Is Bill's Baby Friendly?
Bill's is a nationwide chain of diners, though they started as a small cafe in Lewes, Sussex. They've tried to keep their family-friendly and fresh, yummy food ethos going even though they are now bigtime fancy-pants. If you're going to try Bill's for the first time, go for breakfast - it's such a treat! I wanted to visit Bill's with my sister and niece, but she wasn't sure if it would be easy to have a meal there with a baby and all the things that are essential to bring along with a wee one (seriously, to all the mums out there - I don't know how you do it; even the smallest of outings are such an ordeal with the STUFF you need to cart about... by stuff I mean all the equipment, not the baby). We decided to try out Bill's in Richmond to see just how baby-friendly it was.
We went at 8am when it opened, so obviously it's going to be easier in an emptier restaurant. There were a few other people there though (high five to the early-risers of Richmond), and the space was wide enough to fit a large buggy through and park it next to our table. Not sure where buggies would go during their busiest periods though.
The staff were so friendly and helpful, bringing over a highchair as soon as we got to our table, and they asked what they could do to accommodate the baby. My sister saw that the porridge came with nuts and honey and asked for it to just be with banana (babies under one year can't eat honey - who knew!), and even though it was ordered as a baby-size portion they brought over a massive bowl. Brilliant - as we all got to try it! SO. SO. GOOD! We also ordered the bread basket (below) which comes with toast, jams, and pastries. My niece scoffed my piece of toast. Thanks... blumming baby.
I had the vegetarian breakfast (a nice but weird mixture of hummus, eggs and gucamole), and my sister had smoked salmon and scambled eggs.
We had to try Bill's famous pancakes too (top picture) and asked for some without maple syrup for baby. Whilst we were loving the pancakes, the wee one was more into the blueberries they came with, and we couldn't help laughing at how they kept shooting out of her mouth when she tried to chew them. My niece had definitely been putting the staff through their paces. On arrival she was sick, then knocked over a whole glass of water just in the reach of her tiny mitts, and also did a fair bit of chatting (i.e loud baby rambles and kind of monkey noises. Is that offensive to say?). Again, the staff were quick to help out and told us not to feel bad for bringing a blatant anarchist to their restaurant.
Bill's also has a shop! It actually started out back in Lewes as a grocers, and the cafe was added on. So this is something else they've wanted to keep going. You can buy really nice gifts in-store or online, all Bill's own merch. It's so quaint! Like a sweet, old English corner shop the Famous Five might have stopped at for supplies.
They also have some Christmas hampers and gift boxes (see their flyer in the final picture, next to the really sweet gift of chocolate buttons they gave us! Well, they gave the baby. All their items can be gift-wrapped like that if you want!). But back to how to baby-friendly Bill's is. Sorry, I got caught up in the food... it's pretty darn good though. My sister tried out the baby-changing room and said it's very clean and accessible, lots of space. She thought that the staff were very helpful, and that's not what you get in a lot of places where baby plus pram can leave you feeling a nuisance if staff aren't accommodating. We had a large table with lots of space, so it was easy to set toys out and prevent any boredom tears (she also couldn't get enough of the smiley face on the kids' menu and laughed at it for about ten minutes. Babies eh?). If we'd had a smaller table or it had been busier and more clamorous we might not have had such a content baby at the table. It was as relaxing as a meal in an unknown place with a baby can be, and everyone loved the food and atmosphere. Bill's would be a great place to bring babies, especially earlier in the day, because you will be well looked after by brilliant staff, and it's easy to get those buggies and never-ending equipment supplies in. Thanks Bill's - you've convinced my sister that you are indeed baby-friendly and she needn't worry about visiting you. You also have a firm fan in my niece who loves the toast and high-fives the menu illustrator.
Bill's gave us a free meal for this review