Slug & Lettuce - York Riverside

Had a lovely birthday brunch here recently. The drinks were good, food was lovely and the view over the river was amazing. Was given the best seat in the house with an open balcony. Our server Eliza was absolutely lovely, couldn’t fault her at all. She was kind and very attentive. X

We called in the Slug & Lettuce for a drink in the early afternoon. The bar was nice and quiet. The bar has a nice spacious feel with views over the river. There was a good choice of draught drinks, but no hand pulled cask conditioned real ales. The price for half a pint of cider and half a pint of beer was £7.40p. The bar is mainly aimed at cocktails and food. I haven't tried the food, so I can't comment. The drink prices are highway robbery, at least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask!

I'll preface my review by saying that as an Aussie couple who hate loud and gaudy things, we're probably not S&L's target audience. We just wanted somewhere close to our hotel and cheap after a long drive to York, and weren't familiar with the S&L brand at all. S&L was pretty dead on a Tuesday night, so we had no problem finding a table and service was very quick. We had to order at the bar as the QR code ordering didn't like our non-British postcode, but the bar wasn't busy so it was very easy. We loved the 2-for-1 cocktail deal and deal on 5 of the mix-and-match plates; it made for a very reasonably priced dinner. Unfortunately, the food was just okay. I've never seen a fried bao bun until I dined at S&L (normally they're steamed), and I can't say I was a fan. The chicken skewers didn't really taste of anything, while the bravas potato gems had too much peri peri sauce that they got really soggy. The squid was pretty good and the croquettes had a really nice ham flavour, though! Did it do the job? Yes, but I reckon I'll give S&L a miss next time. It's definitely not my kind of place.