WHAT do a pregnant woman, a vegetarian and two meat lovers have in common?

They can all indulge in Mexican food without having to worry about the menu, its dishes and ingredients being ‘out of bounds’.

Huddersfield’s most famous Mexican, Gringo’s, already has a good reputation, but it’s not a place I’d ever ventured to despite loving the food it’s famous for.

Attempts at fajitas at home were mildly successful, though the end product was anything but mild – the packet fajita mix I used was so spicy Yorkshire Water was stretched to its limit as I ran for glass after glass of tap water.

So instead of offering friends Paul, Sarah and Chris my homemade attempt, we met up at Gringo’s instead.

I’d first sent a text Sarah to see if there was anything contraband for pregnant women, ‘I’m not really sticking to the guidelines’ she said. She and Chris are both doctors, so who am I to argue?

I also looked at the website and noticed there was a two-for-one offer on – though to get the deal you have to order by 7pm leave by 8pm. Not a problem for us early birds.

I hadn’t booked a table in advance and arrived to a smiling waitress who found us a table for four. I was thankful we arrived when we did, a table of about 20 turned up just after we’d put our order in!

Our drinks were a long time coming – after a while I prompted a waitress.

They eventually arrived with our starters, we weren’t overly bothered, but it meant we didn’t order any more drinks there and instead headed for more at another venue later.

For starters we ordered one dish each but were tucking into each other’s – two lots of ‘chips and dips’ nachos with guacamole, sour cream, salsa and a cheese sauce (£4.95 each).

Paul went for the cheese and pimanto quesadeilla (£5.95) – a corn tortilla filled with a mix of vegetables and cheese, while Chris had the deep fried cheesy jalapeneos with sweet chili dip (also £5.95).

The cheese sauce for the chips had a strange plasticy taste to it and it didn’t look appetising. It was ignored in favour of the other three dips which were fine.

I think we were all envious of the quesadeilla – a mix of cheese, peppers and onions. It looked amazing and tasted the same – it’s highly recommended by us. Paul had tried the same dish in Mexico years ago – while one was a disappointment, he put Gringo’s version on a par with the best he’d had in its native country.

For mains Sarah went for the chicken chimichanga (£11.50) – crisp fried folded flour tortilla with wedges and refried beans. I thought it looked like a giant Cornish pasty. She recommends it and was impressed at the generous portion size – enough to be full without loads of waste – she says.

Chris, Paul and I all went for a variety of fajitas (£11.50 each) – mine was the vegetarian option – a mix of peppers, courgettes and onions in a spicy sauce – spiciness was just right.

Paul chose the beef with his and Chris the chicken. Both came with their own veg.

The fajita wraps came in a side pot and were small but plenty to go around – plus there was grated cheese and more dips to add to them.

Paul and Chris were the experts of folding fajitas – their plates hardly looked touched. I, on the other hand, gave the Gringo’s team plenty of washing-up to do. My fajitas folded, they just didn’t stay folded. My fault entirely, I must learn to do better.

Also on the Gringo’s favourites were enchiladas and burritos (also £11.50) with the option of having them with spicy lamb, beef, chicken and king prawn. The vegetarian options are cheese, onion and mixed vegetables and spinach with goats cheese – plenty of choices for us vegetarians.

The fajitas can be either beef, chicken, prawn or vegetarian.

There’s also a wide grill section of the menu, not included in the two for one offer.

My first trip to Gringo’s was a good one – the service was a little slow, but with a big party in it’s perhaps understandable and forgivable.

The bill came to £43.55 for four of us on the two-for-one offer, a good price for what we got.

Gringo’s

8 Railway Arches, Huddersfield, HD1 5DL

Tel 01484 422411

Website www.gringos-restaurant.co.uk

Opening hours Monday to Saturday from 5pm. This Sunday only from 5pm.

Children Yes

Disabled access Yes

The bill£43.55 on a two-for-one deal

Would you go back?Yes