Review: Bill's, Mill Lane, Cardiff {Cardiff Restaurants}
Link to the dinner menu
Bills at Mill Lane has had a fresh refurb. It had never crossed my mind that it needed one, but as soon as I stepped in, it was clear that it was long overdue! Even just from the outside, the flowers make it more inviting and on entering you’re instantly hit with how much more modern and vibrant the space is.
With all of the quirky touches bringing more character to the venue, I think people will feel more relaxed here with the new comfy seats and splashes of bright colour. I never even noticed before that there are booths near the back, on one side of the restaurant, they look so intimate and cosy and would be amazing for a date night.
Before even mentioning the food, I want to mention that the service was impeccable here and everyone was so warm and attentive! I love to ask the people who work there what their thoughts are on the menu as they often get to eat a lot of it, so we had fun chatting about that with our lovely waitress Christina. I realise when you’re invited to review, readers might be sceptical that we receive “special treatment”. This isn’t the case here, as after checking Trip Advisor I noticed when you search ‘Christina’ you’ll see comments in a similar vein spanning over the past four years, which is a testament to much of a credit to the team somebody is.
She was one of those people who made you feel like you’d known her years after five minutes and she spoke with great fondness about the job and her colleagues, which was refreshing to hear. Knowing that the company treat their staff really well and look after them just gives you more faith in a restaurant. All of the staff were really great in fact, helpful and good-natured. Sometimes it is people that make a visit really memorable!
Food also exceeded expectations. The menu is fairly eclectic and they have some lighter, healthy options to satisfy people who like that sort of thing.
CHICKEN AND SESAME DUMPLINGS with Bill's spicy chutney - £5.95
I wasn’t too keen on trying these because the term ‘chutney’ made me imagine something thick from a jar, but it was much thinner in consistency, like a dipping sauce. In the end I wished I could have eaten the lot myself (we split two starters and shared), they were so beautifully crisp and addictive. I don’t work too far from the restaurant and I’m already planning to go and treat myself to a plate of these one lunch time.
CRUMBED HALLOUMI STICKS with lime aioli - £5.95
Their halloumi sticks were the slender, more delicate type, quite light and very tasty with the tangy dip. I was impressed and very happy, big smiles all round as we tucked into the starters. To note as well, they also do a sharing starter which sounded wonderful but my desire for halloumi won and it wasn’t included in the sharer.
KING PRAWN RISOTTO cooked in a shellfish stock, with smoky tomato, lemon thyme and a fennel & lemon salad - £14.25
Well presented, nice portion size with al dente rice and a good amount of plump and tasty prawns. The salad on the top added a bit of freshness and a more interesting texture to each bite. I polished it off and scooped up every stray grain from the sides of the bowl, delicious.
As a new part of the dinner menu, Bill’s are also offering a daily special. Wednesday’s was pan fried salmon with long stem broccoli, herb rosti and smoky tomato mayonnaise. My friend went for this, we usually try a bit of each other’s but I don’t think it crossed our minds as we were engrossed in eating, so I can’t say what it was like but she thoroughly enjoyed.
BILL’S CHOCOLATE AND HAZELNUT PRALINE SPHERE - Indulgent salted caramel ice cream with chocolate & hazelnut mousse, velvety chocolate sauce & golden pearls - £7.50
I really wanted the port and stilton but sadly they didn’t have this on the day. I didn’t fancy a sweet dessert, but I had a couple of bites of my friend’s chocolate sphere. Ice cream always helps me enjoy a chocolatey dessert more, the coolness a welcome contrast from all the indulgence. It was very nutella and ferrero rocher - amazing.
I opted for an ice-cold caffeine hit instead, a classic espresso martini. My friend didn’t find it sweet enough, but I favour a strong black coffee as my ‘usual’ so this cocktail was perfect for my taste. We were going out for more drinks after, so it felt like a good way to end the meal and give us a bit of a boost for the rest of the evening.
It was packed in Bills that night (a Wednesday), so it’s clearly still very popular. It wasn’t too noisy in restaurant, ideal ambience really - busy with a buzz but not overbearing or too loud that you couldn’t hear yourselves speak. It was a very fun evening and I think the sprucing up after the refurb will appeal to everyone. It just has a lot more charm and colour than before; I'd be more inclined to book a table here now. Check it out and see for yourself!
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