Review - Chiquito Gateshead Metro Centre

Having driven an hour and a half to get the the Metro Centre, we parked easily and then tackled the shops in an attempt to pick up some things we wanted and preferably at the price we wanted too!

A trip to the Metro Centre is always a bit of a big deal for us. For one thing, the journey is a 3 hour round trip, and that's without actually doing any shopping, so we always plan to eat out when we are there.

I would like to review the place we ate in today. Chiquito's in the Metro Centre has always been a good place to eat for us. Although we have sometimes had to wait for a table, we have never had to join a lengthy queue outside like the other restaurants have, which are in close vicinity.

So today, when we arrived, we were waiting for about 3 minutes before someone came to greet us. She informed us that the waiting time for a table for 2 adults, a toddler and a smaller baby in a highchair, would be about 30 minutes. This was no problem for us and we were handed a 'gadget' that would let us know when our table was ready.

We went and sat in the bar area, which was not crowded, to wait. During this time Aardvark and Rhino, needed their nappies changing and The Hubstacle was duly dispatched. He came back handing over Rhino, telling me that the only changing facilities were in the ladies toilets. A fellow had offered to stand guard outside the door but as we had two children to attend to, it was easier for me to do it.

True to their word, our table was ready 30 minutes later and we trundles through the restaurant. Not counting the booths, most of the tables have plenty of room to park a buggy up and still let other people pass by without colliding with it.

Our server, Jo, came over very promptly, she was in a recognisable uniform, was clean, well presented and polite. Jo took our drinks order, 2 large diet cokes, a glass of water and an orange juice, which she explained was free for children. When our drinks arrived she took our food order which was as follows -

1 kids tomato twists
1 kids BBQ chicken burrito
1 BBQ pork and beans
1 chicken and ribs
1 side order of corn on the cob

We were all hungry and looking forward to our meal, which sadly took 30 minutes to arrive. However our server kept us informed and we were given a plate of nachos and salsa to nibble on, which the children enjoyed whilst playing with their activity pack (puzzles, coloured pencils etc).

The food arrived, and although it was fine, it wasn't up to the standard that we have come to know of Chiquito's. Both of the childrens meals were great and they loved their food. The Hubstacle said his ribs and chicken tasted nice, but he felt that it had been sitting about for a while. I felt the same and I also felt that for the price of my dish, the portion size was not as it should have been. The pork piece was about 4x2 inches, there were probably about 5 tablespoons of beans, the jacket potato was lovely but the corn on the cob was squashy and looked as if it had been over cooked or sat for a long while. The Hubstacle had one on his plate and it was the same.

However it all tasted ok. We both felt that we have had excellent service, food and experience in the many past visits so have out this down to a 'blip' in their system over the Christmas period. It won't stop us going again when we are next in the Metro Centre.

However, the one thing we did not check properly was the bill, we were charged for a raspberry mojito that we did not have (£4.99). Totally our fault for not noticing, something to look for in the future though!

Chiquito's, we love your restaurant, but hope our next meal will be back to what we have had in the past!