Blazing Blog

A blog from the people at Las Iguanas to give you an insight about what happens here on a daily basis.

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Carnival Monday - Day 2 in the Sambadrome

The second day of the Special Group saw the final 6 Samba Schools parade down the Sambadrome to a crowd of 90,000 people partying, dancing & singing along. Each school features between 3,000-5,000 people, 350 drummers & their parades costs over £4m each - this really is a big deal!

UNIAO DA ILHA

Uniao da Ilha started the party with their parade depicting a god that includes all religions & all beliefs. Showing the earth from the stone ages to the metal age. Featuring dinosaurs, bubbles & fiery stilt walkers.

SAO CLEMENTE

Known for their controversial themes & using humour in their parades. This year Sao Clemente tell the story of the Sun King Louis XIV of France - famous for embezzling public money for himself & the lavish lifestyle he led.

MOCIDADE

6 times winner - Mocidade’s parade is a showcase of Arabia, Morocco & travels through the sands of the Sahara. Starting with Aladdin on a flying carpet, their parade includes gold camels, spice sellers, snake charmers, a skateboarding Aladdin & enormous golden lamps.

UNIDOS DA TIJUCA

One of the oldest Samba Schools, their parade is based on the meeting of North American & Brazilian music & titled “Music in the Soul - Inspiration of a Nation”. This parade includes everything from Mississippi boats to leprechauns, Toystory, Elvis, hippies, beach boys, the Lion King, Cowboys, Broadway musicals, Beyonce and Michael Jackson Thriller dancers!

PORTELA 

Portela are the most successful school in history & have won 21 times but it’s been 15 years since their last win so the pressure is on. This year their parade is about fresh water on the planet & the cultures that exist alongside the biggest rivers in the world. There are rivers dancing samba, moving fish costumes, crawling crocodiles, flying birds & real waterfalls.

MANGUEIRA

Parading to maintain their title,  last year’s champions have stuck to their traditional roots with a parade about Candomblé - the Afro Brazilian religion. The name is “only with the help of the saints” & is expected to be a favourite with locals & the judges.

Join in the Carnival celebrations at Las Iguanas 24th-28th February 2017 with special offers, limited edition cocktails & rio vibes.

Photo credit: Riotur https://www.flickr.com/photos/riotur/

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Carnival Sunday - Day 1 in the Sambadrome

While you slept, the biggest party on Earth took over Rio de Janeiro with the first day of the main parades in the Sambadrome. The top 12 Samba Schools in Rio compete over 2 days with over 3,000 people in each Samba School parading along the Sambadrome from 9pm to sunrise the next day.

PARAISO DO TUIUTI

Their first time in the Sambadrome for 15 years - this Samba School’s theme is Tropicália - the Brazilian Art Movement in the 60′s. Their parade features the Beatles to Military Dictators to Carmen Miranda.

GRANDE RIO 

One of the newest Special Group Samba Schools in Rio. Their parade is dedicated to the most popular singer in Brazil right now - Ivete Sangalo. Featuring people being eaten by dragons, replicas of buildings in Bahia (NE Brazil) where Ivete is from & of course the lady herself!

IMPERATRIZ

The 8 times winner’s parade is about the Xingu area of Brazil where the lives of indigenous people & 25 different tribes are facing threats from deforestation, a new dam & modernisation. Look out for toucans, Indian Chiefs & an enormous crocodile.

VILA ISABEL

One of the most tradition Samba Schools, Vila Isabel only allows people from their community to parade with theme - you have to be born into it. The theme of their parade is slavery & the history & journey of music in Brazil.

SALGUEIRO

9 times winner from a favela famous for samba, drums & street parties. Their parade takes you through poet Dante’s “Divine Comedy” with Heaven, Hell, Purgatory & the 7 deadly sins.

BEIJA-FLOR 

As the sunrises Beija-Flor are the final Samba School on Day 1 in the Sambadrome. Winner at Rio Carnival 2015 - This year their parade features romance, poetry, heroism & history.

Join in the Carnival celebrations at Las Iguanas 24th-28th February 2017 with special offers, limited edition cocktails & rio vibes.

Photo credit: Riotur https://www.flickr.com/photos/riotur/

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A Brazilian twist on classic cocktails

For a true taste of Rio, Cachaça is essential! Cachaça is the most popular spirit you've never heard of & the key ingredient to the caipirinha cocktail. But there’s plenty more incredible Cachaça based cocktails to discover.

Magtonic (Brazilian Gin and Tonic)

60ml of Magnífica Tradicional 20ml of Sicilian lemon juice tonic water Rosemary

Moda Antiga (think Old Fashioned)

50ml of Magnífica Envelhecida 15ml of simple syrup (sugar) 1 dash of orange angostura Zest of Orange

Chaminé (Brazilian Rusty Nail - prepared first for João Luiz by a Las Iguanas bartender)

50ml of Magnífica Reserva Soleira (you can use envelhecida, if you want) 15ml of Drambuie Zest of Lime

Rabo de Galo (The hottest cocktail in Brazil right now)

50ml of Magnífica Envelhecida 25ml of vermouth red (for example Punt e Mes) 10ml of Benedicine Zest of Orange

Or of course, you can’t beat a Classic Caipirinha.

Get your hands of our very own Cachaça here & bring the flavours of Rio carnival to the UK!  

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The greatest party on Earth

The main event may be at the Sambodrome but the real Carnival fun starts on the streets with street parades call Blocos.

Over 500 Blocos across Rio de Janeiro get the party started, culminating in 4 days of 24/7 blocos & spontaneous beach parties during the actual Carnaval 24th-28th February 2017.

Bloco Chame Gente - São Conrado - 12th Feb 2017 - Photo Alexandre Vidal Riotur

Cariocas from across the city & an extra 1m tourists flood the city to dance on the streets to samba beats in a crazy outfit, face paint & with a beer or Caipirinha in hand.

If you’re lucky enough to be in Rio don’t miss some of the biggest blocos: 

Banda de Ipanema 25th, 27th & 28th Feb – drums, dancing & drinks with the incredible Ipanema beach as your backdrop

Cordao da Bola Preta 18th Feb – 1 million people are expected at the oldest & perhaps the biggest street Bloco

Monobloco in Centro  - end the celebrations in style in the biggest closing party in Rio.

Follow us on Facebook to be the first to hear about Carnival treats & special offers at Las Iguanas And to get you in the mood, try our caipirinhas made with Magnifica Las Iguanas – the very same cachaça you’ll find in the best bars and restaurants in Rio! 

Bloco Spanta Neném - Lagoa 11th Feb 2017 Photo: Fernando Maia Riotur

Carnaval de rua Vira Lata - Barra da Tijuca. 11th Feb 2017. Photo: Alexandre Vidal Riotur

Photo credits: Visit.Rio Riotur https://www.flickr.com/photos/riotur/

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It’s carnival time!

February is here - and already we can hear the sound of drumming in the streets of Brazil… The whole country is warming up for Carnaval!

Normal life will come to a complete standstill from 25th-28th February - but the party's already started!  There's a multitude of different carnival styles to tempt you, with each region and town having its own attractions to offer. You can choose samba or reggae, frevo or axe, maracatu or caboclinho -or one of many other rhythms- and dance your way through the streets, the balls, the parades…

During carnival, Rio de Janeiro hosts the biggest street party on the planet. By the beginning of March, 451 individual blocos - sound truck parties – will have paraded through the city's streets, attracting an estimated crowd of 5.5 million people! The celebrations are free, and there are blocos all over town, to suit every taste: from Beatles songs played in carnival style (Sargento Pimenta bloco), to Brazilian pop, roots samba, afro beat and so on. All you need is a makeshift costume and you're ready to join in the fun!

If you fancy watching the samba schools, they parade at the Sambadrome on the 26th and 27th  of February, from late evening until dawn. This is the main event, and you'll need a ticket. You'll see the floats, the beautiful costumes, the sheer joy of the thousands of revellers who make up each individual samba school. Each school will present its chosen enredo, the theme that permeates the design and music of their procession. From the Tropicalia cultural movement, to the influence of African slaves on Latin American music, via the Arabian Nights - anything goes!

Why not join us for a touch of Carnaval, Brazilian style? Look out for special offers and treats on our menus, and listen to our carnival playlist! And to get you in the mood, try our caipirinhas made with Magnifica Las Iguanas – the very same cachaça you’ll find in the best bars and restaurants in Rio!

Photo credit: Alexandre Macieira - Riotur

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New Careers Website & Blog

Las Iguanas Careers website has been given a refresh and now incorporates the Blazing Blog, our blog dedicated to Las Iguanas employees and all the fun we have! You can check out our new careers website HERE

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Rewarding our team!

We’ve always been keen to recognise success of all sizes at Las Iguanas, even if that success is company wide! We have sent Krispy Kreme dougnuts out to our teams a few times, now they’re using us as a case study! Big thank you to Las Iguanas Spitalfields for the picture. You can view the whole page here - http://www.krispykreme.co.uk/corporate/case-studies/las-iguanas 

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We don’t just serve amazing fresh food and drinks...

Here’s a post from Matt, Operations Manager for the North West area, taken from our Facebook Community Page. This is amazing to see guys...

“Not just about sales driving on here, this time pure hospitality in Deansgate from Chef Vinod, this gent dining on his own came to the pass to tell the team how much he loved his meal and the vibe of the place and wished his wife was there to dance, Vinod's response, got his groove on! Love it!” 

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Incentives Winners

We sent Las Iguanas Milton Keynes Go Karting for an incentive they won a few weeks back! Well done team, hope you had fun!

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Fueling the Kitchen

Management at Las Iguanas Chelmsford decided to get their kitchen team some sweet treats to keep them going through the Christmas rush - sounds like a good idea guys! Hope you enjoyed :)

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Broken Records!

A humongous congratulations to Las Iguanas Lakeside for breaking their sales record last week. Well done team and keep up your incredible efforts!

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Christmas bookings in full swing!

Here’s Cambridge and Brighton looking very festive! Keep the pics coming guys

Cambridge

Brighton

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Shots Shots Shots!

With the weekend fast approaching, Las Iguanas Coventry’s General Manager drafted in the help of his operations manager in order to make sure all guests were suitably merry! Looking good chaps

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Top service in Basingstoke

Las Iguanas Basingstoke’s new manager made such a good impression on their junior guests they even stopped for a quick pic. Massive well done to Cel, good to see him settling in so quickly!

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Top service in Woking

Our team at Las Iguanas Woking were lucky enough to receive the below thank you card from some of their guests!! Well done Team Woking on making such a good impression

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Promotion Pros

We like to recognise the efforts our team go to in order to bring the guests in. Here’s some of our favourite ideas from the last week or so...

Well done everyone, I look forward to seeing your ideas for this weekend!

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Kitchen’s little helper

As we’re now into December, Christmas is just over 3 weeks away and Las Iguanas Lakeside are still getting busier and busier! With that in mind, they’ve drafted in some help in the kitchen to lighten the load...