A couple of weeks ago my friends and I decided that we needed to have a spot of brunch, they had been drinking the night before and well I was just tired from staying up past 10! We usually go to a Barbecue place called Blue Grass, but for once the carnivores didn't fancy it so we decided to go to what I thought was quite a trendy place called Bill's.
Just so you don't think my friends to be cruel, I had already eaten a bowl of cereal prior to this and had a Starbucks tea so I wasn't hungry. They don't often make a habit of taking me to places where I have to watch them eat!
This brings me to my next restaurant review, dedicated to Bill's, I can tell you straightaway it won't be what you are used to from me!
Staff:
Firstly, they pretty much just left me to it, they provided me with the normal menu and when I asked if the (one) item that I could have was indeed Gluten Free as well they obliged by going and getting the gluten free menu for me to find out for myself.
Apart from that, not much interaction, one of my friends had an item missing and it took nearly the entire meal for it to come to her without too much of an apology. However, they did oblige by giving extra's and decent sizes of that too.
For me, I wasn't thrilled and for that reason I won't mark particularly highly.
4/10
Food:
This is where it really begins. I was only able to have one item on the menu, as you know for me this isn't unusual but this is where it goes downhill. The item on the menu is an appetiser, a starter, a very small salad if you can even call it that.
What I had was what they called a Roasted Butternut Squash and Lentil Salad with a Pomegranate and Lemon Dressing. On the outside looking in, that sounds like a lovely dish, I absolutely love Butternut Squash and in a salad it would intensify the flavours etc.
I would not call what I received a salad, as you can see it is a pile of lentils in a cereal size bowl (which I guess I shouldn't complain about due it being labelled a starter) with some butternut squash sprinkled on top with a few leaves and pomegranate seeds.
Now I get it, lentils are very good for you and people have been starting to jump onto this (yet another) craze to eat more of them. But. They are simply not cut out to be the main part of a dish, as lentils really don't carry much flavour like rice etc they are meant to be an accompaniment. Good chefs (well most people) wouldn't serve a bowl of rice with one chosen vegetable on top, without a sauce and label it a salad however this is effectively what they did with this dish.
I found myself trying to save the small amounts of butternut squash so I didn't have to eat the lentils on their own. The "dressing" was obviously so minimal and lacking in flavour that it did nothing and I simply could not taste it except for the actual pomegranate seeds themselves.
I find myself very disappointed in a restaurant where I had been led to believe they were big about fresh and innovative dishes. That simply is not the case, for if it were they would cater for people like myself in a more exciting way, not throwing together a dish out of simple ingredients without thinking about flavour at all.
2/10
Allergies/Intolerances:
Bill's have a Gluten Free menu and in their main menu they clearly label which dishes are Vegan which is great. They also have available on their website the allergen checklist so you can clearly see which dishes contain the main allergens.
However, they simply do not have enough dishes to cater for everyone and they have unnecessarily made some of the vegan dishes available in the main menu, unavailable for people with a gluten intolerance.
In total, they only have 2 main courses for vegans, a stew or a cauliflower steak both sound quite delicious but both are not Gluten Free. For a stew full of vegetables with the main ingredient being butternut squash, I simply do not understand why they have the need to add ingredients that most competent chefs could manage without.
This just insults people like myself, don't get me wrong, I understand that I am in quite a minority. However, if main high street restaurants who live off of making pizza and pasta are still able to give me a beautiful meal I am unsure why Bill's cannot follow suit or even lead the way with their fresh ideas and ingredients.
3/10 - for the fact they have the gluten free menu
Bill's if you have read this review, I would urge you to work with people like myself or others who have to live with allergies/intolerances. It is hard enough to eat out but to be insulted by only having available a starter and then it having such poor flavour is unacceptable.
I went on your website and read your story as I do before I write any review, so to see that you began as a greengrocer selling fresh fruit and vegetables makes me sad. I think you ought to get back to basics and learn how to use them again in your dishes, you'd definitely earn some fans in the vegan camp and who knows, vegetables might be the new fashion.
That's all I have to say, this is my first bad review and I didn't enjoy it, it reminds me of when I first began to eat out with these intolerances and how difficult it was. Let's not go backwards restaurant industry! Let's keep moving forward and feed everybody equally!