So, I’m very sure that the Slug and Lettuce / Bay Restaurants Group need no additional advertising from the likes of me, so I’ll try and keep this brief post opinionated and not too ‘sell-y’ hehe! :oP

Greg and I went to our local Slug in Kingston on Wednesday evening for the free Autumn/Winter menu tasting that they were offering for the members of the general public whom had booked their place on it in advance.

I must say, I think that this is a cracking idea, when I used to work in pubs/restaurants, we didn’t tend to have these for the public, just for the staff. Opening this kind of event to the public really does help to create a healthy buzz about the new menu as well as make customers feel like they’ve had a part in the process too. Similarly, Slug’s new online table reservation system is also a fabulous idea – someone at Slug HQ must have their brain/common sense working overtime! :oD

My last experience at a Slug was the one in Albert Square in Manchester and was for Christmas dinner in 2006 – an experience I wouldn’t want to relive again. Being seated for Christmas dinner practically in the middle of a dance floor is never a good idea! Therefore, it was with a degree of trepidation that I went along to the Kingston restaurant this time.

Apart from the state of the gents loos, I found it to be a much better experience! The bar was nice, not too busy and had a nice restaurant area. Helpful staff serving us with the new menu items and seemed relatively knowledgeable and interested.

Greg and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and ended up leaving stuffed and unable to walk! We’d tasted that much, and all for free! The only ‘let-down’ (and I use the term lightly!) was that there were no free deserts on offer!

We both heartily recommend the new carbonara and the Steak and Mushroom pie – both ‘simple’ dishes that I’d normally avoid when going out for food (after all, you go out for something fancy!); however I’d definitely make the exception for these dishes – simply delicious!!!!

I found it very odd however that the comment cards that they passed around were just the tiny bog-standard ones, I was expecting to be able to give a full opinion on each of the dishes, and I feel that they wasted the valuable opportunity to do so with customers feeling willing to provide feedback in return for a free meal!

I’d never really considered Slug as a viable place to eat before, however this exercise has demonstrated to me how wrong I was, and therefore I think that we give Slug consideration next time we’re hungry and in the vicinity! :oD