasses were provided, there were 5 of us at the table. Had the waitress waited for us to finish our sentence before walking away on two occasions it may have been easier to see there were 5 of us. After 20 minutes of finishing our meal we had to ask for someone to clear our plates and to request desserts, one waiter responded took two plates, left, and served drinks to another table never to return. We caught the attention of the manager who apologised, cleared our plates and took our dessert order. Again food was very good, frustratingly we waited and waited and eventually went to the front desk to pay our bill so we could leave. It was a, Saturday night and it was busy, however, there were a good number of waiting staff that should have been able to manage the customer that were present, there were no table checks, offers of drink replacements, we were essentially ignored. Las Iguanas, you have great food, but Please train your waiting staff as they are letting you down. Not sure if it is because they haven't been trained, simply don't care or think they are above what their job is. We work in hospitality, very disappointing that one facet let it down so badly. Food fantastic, fresh, good portions and tasty, reasonably priced and manager running around picking up the slack and apologising. Team...

Overall, it is a generally nice place to sit and have a drink or meal at, however, the staff were a bit inattentive. Bartender was brilliant and made our drinks, drinks were a bit watered down but can’t complain. We had a bottomless brunch, the place was close to being empty at the time so we’d expect service to be top notch but the server was just a little annoying. We got seated at a booth, she gave us our drinks menu’s, but didn’t tell us what menu we should look at for our food, as this should have been indicated considering for a bottomless brunch you have to pick from a pre-chosen menu as you can’t just choose anything from the menu. So we look at drinks first. She comes back literally a minute later and asks us for our food order, but we didn’t even know where the menu was, never-mind having enough time to choose food. So she leaves us for a further 15 minutes before coming back, and by then we’d already drank our drinks. If anyone knows anything about a bottomless brunch, you want to get as many drinks as possible to make the money worth it, but honestly there was no way we could have possibly have had a decent amount of drinks as the server only came back every 10/15 minutes and I’m a quick drinker. It’s understandable that she has a job to do, and she shouldn’t just be OUR sole server, but she just seemed disinterested, and honestly quite judgmental. She hinted multiple times that we should slow down with our drinks since we were “drinking them quite fast”. The last Las Iguanas didn’t judge myself or my partner based on how many drinks we were trying to have, and I thought the whole idea of bottomless is, if you drink it, you can get another. Anyway, I’d recommend the place for food, but drinks wise, I probably wouldn’t only because you’ll be judged by how “fast you’re drinking” and then furthermore waiting quite a lengthy time for a server to come back over to you when you’re on a time schedule with a...