Crispy Calamari Crispy Calamari

Lightly breaded and fried squid rings served with lemon and marinara sauce for dipping.

Bill's Islington

Bill's Islington

9 White Lion StreetN1 9PD, N1 9LQ, London, United Kingdom

Vegan • Mexican • British • American


"It has been great watching this place go for strength to strength since it first arrived in Angel. I’d first heard about it from a friend who raved about the one in Covent Garden and I’ve enjoyed seeing more and more of them pop up in London. Even though Bill’s is starting to have franchise status it sticks to its roots by maintaining the lovely home grown feel that made it so successful. Bottles and jars of its specially sourced produce still line the walls, next to blackboards which exclaim the specials in a charmingly slap dash fashion. Bill’s is great for any time of day; I particularly like their lighter snacks at lunch time, having once had a beautifully fresh crab salad from the specials menu. But a real treat for me is to come here for brunch. The portion sizes are refreshingly large; go for a full English if you are feeling particularly hungry, a highlight of which are the Cumberland sausages which are thick and tasty. Even the buttered toast is a gorgeous salty delight, and is one of the best aspects of the huge serving of salmon and scrambled eggs on toast which is on offer. The one criticism I have is for the cream tea which didn’t quite live up to my expectations; it was nice but not up to the standard I have come to expect from Bill’s as the cakes were slightly dry and the sandwiches boring. But all in all Bill’s is fast becoming one of my favourite restaurants, for the colourful, pretty interior, friendly service and delicious indulgent food."

Brasserie At The Royal King's Arms

Brasserie At The Royal King's Arms

United Kingdom, LA1 1JG, Lancaster

Wine • Full • Steak • English


"The Brasserie is a lovely decorated restaurant that played smooth jazz throughout our visit. As a birthday meal out, we were excited to try somewhere new in town. The first waiter was prompt at taking our drinks order, but barely apologised at the lack of gas (so no draught ales) and didn 't know too much about the bottled beers. Two couples order the charcuterie boards. The ciabatta bread was toasted and sharp, so it didn 't make for a pleasant bite. It snapped rather than crunched... And the rocket wasn 't dressed, so we were eating dry leaves. After this, the second waiter came to apologise that there wasn 't any creamy polenta to accompany the main, wild mushroom ragu, so he offered mashed potato or rice. When this meal turned up, there wasn 't any of the vegan cheese or rocket, which was also supposed to accompany the meal. What a waste of money, knowing that vegan cheese can be fairly costly. Nobody came to ask the party if the food was alright. We weren 't seen to for a good 30 minutes, despite being the only people in the restaurant. As well as the ragu, the steak dishes were underwhelming as well, even these salads weren 't dressed. Dry leaves make for a sad meal. We are sorely disappointed as we were really looking forward to the food here. The waiting staff were pleasant but didn 't have the experience or training that they really needed. A memorable moment: What 's the cheesecake of the day? Oh, it 's JUST the new york cheesecake. Just vanilla. Don 't undersell your food! Just vanilla is still great!"