Bill's Restaurant

Trafford Centre

It may seem a little early to be thinking about Christmas. In previous years, that has been exactly my thinking right the way through until mid-November. Then, suddenly, you realise you have only a handful of weekends before the big day and consequently have palpitations when you discover you are yet to even write a shopping list, let alone start ticking items off it.

This year, I was determined things would be different. So I took an early morning trip to the Trafford Centre, stopping at Bill’s Restaurant for a late breakfast. ‘Brunch’ is such a fashionable meal these days, but I have to confess I’m not really a fan. I mean, why would you choose to combine two meals? I need my fuel thrice daily, thank you very much. 

Bill’s is a modern and stylish cafe-come-bistro which began life as a farm shop in East Sussex. A family business, selling primarily green groceries, the business grew and expanded until the shop was forced to close after flooding at the start of the new millennium. It reopened with an accompanying cafe, with a simple aim: to serve really good food and make sure every customer has a good time. Who can grumble at that?

The interior nods to its roots, keeping its farm shop feel and mixing it with industrial decor, with the plumbing and bare bricks on show. Despite the quaint cafe feel, the food is more like bistro standard, but is still reasonably priced. 

There’s plenty of choice on the breakfast menu, which is served until midday Monday to Friday and one o’clock at the weekend. There’s everything from Bill’s Breakfast, your regular Full English with a few sophisticated twists – the pesto roasted plum tomatoes sound very appealing indeed – to coconut porridge and buttermilk pancakes, so you can enjoy whatever you like to wake up to.  

I had Bill’s Omelette, which was served folded, like a calzone, and stuffed with kale, edamame beans, lemon feta, spring onions, smoky tomatoes and olives, accompanied by a Pico de Gallo salsa. If you’re a fan of the trendy ‘superfoods’, then this is the perfect breakfast for you. Cooked with just spring onions inside it, the rest of the toppings were tucked away inside the folded omelette. The textures and flavours complemented each other beautifully. I wouldn’t ever think to add lemon to feta cheese, but it was beautifully zingy and worked really well. The beans were hearty, the tomatoes were tasty and the olives were pungent. I prefer my kale slightly crispier, but that’s the only way it could have been improved.

Bill's Omelette

Priced at £7.95 (you can add smoked streaky bacon for an additional £1.55), it’s very reasonable for a healthy yet hearty breakfast. The coffees, however, are a little steep. I also don’t appreciate the fact that a 10% service charge is added to every bill, regardless of party size. Yes, it’s discretionary, but it’s the customer’s prerogative to decide if, and how much, they’d like to tip.

Casting my eyes over the specials board dotted around the place, Bill’s offer some truly scrumptious sounding desserts, so that alone would make it worth a trip later in the day. They have an equally varied daytime and evening menu, which both change seasonally, as well as a set menu available during the day.  The Christmas menus also sound very tempting indeed. 

Bill’s Restaurant is perfect for casual, daytime dining. Given the competitive marketplace, it’s reasonably priced and if the breakfast menu is anything to go by, it’s superb quality.

All menus are available online at: https://bills-website.co.uk