industry casual dining genre latin american founded 1991 bristol united kingdom founders eren ali and ajith jaya wickrema headquarters bristol united kingdom products latin american foods with spanish african and portuguese influences website iguanas.co.uk las iguanas is a casual dining restaurant chain originating from united kingdom with a latin american theme . 1 founded in 1991 las iguanas operates 44 outlets in the united kingdom as at 3 october 2015 . 2 in 2003 the group acquired its own cacha a sugar cane field and distillery on the fazenda do anil estate outside rio de janeiro in brazil . 3 las iguanas specialises in latin american food with spanish portuguese and african influences . contents 1 history 2 food 3 recognition 4 controversy 5 see also 6 references 7 external links history edit originally branded caf iguanas the first site opened on st nicholas street in bristol in 1991 4 offering a diverse latin american themed menu . since then the newly named las iguanas have opened up a further 39 restaurants all across the uk including restaurants in bath manchester london and edinburgh . 5 one of the co founders ajith jaya wickrema departed partnership with las iguanas in august 2009 in favour of creating his own caribbean themed restaurant chain named turtle bay . 6 food edit an example of food served in las iguanas xinxim las iguanas menus include latin american classics such as nachos burritos xinxim fajitas and a wide range of tapas with modern dishes such as sirloin steaks and burgers . they include vegetarian options such as champinones and camarao a la criolla furthermore gluten free options are available to cater for everyone . 7 las iguanas restaurant at deansgate manchester united kingdom . recognition edit las iguanas retained the investors in people gold award in 2015 and also holds iip champion status . las iguanas made it in the sunday times 100 best companies to work for for the second time in three years after failing to make it in 2014 . it celebrates uk companies with the highest levels of staff engagement . 8 las iguanas won best restaurant drinks offer at the restaurant magazine r200 awards in october 2014 9 controversy edit las iguanas hit the headlines in august 2015 after their controversial tips policy was revealed . staff have to pay back 3 % of all sales 4.4 % in london to the company at the end of every shift out of their tips . some staff have claimed that this charge was taken even when they had received no tips for some tables forcing them to pay to work . las iguanas denied that the charge was ever taken from staff wages . 10 see also edit list of fast food chicken restaurants references edit about las iguanas . las iguanas . retrieved 22 january 2015 . las iguanas locations . las iguanas . retrieved 22 january 2015 . allegra restaurants brand portal las iguanas overview . allegra restaurants . 15 april 2015 . retrieved 15 april 2015 . our history . las iguanas . retrieved 16 january 2016 . las iguanas locations . las iguanas . retrieved 16 april 2015 . las iguanas founder leaves for other opportunities . big hospitality . retrieved 16 april 2015 . las iguanas book now . las iguanas . retrieved 16 april 2015 . las iguanas celebrate sunday times top 100 ranking . hospitality & catering news . 5 january 2015 . retrieved 15 april 2015 . bills wins operator of the year at r200 awards . bighospitality . 7 november 2014 . retrieved 7 july 2015 . http www.theguardian.com lifeandstyle 2015 aug 23 restaurant tipping policy forces waiters to pay to work external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to las iguanas . official website global v t e chicken based restaurant chains global chester s chicken cottage church s texas chicken dixy chicken kenny rogers roasters kfc nando s pollo campero popeyes southern fried chicken wienerwald regional africa chicken licken za chicken republic ng tastee fried chicken ng asia al baik sa al tazaj sa bacolod chicken inasal ph bonchon chicken kr california fried chicken id the chicken rice shop my dicos cn home original chicken cn jollibee ph klg tw kyochon kr marrybrown my max s of manila ph mang inasal ph pelicana chicken kr scr my tkk fried chicken tw europe chicken cottage uk dixy chicken uk morley s uk sam s chicken uk southern fried chicken uk north america boston market bojangles us brown s chicken & pasta us buffalo wild wings buffalo wings & rings bush s chicken us chefette bb chick fil a us chicken express us chicken out rotisserie chicken salad chick us cluck u us dixie lee ca el pollo loco us foosackly s us golden chick us golden skillet us guthrie s harold s chicken shack juan pollo us kyochon lee s famous louisiana fried chicken mary brown s ca mrs. winner s pioneer chicken pollo palenque pollo tropical us quaker steak & lube raising cane s us ranch1 roscoe s royal castle tt roy rogers us scores st hubert ca smithfield s us swiss chalet ca tip top wild wing wingstop wingstreet pdq us wing zone us zankou chicken us zaxby s us oceania chicken treat au chooks fresh & tasty au henny penny au kingsley s chicken au oporto au red rooster au south and central america pollos frisby co rostipollos cr list of chicken restaurants retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title las iguanas & oldid 737203829 categories restaurant franchisescompanies based in bristolfast casual restaurantsrestaurants established in 19911991 establishments in englandfast food poultry restaurantshidden categories pages using infobox company with unsupported parameterscommons category without a link on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage 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