Slate, Mountsorrel

*This restaurant has now closed. The Spotted Duck has opened in the same location. * The Spotted Duck

It’s been rainy all day and I’ve been far too busy at work. But, a light was at the end of the tunnel – a Tuesday night treat with dinner booked at Slate restaurant in Mountsorrel.

From the outside, the restaurant looks good, trendy wallpaper and candles can be spied through the windows and there always seem to be people in. After months of walking past, we finally decided to give it a go. In fact, its one of the few restaurants in the local villages we’ve not eaten at.

The menu is nice and simple – gastro pub style cooking. Mon – thurs after 5:30pm they offer a free starter with every main. This makes it a really cheap evening out. Our bill was £31.60 for 2 starters, 2 mains, 2 beers, 1 small white wine and a coffee.

To start I opted for the smoked haddock tart with a poached egg from the specials board. Unfortunately it wasn’t very nice. It was served cold and the pastry was very stodgy with pieces of smoked haddock full of little bones running through it. The poached egg on top was its saving grace. The hubby had pate which was really nice, toasted bread and chutney completed the dish.

For main, I had sausage and mash – with the sausages made locally in Loughborough. The red wine jus was delish and the veg was cooked perfectly. Dave had a Chicken, Bacon and Mushroom pie with homemade chips (which were lovely).

Overall, the food was ok. The restaurant was lovely though, the decor is modern with chunky wooden tables and chairs giving it a trendy contemporary feel. The staff were friendly and helpful and we liked the fact that a lot of the ingredients are sourced locally. I think that if I’d not had the haddock tart, my view would have been a lot more positive. This is a local, family run restaurant offering fresh, homecooked food and that appeals to me as this is rare these days, in a market full of microwave fuelled chain restaurants.

For that, I give Slate a (cautionary) thumbs up with a score of 5 out of 10.