Slug & Lettuce Durham - Review*

*This post contains gifted items.

One of my favourite kinds of invitation is that of a food invite. This time, it was the team at Slug & Lettuce in Durham who invited me to their new, updated venue to check out their menus and stunning interior.

Now that this venue has returned as a slug and lettuce, it's also come with a brand new look, featuring bird-cage booths, flower trellises, and dusty pink tones - I love the style they've gone for. Of course, it's worth mentioning that they have not one, but two selfie walls and everything else fit for an instagrammable location. But, of course, what would a tropical-themed and glamorous bar and restaurant be without its menus.

I'm going to start by saying that this is an honest review and, truth be told, the only thing that could possibly have let me down on this visit was the small menu. Slug & Lettuce are renowned for their updating of pub-style food; making old classics into modern-day dishes. Items such as Sausage & Mash, Scampi, and Lasagne showcase this simple menu which, undoubtedly is cooked with that Slug touch, but I just feel could just be a bit broader. 

Nevertheless, I decided to take advantage of the more unique item on the menu, the Tostadas. Funnily enough, when I first visited S&L years and years ago, a tostada was the first dish I ever tried from their menu - it's good to see that they are still around. It is effectively a flatbread pizza with a crispy base and plenty of toppings - I went for the Shawarma Tostada. One thing that I find is that, they fill you up a lot more than you'd think - if you were coming for lunch, one tostada will fill you up plenty but, if you're out for a big dinner, it might be worth ordering a side to complement (now is the point in which I acknowledge that huge portion of chips that I ordered on the side).

Jamie, my boyfriend, joined me on the trip and, for his meal, ordered the 12oz Rump steak which he thoroughly enjoyed. He asked for it rare and, I've got to say, it was cooked to perfection. Again, you can already see that the portion sizes are great too. 

We can't forget the drinks! While Jamie opted for a simple G&T, I decided to try something different and chose the Botanist Bubbles which is a mix-up of gin, passion fruit liqueur, lemonade, and prosecco - so basically, like someone spilt a pornstar martini into their G&T. In hindsight, I should've probably chosen something a bit more complimentary of my meal as this was very sweet and alcoholic (more of a night-out-with-the-girls kind of drink) but, after I'd eaten, we did amend this and asked for a cheeky glass of red wine with our desserts.

As I alluded, we succumbed to our sweet cravings and, opting for the trio system in order to get a taste of a few things. We chose salted caramel bites, limoncello drizzle sponge, and the macarignues. They were all lovely and I was pleasantly surprised. While the limoncello drizzle sponge wasn't overpoweringly alcoholic (thankfully), the meringues were super sweet and indulgent. As for the salted caramel bites, though, they were just a dream paired with our glasses of red wine.

All in all, it was a wonderful meal and I think this the perfect place to hang out with friends or family, in the heart of Durham, surrounded by instagrammable opportunities (which is always a bonus).

Thanks again to Slug and Lettuce, Durham, for the invite!