Chiquito – Springfield Quay, Glasgow
With a bank holiday weekend to fill I found myself at the cinema followed by dinner at Chiquitos Mexican restaurant at Springfield Quay. Now I find the lack of Tex-Mex restaurants in Glasgow a complete mystery as it is one of the most popular cuisines with the masses, I mean seriously, do you know anybody that isn’t partial to a plate of nachos or skillet of fajitas? Anyway, I am happy to report that Chiquito’s is offering up decent Tex-Mex food that is bound to please a crowd.
What better way to get you in the mood than kicking off with a pitcher of Margarita, and this restaurant did a surprisingly good one. A perfect blend of tequila, triple sec and lime juice sweetened with agave syrup it was scarily drinkable, not too sweet and not too strong it was served in proper Margarita glasses with salted rims - muy bueno!
The menu is what you would expect in a chain restaurant, an eclectic mix of family favourites and slightly strange fusion dishes such as hoisin duck fajitas.... Definitely a menu minefield so my advice would be to keep it simple and stick with the classics.
Being a glutton the starter with the most appeal was the fiesta platter, an appetizing selection of BBQ chicken wings, nachos, onion rings, chilli poppers, corn on the cob, potato wedges and Chiquitos own Tostadas (a baked flour tortilla with garlic butter). I know this is not “cheffy” food by any stretch of the imagination but that doesn’t mean that it’s not delicious and satisfying! I found myself grinning at the bliss that was a damn good Margarita and a tasty, spicy combo of all things deep fried and cheesy.
For main course I was awkward and ordered a starter dish of Louisiana hot wings and a side of fries. Again, not exactly Michelin stuff but boy they went down a treat. The wings had a very addictive deep savoury heat, fried hard and served with more of the Louisiana sauce; my only jibe was the lack of a cool blue cheese dip and celery accompaniment more normally found with hot wings. The fries were fine although served in a big flat plate which made them go cold quickly.
My husband’s Cajun slow cooked beef Chimichanga, consisted of two mammoth fried tortillas stuffed with rice, refried beans, beef, cheese, guacamole and sour cream – almost everything but the kitchen sink! It tasted brilliant, the beef was melt in the mouth tender and had a nice earthy chilli flavour. Our friends enjoyed their equally huge dishes of the chicken Chimichanga and a very spicy Pollo del Fuego. Thankfully it was no problem to provide carry out containers for the inevitable leftovers from all at the table.
No desserts, with bellies full of Chimichangas and icy Margaritas we were lucky to get back on to our feet again. The bill was reasonable and service was cheery but a little slow. All in all a very enjoyable dining experience, if you want something fun, funky and frozen then invite your friends, leave the car at home and have a good old fiesta at Chiquitos.
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