Panini's really lives up to their name. This is a bar AND a grill! I came here for a late dinner expecting them to have a menu full of panini, and I was not disappointed. Better still, there were other options on the menu as well! I opted for the roasted lamb shank with a side of oysters, which I paired with a "Craft Flight".
After putting my order in, I took a lap around the restaurant. The arcade games were a great touch and gave the place a retro feel! Upon further exploration I found a beautiful patio that was packed to the gills with customers. I was about to head back to my seat when I saw what I could only assume was a small waiter beckoning to me from the service station near the patio gate. I asked what he wanted and he handed me a golden key with jade stones inlaid upon the teeth. He gestured toward a door that I hadn't noticed before. I stuck the key in and turned to look for the waiter, but he was gone. I opened the door and walked through to the other side.
What I found was a land full of more beauty than anything I could have possibly imagined when I first arrived in Kent. The sun shone brightly on grassy hills as far as the eye could see. What seemed like thousands of butterflies fluttered around me. The sound of a gushing waterfall could be heard to the east. I turned around once more and could still see Panini's patio behind me. I closed the door, and turned my back on Kent for what I believed would be forever in favor of a more magical life. How wrong I was.
As soon as the door latched I heard the crack of thunder in the air. I looked up to see dark storm clouds overtaking the sun that had cast its rays on the grassy hills. The air around me was filled with buzzing as the butterflies grossly mutated into a swarm of wasps. I broke into a panicked sprint to try to avoid them, and tripped over the root of a gnarled oak tree. Searing pain shot up my leg, and I looked down to see my ankle twisted at an angle that turned my stomach. It was then that I heard a cackle that drained the blood right from me, and I nearly fainted.
The small server from Panini's patio stood before me, only he looked much different from before. His smile stretched wide across his face, with broken yellowed teeth exposed. Flecks of saliva flickered from his moist lips. Where his nose should have been was a red clown nose, dried and moldy. His eyes were crusted shut, and aside from a few wisps of hair, his sunburnt bald head was exposed to the air. He was swathed in a black cloak, and held above him a cane topped with what looked like the skull of a possum. He leaned close to me and whispered,
"Can I get you anything else?"
And with that I was back at Panini's, seated at a booth. My shank, oysters and flight were before me. I thanked the waitress and told her I was fine.
5 stars, would return. read more