Blame it on Rio…

Las Iguanas gets into the carnival spirit at Lakeside

Latin American restaurant group Las Iguanas will be creating its own carnival spectacle when it opens on February 1 at the Boardwalk at Lakeside – the same weekend as the Rio Carnival.

Guests will be invited to the VIP opening party to experience Las Iguanas’ famous hospitality and enjoy carnival-style entertainment from live bands and dancers.

The Boardwalk is the social quarter of the massive Lakeside shopping complex. It’s home to a state of the art Vue cinema and an array of renowned restaurants, each with large alfresco terraces enticing Lakeside customers into the great outdoors.

Las Iguanas’ director Ajith Jaya Wickrema says:

“This current development phase at Lakeside is definitely the place to be. It offers visitors a great choice of quality food in a striking, people-orientated environment – and promises to deliver an impressive footfall from the huge catchment area of south east London, Essex and Kent.”

“Our restaurant offers two floors of dining and lounge seating and has a beautiful piazza overlooking the lake. We look forward to livening up the Boardwalk with a delicious and dynamic drinking and dining experience and a great carnival atmosphere all year round,”

The restaurant and bar serve up freshly-prepared, authentic Latin American food and drink with a contemporary twist. The Latin food that we know today dates right back to the 16th Century, a fusion of native Latin American Indian, Spanish, Portuguese and African influences. Las Iguanas’ signature dish, Xinxim Brasilian lime chicken, is the best example of this fusion, bringing together Latin, African and Portuguese flavours to create something really special.

At the bar – called the ‘Cachaçaria’ – enjoy some of the finest Latin spirits, including Las Iguanas Magnifica Cachaça distilled at the group’s own sugar cane plantation outside Rio de Janeiro.

The 760 square metre site has 306 covers. Interior designers Fusion DNA will be embellishing the interior with Copacabana beach-style mosaic flooring, a feature staircase with a Rio backdrop and a timber raft that emerges from the downstairs bar, wraps up above the staircase and finishes behind the first floor bar, thereby enhancing the connection between the two levels and the natural flow of the building.

Add intoxicating Latin rhythms, the rich colour palette of the southern hemisphere and authentic, exotic fixtures and fittings and you’ve got a measure of Las Iguanas’ style.

The restaurant opens to the public on February 2.