Bills St Albans
Last week I was invited to try out the newly refreshed Bills St Albans. They have very recently reopened after a big revamp of the restaurant. Walls had been taken down, a new bar has been built. It felt like walking into a large but very cosy dining room. There was beautiful lighting, comfortable chairs, lots of mirrors, plants decorating the room. There were booths or more traditional tables or you could sit at the bar. We were sat in a corner booth packed full of comfy cushions with a view overlooking the restaurant.
A Lovely welcome
Three of us were dining, hubby and my best friend Neil. We made sure that we all chose different food to make for a good review and for lots of pictures! The waiter welcomed us to the restaurant and gave us our menus. We ate at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon so we had the brunch menu which gave a wide choice of foods. Whilst choosing the waiter recommended some spicy nuts and olives. Good recommendation, the spicy nuts were amazing! We ordered a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc as well, also recommended as the waiters favourite wine. Again spot on with the recommendation, the wine was beautiful, really refreshing and fruity.
The Starters
Starters are always my favourite part of a meal and there lots of lovely options. I went for the crab and prawn in lettuce. It was beautiful and light with a nice bit of a kick from the chilli sprinkled on top.
Hubby went for the calamari and oh my gosh it was a huge portion! There was enough calamari for a main course portion. The squid was tender and the batter was incredibly light, just too large a portion. Neil went for ham and cheese croquettes, tasty and light. I had to try everyone’s food for the purpose of this review obviously! I loved the crockery used to serve the food, it added to the ambience of traditional dining at home.
Main course Time
I again went for fish for my main course. I am on a healthy eating mission at the moment and choosing a fish dish will always be a sensible choice for dinner. There was a lovely sounding roasted salmon dish on a bed of roasted pepper puree. I was really happy with my choice which meant I had room left for dessert afterwards! The salmon was cooked perfectly, accompanied by broccoli and was really tasty. I chose sweet potato fries as a accompaniment, my side dish of choice at the moment, much nicer than potato fries.
Hubby went for the steak sandwich, a extra tender thinly sliced steak served in ciabatta. Another filling course that he possibly regretted when it came to choosing dessert. Neil went for the garlic roasted chicken which tasted ever so juicy and was again a nice lighter choice.
By this point the boys were struggling for room for dessert. Not me though so I went for the extra calorific chocolate brownie dessert, served with chocolate mousse, a flake and ice cream. What I saved in my starter and main course I made up for in my dessert. Hubby went for sticky toffee pudding, who knows how he fit it in, but he did! Both dessert were delicious, comforting and proper traditional English desserts.
Overall a really great dinner that we all very much enjoyed. I will definitely return to Bills to try out the evening dinner menu. And also bring the children along to try it out as well. If you would like to visit please click here to book a table. And just take a look at the greenery and poppies outside the restaurant, excuse the closed eyes, blame the photographer!
Disclaimer -we received this meal free of charge but this in no way influences the review.
