An evening at Slice
I speak to my son on the phone several times a week but one day I looked at the calendar and realised that it was a whole two months since I’d seen him.
That was it. I checked that he was free for the evening, booked into Morgans Hotel in Swansea (I may be an intrepid reporter but I’m not intrepid enough to stay in a student house inhabited by seven 20-year-old boys) and asked where he’d like to have dinner.
He didn’t hesitate for a second. “Slice,” he said. “It’s a new restaurant in Swansea and it’s got 168 excellent ratings on TripAdvisor. I’ve been wanting to go there for ages.”
So that’s where we went – and it was the best place I’ve been to in Swansea by a mile. The place is tiny – tucked away down a side street in the wonderfully named Sketty district – and run by two talented young chefs. Adam Bannister and Chris Harris met at catering college in Swansea 12 years ago and have worked at loads of prestigious places, including The Hardwick in Abergavenny, Northcote in Langho, Blackburn, and The Coalhouse on the Gower. The pair took the reins at Slice back in March 2014 and the plaudits have been rolling in ever since.
The restaurant has a state-of-the-art kitchen on the ground floor and a small restaurant seating 16 on the first floor. Amazingly, Adam and Chris run everything themselves. Between them they devise the menus, source the ingredients, do the cooking and wait on the tables. Customers can stay all evening, although the duo book tables in at half and hour intervals to cope with demand.
My son’s eyes widened when he saw the menu, with three choices for each course and a fabulous amuse-bouche to start (an elegant cupful of onion soup on the night we visited). After working as a waiter at a posh hotel from May to September this year my son is far more adventurous in the food stakes than me and he plumped for pork belly and black pudding with celeriac and apple, followed by roast partridge with a chestnut mousse – which he pronounced delicious. My slightly more conservative choice was pumpkin and butternut squash tortellini with beetroot and goat’s curd, then pan-friend halibut with Jerusalem artichoke. Everything looked and tasted divine.
Chris (I think it was Chris) acted as waiter and sous-chef that night and seemed genuinely delighted when we told him how fabulous it all was. Considering he was up and downstairs like a yo-yo all night, he looked remarkably unflustered in his chef’s whites.
A three-course dinner at Slice costs £35 but considering the standard of cooking and the care that goes into everything this seems perfectly fair. So if you’re looking for somewhere to have dinner in Swansea then Slice is the place. We’ll definitely be back.
Slice is open for dinner from Wednesday to Sunday (6.30-9pm) and for lunch from Friday to Sunday (12-2pm).
PS. I’m the worst photographer in the world but this was the fabulous chocolate terrine we gobbled down.
You are selling it well!! Sounds amazing.
My own memories of Swansea go back 45 years when we used to call there to load steel en route to South America. Back then the ONLY place to eat (or drink) in the city was a Berni Inn!!
Swansea will always live in my memory though; it was there I shared a taxi with a world champion boxer (long, long retired) The wholly inimitable Jimmy Wilde. Male readers of my vintage will understand immediately. “The Ghost with a Hammer in his Hand”
We loved it, John. It’s great to hear your memories of Swansea. I think it’s a great city, especially the Dylan Thomas exhibition, views to the Mumbles, friendly people and now, of course, Slice.