Bill's Restaurant

Amelia Gabaldoni April 17, 2019

Burgers all round

It was burgers all round for me and two friends in a quick visit to Bill’s for a pre-theatre meal.

Situated in a former Methodist Church, Bill’s is decked out in stylish, contemporary décor with high ceilings that make the restaurant feel spacious and airy. Even though it was pretty early on a weekday, Bill’s has a convivial atmosphere and was by no means empty when we walked in on Tuesday.

After being seated by a welcoming waiter, we ordered a bottle of the Macabeo, which was pretty good for a house white, and set about deciding what we wanted to eat. There are a number of good dishes for vegetarians, giving us a range of choice that envies the options of the meat-eaters, a welcome change from a single veggie option in a sea of meat dishes. In a moment of health-consciousness I set my sights on the glow bowl (falafel, salad, quinoa, roast veg, etc.), but was instantly jealous that my friends were about to get a load of chips with their burgers, so instead went for the Halloumi Burger. Our trio of burgers doesn’t really reflect the range of choice available at Bill’s – expect to see a considered selection of mains including Pan Fried Sea Bass, Chicken Green Curry and classed-up version of Macaroni Cheese.

Our burgers arrived quickly, the beef versions accompanied with all the usual trimmings plus a ‘secret sauce’. Mine came with tomato hummus, sweet chilli sauce, roasted red peppers and a delicate mixed salad, plus a generous helping of lime aioli. There was probably a little bit too much going on in the bun and not quite enough halloumi, but the flavours complemented each other nicely. Had there not been an excess of sauce with the hummus and the sweet chilli already in the bun, I would have made much more use of the aioli. My friends seemed content with their hamburgers and tucked in eagerly before I’d had a chance to ask them to take a photo of their plate.

Bill’s is what a good chain should be – we were in and out in just over an hour, with stomachs full and wallets not too empty. It’s not overwhelmingly good (or overwhelmingly anything really) but it doesn’t need to be – Bill’s knows it’s there to get the job done.

Natasha Turner September 28, 2014

Dining out is a special treat for most, so if you want something that looks fancy but serves standard food for reasonable prices, then try Bill’s restaurant on St. Michael’s street.

The dim lighting, wood finish, and deli décor provided the perfect atmosphere for the pseudo-romantic dinner that I was on, and the staff seated us quickly and were friendly and well presented. The seating was a little cosy – we definitely felt as if the family next to us had joined us for dinner – so the amount of community spirit you are feeling at the time may influence your enjoyment.

We decided to order the house white, justifying it as ‘setting the standard’, and were highly amused that it came in a bottle with a white label simply reading ‘WHITE’ and nothing else. Perhaps it really is made and bottled right there in ‘Bill’s House’ for the authentic Bill’s dining experience. Although slightly sharp, this fruity wine was a perfectly adequate house, and seeing as the wines are only around a tenner difference in price, you’re pretty spoilt for choice. If you’re not a wine fan, the Bill’s beer is a lovely East Sussex beer, although we were quite disappointed by this point that it didn’t come in bottles just labelled ‘BEER’.

For a starter we shared the crispy crumbed halloumi, which wasn’t the most flavourful halloumi I’ve ever had, and made me feel like I was eating kid’s food rather than feeling the snobbish sense of superiority I usually experience when ordering this particularly self-centred cheese ('Hello, me?' Is this a bad time to include awful cheese puns?)

For mains, my ‘dining companion’ (as A A Gill says) headed straight for the classic British gastro-pub meat selection and ordered the lamb rump, which he claims was delicious. ‘Pink and bloody’ is not exactly everyone’s cup of tea however, and the waiter probably should have asked how we would have liked it to be cooked. Apart from this slip, the service was very fast and professional throughout, including going above and beyond our expectations when dealing with an issue with our food.

As a vegetarian, I was impressed by the range of vege options. My sage, lemon and broad bean risotto (ordering suspiciously green food seems to be an accidental habit of mine) contained lots of flavour from the feta cheese as well as al dente risotto rice that wasn’t too stodgy. The pine nuts added contrast to the texture that created a bit of excitement with each bite.

As with any good experience, the climax came at the end when we ordered dessert, the Eton Mess, which tasted like summer holidays in the sun. Fresh strawberries and crushed meringue folded through thick cream and mascarpone and drizzled with strawberry coulis might be the best invention on the planet.

Overall, a nice-looking, friendly, no-frills little restaurant where you get what you pay for. You can leave feeling as if you haven’t exactly pushed the boat out but you’ve treated yourself a tad anyway.

Breakfast/brunch food quite good by Oxford standards, but not remarkable. Service quite slow/poor even when not particularly busy.

tableauxato 14 Jun 2013

So this is a new branch of Bill's for Oxford. It feels like a cross between Jamie's and Carluccio's but it's no better than either. It has tinned and other food sitting around to sell like at Carluccio's, and ingredients hanging up like at Jamie's. It is nice to see the Northgate Hall back in use, and Bill's has done a good job of creating a nice restaurant space. A colleague commented that the big bunches of chillies hanging up look nice now but they might be a pain when they need dusting!

The service was OK but I don't like serving staff that just start talking, interrupting the table conversation, rather than waiting to be spoken to, or even just saying excuse me and waiting rather than launching into what they have to say over the top of the conversation. This was a dinner with work colleagues.

I had the liver paté to start and it was very good, coming with salad and pickle but the bread was just three very thin slices of french bread that had been heavily toasted so it just crumbled when I tried to spread the paté on it. It was served on a wooden board. Why?

My main was the burger which itself was fine but there was no mayonnaise in it (contrary to the menu) and the waitress didn't believe me when I said there wasn't - I had to show her. The burger bun was cold. The chips were not very warm either and came in a silly little enamel bucket. The burger and chips came on another silly little wooden board. WHY? I had asked for the burger to be served rare and the waitress had made a big point of saying that they didn't come rarer than medium rare and I'd said that was OK. But when it came it was very rare so that was a rather pointless discussion! A colleague had the monkfish stew which he said was nice but rather sparse on monkfish.

The desserts were fine - I had the Eton mess which was very tasty if a bit of a small portion.

This restaurant is perfectly acceptable if rather average, but I'm not sure it will compete in Oxford. There is much better in Oxford for the same amount of money or less. I'd say Bill's is worth a try but don't expect to be blown away. It wasn't vastly cheap either, at just over £30 per head for three courses and a drink or two each. My final comment would be that it would much nicer to have food on warm plates! I just don't understand the fascination with wooden boards with greaseproof paper covers on them, and with serving chips in a little enamel bucket that makes them go cold? Maybe I'm just too old to appreciate modern ways of serving food?

Tony Brett 18 Apr 2013

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