Slates Restaurant & Bakery

I dined here for brunch and it was not a good experience. They have recently moved and have a few kinks to work out. For one, the new space is extremely cramped. The tables are too small to comfortably seat four adults and we were wedged between a wall and a busy path from the kitchen. Comfort issues aside, we ordered our meal and then proceeded to wait. And wait. And wait. At approximately 40 minutes in our waiter returned to refill our long empty coffee cups. At an hour in we asked where our food was and received a noncommittal answer. Our food did finally arrive — it was decent but not worth an uncomfortable hour crowded around a too small table.

Fantastic anniversary dinner. Portion sizes were perfect. We both had steaks that were perfectly cooked, seasoned, and sauced. Dressing on the root vegetable salad was too vinegary and unbalanced. However, the whole experience was definitely 5 stars. I’d be interested to see where some of the reviewers who give this place 3 stars are eating superior meals in the Augusta area. I find it hard to believe you can get a better meal than here at Slate’s.
Only issue is the bakery doesn’t make very good baguettes and they serve bad Green Mountain coffee (which i thought you mostly found at gas stations).

I don’t know… I’d have to come back on a day with another cook. The food wasn’t as good as everyone said it was. I agree with Greg F. Maybe I came in on an off day.

Although I frequently get coffee and snacks at their bakery, and sometimes I stroll in for drinks with a friend, I rarely actually eat at the restaurant because let’s face it, it ain’t cheap. But you get what you pay for, and if you want high quality you’d better be willing to cough up a few extra bucks.
We made reservations for Friday night. A single musician sang and played guitar unobtrusively in the background while we investigated the hand-​written menu. We both were drawn to the specials menu, he to the steak (of course) and I to the seafood in creamy red pepper sauce. I tend not to order seafood as it’s just too easy to goof up, but I figured I could trust the chefs in this kitchen. Before too long, our drinks arrived with a small portion of crusty bread and oil for dipping.
My entrée included shrimp, mussels, scallops AND Lobster (yes, with a capital L), and every piece of seafood on my plate was delightfully tender and flavorful, even the friggin little claw-​thumb pieces that I pretty much never eat (I’ve seen cats scoff at these), even they were good. The sauce was delectable, expertly rendered. The cheesy polenta altered my perspective on polenta in general (I’d had it only once before, prepared badly, so I thought it was gross, however, I was willing to give it another chance). THIS polenta was delicate, slightly crispy at the edges, and of course was complemented by the sauce.
As we raved over our meals and devoured them as politely as possible, we could see the chefs hard at work in the kitchen, sometimes with huge flames bursting upward into their concentrating faces. Perhaps this image of dedicated chefs cooking delicious meals in the face of clear and present danger made me appreciate the experience that much more. I shall return in one year’s time, unless you’d like to buy me dinner, in which case I’m free tonight.

This place is always busy, so that must mean something… and I can partially agree with it meaning good things. The people that work there are fairly nice, the food is decent, and the décor is nice. The lobster bene was quite good — nice hunks of meat and the sauce was pretty good. They also didn’t overcook the eggs, and that’s a major plus. The seafood chowder, on the other hand, was bland and barely had any seafood (it was more like potato soup). The tuna salad sandwich was fine, but nothing to write home about. The issue is that their bakery is not really that great. The bread is just dry… and that goes for the white and the wheat (as those are the only two I’ve tried). Not sure if they are just using older bread or if that’s how it comes out, but it’s just not my style. Anyway, in the area, I’d much rather go to Liberal Cup to eat and drink.

A small crew of us went here as a thank you dinner after a big conference we helped run at a camp nearby. This was our first non-​lobster roll, non-​camp nice meal out in a week. I ordered a meat pasta dish that was totally delicious — I think it was called Sunday dinner, something like that. We were starving and ordered way more than we could eat. We were even relishing the ice water — luxury! Large proportion dishes you could easily share. We had a couple appetizers for the table to share, then each ordered a meal. Nobody could finish their dish completely. Everything tasted really fresh and flavorful. Our waitress was nice, but a bit nervous and kept asking us where we were from over and over — maybe she had amnesia? Or maybe we were too scalawagish to make an impact. Oh it didn’t matter, the food was SO good. Great drink selection too.

First time here with my relatives. Great bohemian atmosphere and mellow acoustic string music in the background, coupled with seafood specials make this place worth my return visit.
The menu selection seem to be all American dishes with good influence on Italian and French. Good selection of savory dishes, meat and seafood.
I would be happy with any of the entrée dishes but opted for the special of the day — seafood medleys (lobster, muscles, sea scallops) herb Provençal
The service is relaxed pace but attentive and creative at times. That makes it interesting to watch the wait staff and patrons interactions.
I thought the parking was a little tricky on the street but there is a free big parking lot behind the building.

This place gets a ton of great press… maybe I ordered badly… maybe I was having an off day?
I had a steak — over sauced, over cooked, under chosen.
The wine selection was okay…
The service was good.
The space was pretty cramped and uncomfortable.
Lot’s of people still rave, so don’t take my word alone.

This is just such a great meal… everything! We had fettuccine which was perfectly cooked and flavored and I had a Cajun burger that was also perfectly cooked! Great atmosphere… great food… homemade and specialty items that you can’t find anywhere else. The dessert menu looked incredible too.

Half of «Today’s Specials» were unavailable. Otherwise, the food and the atmosphere were enjoyable.

Wow! The food was acceptable, the price was high, the atmosphere was horrible. Very loud, very slow service. Don’t waste your time, there’s better food in better restaurants.

Easter brunch: we made reservations and was seated promptly on time. The food was very good, love the homemade breads. Coffee and drinks were wonderful. With all of this, I’m not going back. Here’s why. Our table was dirty, not just a few crumbs, but dried liquid on the table. What I thought was part of the table (they are decorated with paint… very colorful) came partially off under my thumb nail. The menu I looked at was riddled with coffee and food stains. My water glass had an impression of someone’s lip. Nasty. My daughter had a mimosa, she had red lipstick on the lip of the glass. (She wasn’t wearing lipstick.) We brought everything to our waiter’s attention, he took care of everything. Adam was excellent. I’m not sure what’s happening at Slate’s, but we won’t return. Unclean doesn’t work for me.

For over 30 years Slates has been our choice when looking for the best, eclectic food, wonderful atmosphere, and fun staff. The daily specials are what we chose every time — mixed fish dish or the straight fish. Always a treat!

You guys, it was bad.
I’ve heard so many good things about this restaurant; I was excited to finally try it. The interior of the restaurant is so cozy and cute. Everyone was really friendly when we arrived and they sat us even though our entire party was incomplete.
The wine was mediocre table wine. I had the flat iron steak with garlic fresh herb butter, kale, and quinoa. The steak came out cold with a heap of what looked like, I kid you not, a two tablespoon clump of butter. The kale tasted like it had been dry rubbed in salt, and the quinoa was somehow undercooked and burnt. For dessert I had the peanut butter fudge swirl pie and a brownie. The brownie was dry and stiff but the peanut butter fudge swirl pie was good and I would recommend it.
Our service wasn’t that great either. Friendly, but absent for most of the meal leaving our water glasses empty until we ordered dessert.
Everyone else in my party had a similar experience with the food. As a long-​time server myself, I’m a pretty easy guest and always tip 20% no matter what, but unless Slates is going to cut their prices in half to match the quality of their food, save your money and go to the Liberal Cup.

This was the worst meal I have ever had. The only reason I stayed is because I was with good company.
If you’re looking for any semblance of customer service, turn around and go somewhere else. At $ 25 a plate, the service was unacceptable. Restaurant Impossible needs to come in and teach the owner how to keep her staff in order. The sass and attitude they spewed the entire night was atrocious.
Our «server», if you can call someone so rude that, wasn’t happy with us from the start. She needs to go in to another profession, one that includes no interaction with people.
The duck wontons were too oily and the sauce was overwhelming. The flavor of duck was non existent.
We have to wave someone down to get drink refills. Only to find out they ran out of Shipyard Pumpkin. Who runs out of beer?
About an hour later, our «server» stops by to say that our dinner is coming out after the big party next to us. Well they get their food in five minutes.
Half an hour after that, I wave someone down to check on our meal and she says it’s coming right out. Two folks got duck, and the serving sizes were completely different. Shouldn’t they have been the same size? One was dry and the other was over sauced. The pasta with sausage was bland. The «crab» crepes had more 90% artichoke and 10% crab. They should have called them artichoke crepes!
When asked if we wanted dessert, I asked if it would take an hour to get that too because the «server» was rude the entire meal. She said to blame the slow meal on the kitchen and she was just the messenger. She didn’t seem to realize that her lack of communication was more upsetting than the slow food.
We asked to see a manager because we didn’t want to deal with her any more. She came back and told us to go to the kitchen because she was working and could not come out. Are you kidding me? The owner should have come right out to talk to us.
When we get back there, the two servers, who looked like nagging sisters, ganged up on us and told us that we were in the wrong! Seriously? The customer service there was non existent. And the owner had zero control of her staff.
I will NEVER be back. Why would I pay money to be given attitude and suffer thru boring food? Save your money.

I am sad to say that what would originally have been a 5 star review has become a 3 star review. I have been a fan and patron of Slates since 1976. I know the website says 1979 but the actual business opened earlier that than that.
For years whether I was living locally or coming in from away Slates has been a primary destination for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Slates didn’t start as a dinner restaurant it was primarily Breakfast and Lunch — Brunch being the pinnacle for us at least. The huge choices of Benedicts, the fresh baked breads and a different brunch bread every week using seasonal fruits and more. A former favorite has been the smoked seafood with, well anything.
Slates was ground breaking in it’s approach to what kind of food to serve, how it was presented and the entire model for the way the business was run. It served both the general public, tourists and still maintained the local vibe. Everyone came in through the week for a meal or a drink at happy hour. Long before every vodka was flavored Slates was infusing vodkas — in fact it was one the first if not the first to create a pepper vodka.
It started with again, ground breaking Monday night music and art opening events and special dinner nights. Now it seems to be primarily lunch and dinner. I miss being able to get breakfast any day of the week and brunch on both Saturday and Sunday. We were disappointed this year that Slates would not open on Old Hallowell day for Brunch. It has been a family tradition for 30 years and this year we had to make other plans.
I imagine the food is still good but a place changes and it just doesn’t feel the same. Sometimes it’s more than just the food.

1^st time visitor and I will be back
Interior brick and artwork line the walls. The walls are brightly painted with color giving the space a lightened-​up feel The seating space feel roomy. Slate’s is an eclectic way to enjoy your meal.
Three of us got there at about 1130 on Saturday, we were seated within a few minutes. The special menu flanked two sides of paper. Prices ranged from 10 – 15, I had the crab cake eggs benedict, with homefries, I also had a strawberry Italian mimosa which was tasty. The eggs benedict was the best I have ever had.
I would suggest poppin’ into the bakery for a treat for after your meau

100% lived up to expectations. The food was excellent (despite being a little pricey) and the atmosphere is really unique. I had a special (they all sounded so good I post a picture of the special menu) the Mint Julep Marinated Swordfish with Grilled Jumbo Shrimp and Mango Peach Papaya Purée. My sides were Roasted Carrots and Thai Slaw. I am pretty sure they dug the Carrots out of the ground minutes before they were so fresh and delicious.
My only complaint would be the beer selection was limited but the wine list looks decent. I give the servers a four chili pepper rating. Stick with the restaurant, the bakery is just ok and crappy green mountain coffee.

I returned to Slate’s last week and my second experience was much better than my first. The bread was still delightful. The beer was great. I ordered the baked haddock with potatoes and squash, and, by the end of the meal, I was stuffed, but I wasn’t going to leave food on my plate! The fish was perfectly cooked. As promised by the waitress, the pesto was incredible. Rarely when I travel do I feel like I’m getting a home-​cooked meal, and this was definitely a treat!
Note that this place gets very busy, even during the week. We had to wait about 20 – 30 minutes for a table of 4 at 6:30ish on a Monday night! However, the ambiance is very nice in the back room – much nicer than in the bar area.

A little high priced but great food. This may be some of the freshest seafood you will get. The stuffed haddock with lobster or crab seems to be their most popular item. Everything here was good though, from the bread with olive oil to the nachos to their salads. The lobster pizza was another great item as well as the salmon. If you’re really hungry, go for the seafood alfredo. My co-​worker said it was the best pasta he’s had in a long time and it was super rich and creamy.
The peanut butter pie with ice cream was excellent. I’ll have to try out the bakery next time I’m in town.