CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY TO BILLS

The montage of grasses, potted trees and plants that decorate the frontage of Bills Restaurant have become a landmark piece of floral art in Albion Place and non more so than in the run-up to Christmas.

This Georgian town house built in 1794 and once the home to William Hey, chief surgeon and one of the founders of the General Infirmary, proudly displays a blue plaque at the entrance.

Bills was one of the first boutique restaurants in the city and is now one of the few that has survived and is a firm favourite amongst discerning food lovers.

One of the reasons for its longevity is not only its good food, efficient and friendly staff and reasonable prices but the fact it changes its mantle with the time of day.

In the mornings it’s a bright and cheery place for breakfast or brunch, lunchtime brings a more relaxed atmosphere whilst in the evenings it takes on a candlelit style ambience.

The décor at Bills is tastefully simplistic with a rather rustic feel that has been skilfully created to retain the buildings Georgian charm.

Christmas is an exciting time at Bills especially this year with the launch of their Early Bird Christmas Menu Offer which runs until 30^th November. It’s a set menu with lots of choice and what’s more you receive a free glass of prosecco.

It’s perfect for pre-Christmas get togethers with friends or family, dinner with those who you don’t see often or perhaps a pre-Christmas treat for those who spend most of the special day in the kitchen

So before my colleague departed to her Spanish bolt-hole “to work from home as she calls it”until the New Year we decided to give it a go and review what was on offer.

But a surprise awaited us when we sat at our table in the form of a game of Bills Cluedo, whereby you have to chose a room, suspect and weapon from a card and after a brief interlude your server will take three dice and if all three match what and whom you have chosen and the right room where it happened there’s a bottle of prosecco on the house.

I have to admit that as a murder mystery writer for many years I didn’t get it right and neither did my colleague but it was fun.

Bills is famed for its cocktails and there are three Cluedo themed ones including a Miss Scarlet Spiced Gin to chose from but with a packed diary next day we gave them a miss.

Out of the choice of four starters I chose the King Prawn Cocktail which was like no other and very creatively presented.

King prawns sat on a bed of smoked salmon pate and were accompanied by spicy avocado salad which was quite hot so be warned the portion was generous and there was some flatbread tastefully arranged to spread the pate on. The dish was quite flavoursome in fact just the pate was a starter on its own.

My colleague opted for the Beetroot, Feta and Cranberry Salad. This was a work of art in its presentation. Beetroot tartare topped with whipped vegan feta, cranberries, apple and pumpkin seeds plus toasted flatbreads. This dish was a delight and each of the ingredients in this fusion of flavours could be tasted in the starter.

We both opted for the Turkey Breast with Festive Stuffing. The turkey came wrapped in bacon and was a tad dry and overcooked whilst the generous size pigs in blankets were undercooked. But the delight of this course were the vegetables such a wonderful selection, cabbage, sprouts, roast parsnips, carrots and potatoes all cooked to absolute perfection and all had retained their flavour.

Deciding to share our dessert course we opted for the Snow-Nuts and the Bill’s Cheese Plate. What a lovely treat the Snow-Nuts – a portion of warm mini doughnuts were. Dusted in coconut snow they melted in the mouth and were accompanied by dulce de leche for dipping.

The Cheese Plate could have been made for us with a Somerset Camembert – my colleague’s favourite and a Croxton Manor Cheddar one of my favourite cheese – an English cheese which is full of traditional flavour. Served with oatcakes, sliced apple and pickle this was a great end to our pre-Christmas dinner.