Slim Chickens opened up in Nottingham last week serving up their ‘buttermilk marinated, hand-breaded chicken tenders‘. The hype in their own words suggest to “try our life changing chicken‘ which is a bit bold but I suppose if you are going to big yourself up why not go for a bold tagline.
The franchise with around 15 locations across the UK hail originally from Arkansas and apparently started off life in someones garage which goes to show that if you have a dream then it can happen.
Anyway I am not one for usually bothering to blog about the chains but I fancied trying the place out as I do like a bit of chicken action and so may as well share my thoughts while I am at it
I had a bit of time on my hands and space in my belly so last week I ate in the restaurant and had a cheeky Deliveroo order as well (maybe a couple of orders) 🙂
SLIMS TENDER MEAL
I ordered up the Slims Tender meal for delivery which was dispatched to my apartment in Bridgford via some poor chap who had to cycle all the way to me from Town.
The box was filled up with 5 Chicken Tenders with fries and a slice of Texas toast. It also came with two dipping sauces and a can of pop.
First thoughts were that the chicken looked ok with a nice golden colour on the breading, first bites and subsequent bites were pretty favourable too.
Turns out that the coating is not really crisp its like a nice well-covered well-seasoned breading. The chicken inside is as promised moist and juicy, some might suggest its a bit soggy but I might be somewhat more generous in my thoughts and considering that it was pure chicken breast and that it had travelled in a box to my flat I was happy that it was not dry.
Dips wise I had the Slims Classic dip which is like a ranch mayonaise in my mind and that was a good choice, the other dip some sort of Korean BBQ didn’t really go that well with the flavour of the chicken coating
The fries were not up to much, bit dry and sad if I am honest and the texas toast was not thick enough it was really just a slice of garlic bread, quite a nice slice but not texas sized.
Anyway I enjoyed my chicken enough to want to try the place out properly and see if it was any crispier straight out the kitchen
SLIMS CLASSIC TENDER MEAL
So I came into visit Slim Chickens in Nottingham a couple of days later to check them out in person ordering the Classic Tenders Meal which was 4 Chicken tenders with fries, Texas toast, dipping sauce and a drink.
The chicken was just as decent as it was delivered, perhaps the breading had more of a crispness but still quite soft, the chicken breast again moist and juicy. The fries were not any more exciting and needed the accompanying dips to excite.
The texas toast was even smaller in the restaurant I think I got the arse end of the loaf this time and it was little more than a three bite after-thought.
The buffalo sauce was really good though and I moved between that and the house Slim sauce for levels of heat and cooling for my dipping action.
SLIMS TENDER SOLO MEAL
The Chicks Tenders solo which is just three Chicken tenders with a dipping sauce is probably a good bet if you just want to check out the chicken, and based on my experience of the Texas toast and the fries I would probably in future just order the chicken tenders on their own with a dip or two.
SLIMS CLASSIC CHICKEN SANDWICH
I did order another delivery to try out one of their ‘100% All Natural Chicken sandwiches
I had the classic chicken sandwich which was described as ‘fried chicken breast with pickle, lettuce and mayo’ taking the option to add both cheese and bacon out of pure gluttony if nothing else.
It was a nice enough sandwich but perhaps not exciting enough to have me clamoring for another one. The way that they cook the chicken was the same as the tenders and it was perhaps a bit too wet for a crispy sandwich.
Flavourwise it isnt very exciting so if I had another ‘chicken burger’ I would be more likely to take a punt on either their Buffalo coated one or their Spicy BBQ one just for a bit more of an impact for my tastebuds.
I liked the vibe of the place and the way that they had decorated it, chicken wise as I said I would probably come for the tenders again and maybe try the wings
It was better that the KFC I mistakenly ate last month out of desperation and a lot better that the chicken tenders that I drunk deliveroo on Friday evening from the Golden Arches.
I was earwigging to the tables around me that were occupied by shall we say a younger demographic and they seemed to like it although just like myself thought it was a bit pricey for fried chicken. In fact the people behind me in the queue left as in their own words ‘its a lot for fried chicken’
I do like a bit of chicken tender dipped in a bit of buffalo sauce and the place seemed clean and the people were nice and cheerful.
Am I coming back or ordering again? ‘possibly’, but I am probably not doing that on a regular basis.
Slim Chickens in Nottingham is located alongside the Old Market Square at 31-32 Long Row W, Nottingham NG1 2DR. It’s just down from 5 Guys and in the space formerly occupied by Mod Pizza.
You can check out Slim Chickens UK on their Facebook page, Twitter feed and Instagram profile