|
Originally created as Parisa Café Bar, this was reopened in 2003 as part of the 55 strong nation wide chain of Slug and Lettuce bars. The dodgy sounding name of this popular chain could be mistaken as a reference to their salads and is a contrast to the trendy sounding named bars we are used to in Chester. However, despite its name I was pleasantly surprised.
Having visited 'The Slug' on a busy Saturday night for a drink and for a quiet Sunday late lunch I found that it is a versatile place with a chilled out and friendly atmosphere, both at night and during the day. The room is large and deep with a long bar down the left hand side and the décor has an Arabian feel, with curtains dividing up the tables at the back of the room. The standing space in a sunken strip along the bar is limited, perhaps to deter session drinkers. Even on a Saturday night there were comfortable chairs available and although it was clearly a busy night their seemed to be a lot of space, which is unusual in a city centre bar. The music was at a good level in the evening: it could be heard, but didn't interfere with conversation, just helped contribute to the nice ambience.
The door was manned but instead of intimidating customers as I have found happens in a number of city centre bars, the doors were opened as we walked towards them, which was a nice touch.
There is an average sized menu of sandwiches, main meals and platters to share which are all quite reasonably priced. As with most menus in big chains there is an even mix of food available from Italian sun dried tomato bread brie sandwiches to sausage and mash! The food was served quickly and all staff were pleasant, although maybe a few more on the floor may help improve service. The bar, on the other hand, was well staffed and even on a busy Saturday night service was good.
All in all this seems to be a nice bar, slightly 'chainy' but definitely developing its own character and atmosphere.
|
