Bill's, Oxford

After a rather long haitus, I hope to be back with a few more posts these days.

Around a month ago, the other half and I went to Bill's on St Michael's, opposite the Union.  Having read about it previously, and never noticing the space which used to be a homeless shelter, we decided a long lunch was on the cards.

The menu is a good selection, and the place is incredibly spacious, with industrial chic decor.  Very trendy, which worried us that the food would be produced on an industrial scale.  At this stage we hadn't realised that Bill's is a small chain, which had we known would have given us even more serious misgivings.

We ordered a starter and main each, and the other half had a pink lemonade while I opted for a Chenin blanc of some description.  The service was friendly and punctual, although by a youthful crowd who were informally polite rather than overly attentive. 

The starters of crab cakes with mango salsa and calamari with garlic mayo were excellent.  The chef had obviously mastered the fryer arts, with hot, fairly greaseless and very crispy morsels dispelling any worries we'd had.  However, the garlic mayo was a pure white that would have made a Disney princess feel she'd had too much sun, and the mango salsa was at fridge temperature, which wasn't pleasant with the freshly fried and piping hot crab cake.  Full marks for the quality of the fried food though.

Fresh crab cakes with mango salsa.

Calamari rings with garlic mayonnaise

Unfortunately we had tucked in before remembering the photo anthology; the presentation was far better before we pounced!

The drinks were served promptly, and we were offered top ups when appropriate.

Pink lemonade.

For mains, the other half opted for fish and chips, while I had one of the daily specials of grilled sole in burnt butter and caper sauce.

Sole with caper butter

Cod and chips

While we would like to think we had opened up the golden crust to show you the tender and steaming flesh of the respective fish, the truth is that we again had forgotten to take photos.  This blogging thing needs refreshing!

The cod was beautifully cooked; again the chef had judged the fryer well.  Chips were crisp, but not particularly memorable.  It was a chip shop portion that would have made a gastro pub proud, and certainly wasn't a tiny, pared down, restaurant sized serving.  The fish and batter were eagerly shared.

The sole was also grilled very well, with the frilly edge bones a light brown crisp, and the centre of the fillet tender and juicy.  I am particularly fond of the grilled sole, most probably because of the combination of dark burnt butter and tangy capers and lemon dressing.  This was particularly good, especially considering the price.

We didn't opt for desserts, and two drinks and a sizeable starter and main each came to just over £50, which we think is a bargain in Oxford for an excellent casual meal.  No pretences (apart from the cool decor), and friendly efficient service.  We would definitely recommend lunch and casual dinner here for groups.