Bills

 I love to travel and have no problem with making arrangements to do so. But when it comes to get together in the UK I’m not very good. Luckily my Smuckle took the initiative this time and with the help of group messaging on Facebook we managed to pin down a date for all the Uni girls to meet up.

Char suggested we go to Bills in Covent Garden describing it as a “bit rustic/farmer”, she also said it was a “bit cool”  - Complete under statement Char!!! I fell in love with it when I saw the décor.

Hidden inside St Martin’s courtyard, right next door to Jamie Oliver’s Italian, it occupies two floors and looks a little like a mix between a village shop and a restaurant.

I was pleasantly surprised. I turned up early and relatively on time so I was able to grab a ginger beer and catch up with V before the rest of the girls arrived. Whilst lacking the kick that you would get from ‘old Jamaican ginger beer’. I found it very refreshing and had two!

When all of the ladies arrived it was the usual storytelling, speed download on what has been happening in our lives.

 You have to pay attention during story time...there may be a quiz later!

And of course lots and lots of laughter……

The staff were brilliant and incredibly patient, which I guess you would have to be when we kept giggling too much to look at the menu to order. As i still had my ginger beer the others started with rounds of cocktails.

Having cheated a little and looked at the menu before agreeing to go to this restaurant I knew what I was having.
I went for two starters and a dessert.

Although char had recommended Bills naked burger, a healthy option to the standard burger in that it had no bread and extra salad. My mince beef intolerance meant that I couldn't have it .

So for my main second starter I had the Crab, salmon and chilli fishcakes. Pan-fried and served with red chicory, mixed leaves, mango salsa and lemon dressing. I wasn't as swept away with this starter as I was with the first one. I felt like I could eat the Avocado and Bacon salad all evening.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was incredibly relaxed and I couldn't help but notice all of the bright colours hanging from the ceiling and the walls lined with jars and bottles.

That’s right, Bills isn’t just a restaurant. It’s also a SHOP!!!

The manager came over to talk to us when I inquired about the chutney that they served with the Liver starter (I didn't actually order this myself but it looked so delicious that I 'borrowed' some from V!

Alas this is exclusively for this starter and not available to purchase. I was devastated. Having halfway fallen in love with the apple based chutney; he saw my disappointment and bought out the chutneys that were on sale for me and V to try.

I decided on the Red onion marmalade as I love goats cheese and knew this would go together to make a great tart.
So as I skimmed through the shopping list making sure that there wasn’t anything else that I wanted, the manager told me about the history behind Bills. 

That this time last year they had 5 branches with the first one being in Lewes (the second one Brighton) and that now they had 15 restaurants opened spread across the UK.

By the time we were ready for dessert, some of the girls were too full. The others opted for either the Eton mess or the warm chocolate brownie.

Being a huge creme brûlée fan I ordered the bills version which was made up of white chocolate and raspberries. Literally heaven, with a crunchy top.

If you like good food, great atmosphere then Bills is definitely for you. They have possibly the friendliest team of staff that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting in a London restaurant. Everyone seemed incredibly happy to be there and it made the experience all the much better.

If you can’t reach the London location, check out one the other locations here.