With the school holidays upon us, many families will be looking for places to eat that won't break the bank.
While we can all take a picnic to keep costs down, there are times when it's not possible, or you find yourself out for longer than you planned. Or sometimes you might just plan a treat to escape that butty making and washing up for once.
As The Trafford Centre is particularly popular with families at this time of year, especially with the arrival of its Summer Daze event, I decided to try out one of its eateries - Slim Chickens. Planning to keep it simple for the four kids I had in tow, I opted for chicken, chips and a shake for each of us.
Read more: Things to do with the kids in and around Manchester this summer
What I wasn't quite prepared for was the price - a shocking £64. That's with three chicken tenders costing £4.80 each, fries costing £3 each and a shake £5 each.
Slim Chickens has been keen to point out that had I ordered a meal for each person, rather than individual items, I could have upgraded from a soft drink to a shake and saved £2 per person, as well as getting some Texas toast that comes with the meals.
But I didn't see this option on screen at the kiosk I ordered from and a £10 saving is not a huge amount when the overall bill would have still come in at £54. Plus, it would be helpful if any offers like this were added automatically at the checkout.
Any busy parent knows how difficult it can be making multiple orders and you don't always know what are the best offers to take advantage of. The place does offer kids' meals where you get two tenders, Texas toast, fries, carrots, cucumber and a carton drink for £5, but these are only for those aged 10 and under.
The children with me were 11 and 13 so too old for that. Eating out certainly gets more expensive once they're passed the kids' meal deal stage.
As for the products themselves, they were faultless and the food was served quickly by friendly staff. While three tenders didn't sound many, they were pretty big, as were the portions of fries and while the chicken got polished off, along with the accompanying honey BBQ dipping sauce, we simply couldn't manage all the fries between us all.
Most likely because of the thick milkshakes, which I have to say were delicious and on another level to the 'more froth than milkshake' kind you get in typical fast food joints.
A spokesperson for Slim Chickens, which also has a branch in Manchester Arndale, said: "You could have got this cheaper by doing it as a meal. We have £5 kids' meals and it’s all cooked fresh. This is not a fast food restaurant.
"Slim Chickens won Multi Site Quick Service Restaurant Of The Year Award 2022 for the UK earlier this month and everyone loves the brand."
He said the restaurants offer a number of deals to keep costs down, including a four tenders for £4 offer they ran on July 4 and a two for one milkshake promotion from July 18 to 24.
"We have main meals under £10 that include bottomless soda, chicken, chips, two sauces and Texas toast," he said.
"We have the App where you can save and earn points on each visit to receive free sides, sandwich and meal.
"When you order as a meal you can save on getting a milkshake upgrade for £2 and freezecake for £3."
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