It certainly looks the part from the outside: a modern British cafe offering all day fare, but a massive step up from your average greasy spoon. Bill's is another chain to hit Cardiff and the owners are also responsible for Cote, although for how much longer who knows, as Richard Caring has recently sold his stake in the business for £113m. Not bad!
Bill's has brought a touch of class to the cafe sector and is as much a restaurant as it is a cafe. The outside looks smart and the fact that it always seems busy is a good sign and one that made my decision for me, when deciding on where to eat in the centre of Cardiff for a last minute lunch. On entering Bill's we were welcomed by a queue of six people waiting to be seated. The hostesses/managers were constantly sitting people and welcomed most with a smile. I was seated promptly on my turn and led to a small table in a corner with a comfortable looking banquette seat. Unfortunately my seat was not that comfortable as my bum was spread on the gap between two cushions, of which I could do nothing about. I squeezed myself into the corner to try and make it more comfortable and not encroach on the couple sitting next to us. Yes they do squeeze you in.
There was a lovely buzz of activity and people socialising all around us in Bill's. From the clientele you could tell that these were people who did lunch and were not hurrying back to work. A very middle class establishment that sells itself on quality rather than price.
The menu has a good choice of dishes and is the same for both evening and lunch, which can be a difficult balance to find, especially when most their competitors offer lunch deals to attract people in. Our waitress took our order in good time, I ordered a berry smoothie (£2.95)and my friend an apple juice (£2.30). It took about 10-15 minutes for our drinks to arrive which wasn't great, especially at lunch time when I would expect quicker service. They appeared to have plenty of staff on to cope with being busy. As this was a quick lunch we decided to order some mini Cumberland sausages cooked in honey and mustard (£4.25) whilst we looked at the menu in more detail. Although they took 20 minutes to reach our table they were delicious. Perfectly cooked and dripping in honey and mustard. A real treat!
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Our mains also took along time to arrive at the table, a good twenty five minutes, as I said before if you're in a hurry this is not the lunch for you. My friend's chicken skewers with salad, pitta and coriander yoghurt (£8.95)was simple, healthy and deliciously succulent. A really good healthy dish and a moderate size, which is just as important as it is being healthy! Yes, he is on a diet and runs miles everyday.
My chargrilled marinated half piri piri chicken with rice (£10.95) looked appetising although on first appearances I was worried it might be dry. I was wrong! It was coated in a thick piri piri sauce that clung to the chicken and gave me the spice kick I wanted. Nice and crispy on the outside and succulent chicken on the inside. The rice was perfectly cooked and seasoned with good flavours throughout. An actual salad on the side would have given the dish balance as essentially it was chicken and rice on a plate and rather poor value for money.
We had two double espressos (£4.20) afterwards and asked for the bill, which took about ten minutes to arrive and we had to ask two people for it. Overall the bill came to £33.60, which was expensive for lunch in my eyes, and you can certainly find better value for money elsewhere. The service was slow but satisfactory and the staff polite, but not exactly filled with personality. It will be a while before I return to Bill's, I think there are better and more interesting places to eat in Cardiff, although I must say that Bills appears to be one of the better chains to hit Cardiff.
Open 8am-11pm everyday except Sunday 9am until 10.30pm
Bill's Cafe Restaurant
Wydham Arcade
Cardiff
CF10 1FH
029202313524
www.bills-website.co.uk
