New South Mumbai eatery offers Mexican food with a twist

I have always been wary of Mexican food. The cuisine never appealed to my taste buds and I preferred to keep a safe distance from it. It was with such rigid prejudices that a fellow diner and I headed over to Tijuana Iguana, an ‘Ameri-Mex sports bar and grill' in Fort.

The Chips and Guacamole was lip-smacking

You only need to walk into the restaurant to find out why iguana. Enveloped in green light, the room was adorned with pictures of the lizard in every shape, form and size. There was also, by the bar, a close up of an iguana's eyes, which watched over us as we took our seat. There were overhead glass lamps which, to us, were reminiscent of Persia, but besides that, everything else spelt ‘Welcome to the jungle'. It was wonderfully quirky and appealed to our secret love for anything kitsch.

The South by Southwest Egg Rolls

Sipping on glasses of margarita and Long Island Iced Tea, we first ordered the Chicken Tenders (R439), South by Southwest Egg Rolls (R437) and Fredo's Fried Mushrooms (R375). We were also served with Chips and Guacamole (R350), which included two dips that left us impressed. The ‘traditional Mexican' avocado dip - a mix of lime juice, onion, tomatoes and cilantro - bowled us over so much that we continued to dig into it long after the chips were cleared off from the table. The fried and crispy Chicken Tenders was served with honey mustard and the two, together, made the perfect team. Although my fellow diner found it a tad bland, I felt the dish delivered the perfect kick.

The Simply Sinful Snickers Pie

The South by Southwest Egg Rolls, served with southwestern pineapple creamy salsa and a side portion of
vegetables, was highly recommended to us by the waiter and rightly so. It was cleverly textured, by combining the crunch of corn and the many flavours of the roasted red peppers, spinach, black beans and Monterey jack cheese. The Fried Mushrooms, however, didn't please as much. Even the name of the dish didn't prepare us for the rather odd aftertaste of oil that the crispy appetisers left.

For the main course, we ordered the Maple Glazed Grilled Salmon (R870) and the Peppery Veggie Fajitas (R440). The darkened, hard surface of the grilled fish offered no clues about the meat itself. But the moment we sank a knife into it, the dish no longer remained a mystery. The meat of the salmon, cooked perfectly, disintegrated at the lightest touch of our knife. Combined with sweet maple syrup, and served with a portion of mashed potatoes, the salmon dish was the clear winner of the meal. The fajitas were flavoursome, with its fresh pepper, vegetable and spice filling.

The Maple Glazed Grilled Salmon is a must try. Pics/ Emmanuel Karbhari

We decided to end our meal with the Simply Sinful Snickers Pie (R370) and Brownie Bottom Pie (R370). The latter came with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, fudge and a sense of déjà vu. There are several versions of the brownie out there and this one, too, offered nothing new. But call the Simply Sinful Snickers Pie mind-blowing and it would still be an understatement. Vanilla bean ice cream, placed on a bed of crushed Snickers chocolate and Oreo cookies, was topped with caramel and fudge sauce. All elements worked in perfect harmony to deliver a truly cracking dessert.
Tijuana Iguana is worth a shot if you are in the mood to experiment and are on the lookout for a new hangout in Fort. Order the Simply Sinful Snickers Pie and there is very little that can go wrong.

The interiors of Tijuana Iguana is done up with pictures of iguanas.

We cannot rate the experience as it was an invitation.