Bill's Chelmsford Restaurant — Restaurant in Chelmsford

Terrible experience. I would honestly leave zero stars if I could. There was an issue in the kitchen and half their equipment was broken. But I only found that out after overhearing them saying that to two guests who walked in looking for a table. At this point we had been waiting for our food for 45 mins and had even asked twice how much longer it would be. (Both staff had gone to check and disappeared so I was getting a bit suspicious). The staff had no idea how to communicate and hid from the guests rather than just talk to them and explain the issue. Everyone understands that things can go wrong but the staff seemed too terrified to talk to their tables. As did the two managers on duty. What made things worse was that our little boy was with us and was starving hungry. I asked the staff if the kitchen could just plate him up some fruit - the bananas, strawberries and blueberries that came with his order - as it didn't require much kitchen equipment. But they just didn't bother. It was a further 15 minutes for our food. If we hadn't been with my son who needed to be fed we would have walked out. They gave us the whole meal for free but by then the goodwill gesture was pointless as the staff were all hiding and tbh when they didn't get my little boy the fruit I had already decided never to return. My feedback to the staff would be that accidents happen and things break. People understand that. They aren't going to be mad as long as you are honest and communicate with them. It's no good just scurrying off or avoiding eye contact. Had they told me as soon as they knew the kitchen equipment was broken I could have made the decision whether to pay for my drinks and go elsewhere or stay. With either of those outcomes I would have tried the restaurant again. Instead I'll never be going back again. And I would suggest anyone else tried...

I had a lovely evening at Bill's with a friend.

It was quick and easy to book online. And all of the menus are available to download because I am a serial menu reader!

On arrival, we were asked to check in on the NHS App and our temperatures were taken. Masks and/visors were worn by all members of staff. There was sanitiser on every table. Great Covid compliance!

My only criticism is that the chairs we had were a little uncomfortable. Think small, hard, church chairs. But there were other tables in the restaurant with softer chairs, so I can't take a star off as I'd just book one of those next time now I'm aware!

The restaurant itself is clean, tidy and well presented. Perfect for any occasion, formal or more casual.

Our waiter, Cristoph (I think, sorry) was brilliant! Friendly, attentive, with a cracking sense of humour!

The food menu is small but perfectly formed. I opted for the chicken dumplings to start, sirloin steak, cheesy truffle fries with a mushroom sauce for main and strawberry doughnuts for dessert. I can't fault the food, it was absolutely delicious and the portion sizes were just right.

The drinks menu is brilliant and it is so refreshing to see a good range of non-alcoholic options. I had the Kombucha Royal Flush which was lovely. I've even scoped it out online to have a stock at home!

Bill's - you made my first night out since Covid struck very enjoyable. I will definitely be back. I've heard that your breakfasts...

What can I say about Bills? Seems a nice place, the food was okay, but there were a few things that have put me off visiting again. The minute we were seated they offered us water which we accepted, and then realised after it arrived that it wasn’t tap water and that they had every intent to charge us for it. My bad. I guess I walked into that one. Having spent something like £5 on this bottle I inspected it and found no barcode, no expiry date, delivered to the table with no cap and the outside of the bottle was wet. It tasted like tap water also. Funny that..

Anyway, the food was okay, nothing to write home about. Probably not value for money. The drinks were also a weird one, we ordered some cokes, and it arrived as you’d expect in glass bottles for like £4 each. That price, I admit, is expected for a restaurant. The bottles of coke and glasses arrived with crushed ice, which I thought was a nice touch at first. However, we poured our drinks and they tasted flat. The crushed ice had taken all the fizz out. Perhaps just offer regular cubed ice?

After this was all done and dusted we got the bill. I was quite frustrated to see that they had added a service change of 12.5% for a table of two. If this had been a table of like 10 or more I might understand. I had it taken off. Having dealt with average food and deceived/tricked over the bottled water I wasn’t going to tip anyway. Next time we’re going to...