Blogger Dinner And Cocktails At Bill's

The last time I was asked to review Bill's it was to check how baby friendly they were. Not saying that wasn't a glamorous assignment from Bill's, but an invite to their blogger dinner party to try their new summer menu was definitely exciting in a woo-hoo-summer-soiree kind of way. They asked a group of food and lifestyle bloggers to try their new summer food and cocktail specials, and it would be ever so rude to say no to that, wouldn't it? Seated on a long table at their Covent Garden branch we started off with delicious pink cocktails - a Rosehip Collins and a Bramble Mojito - and some scrummy starters of olives, crudite and flatbread with hummus. 

I mingled a lot (especially later in the evening as the cocktails flowed, hic), but for most of the meal I was sat closest to Che, Rosie and Sophie, and we had a good laugh in between trying all the food and taking precisely ten thousand photos of it. 

For my main course I tried the macaroni cheese with leeks, and it is absolutely stunning. Beneath that breadcrumb topping (below) lies a river of melted cheese goodness. 

As the evening wore on and the light got dimmer we moved around the table and I met some interesting people. As if the cocktails hadn't been enough - bottles of wine (labelled simply 'red' and 'white' - below) were brought out. Oh dear...

Dessert was almost forgotten, but then we realised hello? it's DESSERT! I tried the mouthwatering chocolate brownie with honeycomb and peanut ice-creams (below). There was a bit of ice-cream sharing going on at the table, with the majority vote choosing peanut as the winner. Unusually it tasted just of nuts and not peanut-butter (unusual in a good way), and it complimented the brownie amazingly. And yes it came with a Flake. 

Afterwards Che and I headed towards the tube together, and I felt like I was floating on a heady mix of summer cocktails with warm, balmy London weather and the brilliant evening we'd had full of conversations about food and blogging. Thanks Bill's for a fantastic soiree, though of course I will do any kind of reviews for you - it's definitely one of my fave high street chains because each branch feels unique and homely, and serves amazing food!

The summer specials and cocktails are available now at Bill's. See their website for local branches.