My initial thought was Bill's, which provides a plethora of scrumptious food, from light bites, to comforting dinners with a hint of nostalgia. Just good, yummy food that you always think 'yeah, I fancy that'. As a vegetarian, (and there was another veggie in the entourage too) there are many decent vegetarian options to pick from. My personal favourite dish at Bill's is the halloumi and hummus burger (£8.95). Their smoothies, if you're going for a dry January, are also divine. Fresh, creamy and just so delicious, with a hunk of melon on the side (Bill's mixed berry and banana smoothie, regular, £2.95).
Luckily for us, right next door is Jamie's Italian. My mantras when it comes to dining out is two fold:
1) go independent, not a chain
2) go somewhere you've never been before
Jamie's Italian is only one of those things above. It is somewhere I have never eaten before. But, the dreaded chain! However, everyone agreed that Italian fitted the bill and there wasn't a table wait so in we went.
Decor and atmosphere wise, it was chilled. The tiles and wood combo made for quite a cosy feel, added to by the dim lighting. The red metal chair wasn't the most comfortable thing I've ever placed my derriere upon, but hey ho, it did fit with the beatnik feel of the restaurant.
I think you are always onto a winner when you physically can't decide what to pick on the menu because there are so many enticing options. This rarely happens when you're a vegetarian (well, a pescatarian anyway - fish is a-okay), because the options become immediately limited. I was torn between the following:
- Truffle tagliatelle, £11.50
- Honeycomb cannelloni 3 ways (aubergine and sun-dried tomato, pumpkin, ricotta and spinach), £10.95
- Seafood bucatini (tube spaghetti steamed in a bag with shellfish, crab, squid, capers, chilli, garlic, white wine, sweet tomatoes), £14.95
- Crab spaghettini (crab, capers, chilli, fennel, anchovies, lemon), £12.95
- Pumpkin panzerotti (pasta filled with roasted squash, ricotta & parmesan, in a pumpkin, chilli and rosemary butter with smashed amaretti), £10.25
As you can see. A multitude of choices. I settled upon the seafood bucatini. Another one of my eating out mantras: never pick something you can easily make at home. I would never have the ingredients, not all the variety of seafood needed, to make this dish at home. When the dish arrived, it was unfolded from its en papillote baking technique and I have to say - it wasn't what I was expecting. It was my first try of bucatini pasta and it was a good carrier for the sauce. I normally would opt for a penne or fusilli, as they just trap the sauce all around the pasta, coating every last bit. But the hole running down the centre of the bucatini acted in the same manner. Throw in a scallop, prawn, crab meat, squid, clams and mussels in a rich tomato sauce with a hint of chilli... the ultimate in a comforting Italian dinner. Overall, it was tasty.
However.
Would I pick the dish again? Considering it was the most expensive dish on the pasta menu, you know what... I'm not sure I would. It was comforting, it was yummy, and it was a really novel experience trying a pasta I'd not had before. But I'm not going to lie to you, when my friend had ordered the honeycomb canneloni 3 ways I was jealous. That's right. I had food envy.
Did I have a good time? Well, I was in excellent company, so of course. Would I hurry back? I might just hang on for 40 minutes and wait for a table at Bill's... Soz Jamie.