Amigos, Ulverston

THAT phrase “mind your manners” seems very old fashioned and is something that your grandparents were probably more used to hearing than children of today. But eating out at a restaurant recently it sprung to mind when a group of diners were incredibly rude to a waitress for having committed the terrible sin of bringing them the food they had asked for.
They had pre-ordered their meals but when brought their first courses one young man complained he hadn’t ordered what he was given. The waitress went away and came back with the written order, “oh fair enough,” he said but added he wouldn’t eat it. She thoughtfully left it at the end of the table incase other members of the party wanted to share it. She started to leave the room when one of the man’s fellow diners shouted out “take it away, we don’t want it, no-one will eat it.”
We could hear every word because they were all speaking so loudly and it was one of those scenes which being forced to hear and watch because you were facing their direction you felt embarrassed about even though not were involved. The waitress dealt with the situation by doing what they wanted without saying anything. The point is – you expect the staff to be polite to you – so be polite to them, especially when they are doing their job.
Which brings me to Amigos on Tuesday evening. It is a well-established Ulverston restaurant and one of the very, very few Mexican eateries you can find locally.
Drinks in hand we picked out the sticky ribs and king prawns in the restaurant’s own beer batter to begin the meal with and then opted for seafood burritos and pollo con jalapeno chicken. The food bill came to £40.45.
For a start the ribs weren’t my idea because I usually find them really disappointing in restaurants, but they are a rough and ready dish I love to eat at home when made with a good sauce. In this case I was proved totally wrong – they were gorgeous – I wouldn’t pretend to know too much about Mexican food but whatever sauce these ribs were covered in – it was rich, glorious and came with a bit of a kick. There was nothing sickly or cloying which is often the case. The meat was fall-off tender – you could have eaten it even if you were toothless.
My king prawns in batter were big, chunky bits of fish and the batter was thick but crispy. It came with a good dip but to be honest the prawns were so juicy and the batter had so much flavour you didn’t really need it. The prawns were sitting on salad which included sprigs of fresh parsley among the mixture of leaves – delicious.
As for the second course – think a fat pancake stuffed with masses of seafood in a creamy sauce. The only criticism was that the mussel on top was seriously overcooked and therefore too dry. The chicken was tender in a creamy sauce with traces of fiery cayenne pepper around the plate – superb. It was sitting on a bed of well-cooked rice. Both dishes came with fresh salads.
We couldn’t linger after our meal but have every intention of going back to do just that in the future.
The staff are casual but good at their jobs. The restaurant itself is colourful and the decor fun, they played Mexican-type music, good and bad but always fun. On the website Amigo’s say they have been open for 10 years so must be doing something right. The only thing I would disagree with in that statement is that they are not just getting something right – they are getting a lot spot on.


DIP IT >> The king prawns came with a good dip but to be
honest they were so juicy you didn't really need it.


RIBS>> Delicious


DELICIOUS>> The seafood burrito was bulging with
fish in a rich sauce


HOTTING UP >> The jalapeno chicken came with a hint of hot
cayenne to balance the creamy sauce