But our recent experience at Las Iguanas, which has stood on the corner of Cloth Hall Street for more than three years, was more Latin lacklustre than Latin luxury – disappointing for a venue which has always scored highly with Oliver.

On the plus side, although the food on this occasion was far from impressive (it was at best bland and at worst sloppy), the restaurant's atmosphere was still as fun and friendly as it always has been.

Whatever their reputation, Latino venues always seem to have a certain sparkle and Las Iguanas is no different, an effect probably achieved by the wide variety of cultures reflected on the menu and of course, the colourful décor.

Dishes are native to countries including Brazil, Peru, Chile, Columbia and Argentina, while dim lighting, provided by intricate, tree root-like lampshades, unique display cabinets and brightly-coloured pictures also help to create a buzz which is rarely found in the city.

Alcohol is another must-have ingredient for a lively atmosphere and, with a list of cocktails as long as your arm available from the Cachacaria, you can guarantee to add an extra kick to your meal if the food doesn't quite do it for you.

The restaurant runs a happy hour from noon until 7.30pm every night, as well as all night on Sundays, which was when we made our visit – and so we opted to begin our meals with a long island iced tea.

In fact, the only unfortunate thing about our dining experience was the food.

Since Oliver last visited the restaurant, the menu has been slightly updated, so I chose one of the new starters, a brie and mango empanada (crispy parcel) with a mango, ginger and coriander salsa (£4.70).

Although it sounded delicious, I was instantly put off by the fact the dishes arrived instantly – literally within two minutes of us ordering –which made me feel like it was simply taken out of the fridge and plonked into the microwave.

Don't get me wrong, I know a lot of restaurants use microwaves – but they could have given us 10 minutes before bringing out the dishes, if only to make us believe they'd put in effort.

Instead, we felt cheated and a bit rushed, and to top it all off, my starter was bland, as was the dish my dining partner chose, the garlic and paprika pork chorizo and onions (Rioja Chorizo), priced at £4.80.

The main courses fared slightly better. I opted for my favourite Mexican dish, chicken fajitas (£12.50), while my dining partner chose Pele's favourite, Xinxim, otherwise known as Brazilian lime chicken in crayfish and peanut sauce (£10).

The chicken was sizzling hot when it arrived and there was just enough meat to fill the four fajitas, although it was served with enough onions and peppers to fill about 10.

The salsa was slightly runny and the guacamole lacked kick, while the cheese, which I had to ask for despite ordering it initially, was clearly processed, which I wouldn't have a problem with if it didn't cost £1 extra.

My dining partner's main complaint was about the extremely crunchy and undercooked rice which was served with the Xinxim – and as rice is one of the easiest dishes in the world to prepare, this was another major error.

For dessert I ordered another traditional Latino dish, the Ipanema Mess (£3.90), which is basically guava, crushed meringue and mascarpone cheese in a coffee mug, served with one rather lonely-looking raspberry on the side.

Without a doubt, this was my favourite part of the meal. It was creamy, rich and very moreish.

But for every positive there seemed to be a negative, and this came in the form of my dining partner's trio of lemon, grape and blackberry sorbets (£4), otherwise known as "Brazilian neopolitan ice cream" (although it was missing a brown scoop).

Two of the flavours were greeted with little more than a shrug, while the lemon flavour apparently tasted like a "snowball" because it was so watery, which is hardly the most glowing praise I've ever heard in my life.

The one thing we were relatively pleased about at the end of our meal was the cost.

The bill in Latino restaurants – particularly if you order expensive dishes like fajitas and curries – usually adds up.

But with a buy-one-get-one free Tequila Sunrise and a bottle of wine to accompany our meals, the total bill (including tip) came to £65.70, which we both felt was fairly reasonable.

Although Oliver was disappointed with the food this time round, the restaurant still has a certain vibrancy, which is hard to find in a day and age when venues tend to be a bit minimalist and pretentious.

But the restaurant should be making more of an effort if it wants to fill the void left by the loss of restaurants like Cuban Heels and Cactus Lounge.

Las Iguanas, Unit 3, Cloth Hall Street, Leeds, LS1 2HD
Tel: 0113 243 9533
www.iguanas.co.uk/leeds
leeds@iguanas.co.uk
Monday to Thursday 12pm-11pm; Friday and Saturday 12pm-11.30pm; Sunday 12pm-10.30pm.

FOOD: 2/5
VALUE: 3/5
ATMOSPHERE: 4/5
SERVICE: 3/5