Review: Chiquito

A Friday night after a long working week, my three favourite people around me and being one of the first people to try the brand new Chiquito’s menu which launched at the start of the week = a recipe for a great night!

We went to our local Chiquito in Castleford, arriving at 7.30pm to a bustling atmosphere. It was certainly a popular choice for families, couples and groups of friends enjoying a night out and we had a short wait until we were seated. Fortunately the staff were on the ball and seemed to work quickly to clean up after departing guests and re-set the tables for the new ones, and we settled into our booth for a tasty treat!

My youngest child had already eaten his tea at home as he wouldn’t last until 7.30pm, but the rest of us eagerly checked out the menu to see what was new. Most of the menu has been revamped so if you last went to Chiquito at Christmas or the New Year, it has all changed. There were section for the trusty burgers, Tacos and their famous fajitas, but new additions of Flatbreads and ‘Street Food’ (a ‘tapas’ style offering of several smaller plates to try a few dishes at a go) – the small plates are called Antojitos, meaning ‘little cravings’ in Mexico.

My husband and daughter decided to share a starter of a Tex-Mex sharing platter (£17.95) containing jalapeño poppers; chicken strips; loaded potato skins and nachos. It also comes with onion rings; corn on the cob and dipping sauces. It looked amazing when it came out, have a look!

I chose the Halloumi Skewers myself (£5.95) which are rods of halloumi; onions & peppers baked in the oven and served over a citrus dressed salad with cranberry salsa. The cranberry salsa was delicious and I *may* have pinched one of my husband’s onion rings to dip into it!

For our mains, my daughter ate from the kids menu and had an enchilada whilst I had the Sweet Chilli Chicken Wrap (£11.75 pictured left below) with southern fried chicken breast with lettuce, grated cheese and jalapeño jelly in a tortilla and served with skin-on-fries and homemade slaw. My husband enjoyed the Chicken & Ribs (£16.55 pictured right) which was a quarter rack of BBQ ribs and marinated chicken breast with sides of skin-on-fries, corn on the cob, onion rings and slaw. It was certainly enough to fill him, he does a very physical job and enjoys a good meal so when he had no room for pudding I took it as a good sign!

A meal out for my kids wouldn’t be a meal out without dessert! They both had the chocolate brownie and I think my son’s face in this picture says it all!

Overall the verdict was positive. We enjoyed the atmosphere, it was lively but not rowdy and the service was fast and friendly. I spotted several tables around me enjoying some very attractive looking cocktails which we didn’t have as I was driving and my husband preferred the beer, but I’d like to sample those next time I’m there!

Chiquito has 86 restaurants around the country and you can find your nearest at www.chiquito.co.uk

Disclosure: We were provided with a family meal at Chiquito Castleford for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.