Bill's

After 5 + City Pig’s summary      

Snapshot
Cuisine/Speciality:	Cafe/Brassiere
Price:	£16 each for a main meal, soft drink and service charge.
Healthy:	·         Healthy scale 3/5           A lot of comfort food on the menu but vegetable and salad             sides  available.
Tasty:	·         3.5/5 – Food ·         4.5/5 – Service ·         3/5 – Comfort of dining in ·         3/5 - Value ·         3.5/5 – Overall rating
Occasion:	·         Casual brunch/lunch/afternoon tea/coffee break/dinner
Address:	9 White Lion Street, London N1 9PD. Nearest tube station               is Angel.
Opening times	·        Monday to Saturday: 8am to 11pm ·        Sunday: 9am to 10:30pm
Eat in/Takeaway:	Eat-in
Recommended dishes & drinks	·         Fish and chips ·         Great selection of desserts. ·         Cinnamon doughnuts with chocolate sauce and            strawberries are a winner.
Vegetarian dishes	Suitable for Vegetarians.
Loyalty card	No.
Website	http://www.bills-website.co.uk/

After 5 + City Pig’s analysis

Bill’s is a place to come if you fancy modern and classic European dishes. It is like a café but offers more than coffee and tea. It has a menu jam packed with a lot of dishes ranging from fish and chips, burgers and fries, classic fish pies and specials like BBQ ribs. For brunch, there is the classic English breakfast and pancakes. Then for teatime, there are scones, lamingtons and Eton Mess.

Bill’s have been sprucing up all over town and it is not hard to see why with their friendly service and attentive service and a menu that has a great comfort food to see us through these cold spells.

I experienced fantastic customer service, such as asking if I wanted table water, asking if we needed more napkins because we chose a messy ribs dish. Offering to take a photo is just another example of attentive service which even posh restaurants fail to deliver.

It is colourful inside with walls lined with jams and tins stocked with Bill’s own produce.

It is a feel good place to bring friends to have a lazy brunch and lunch. There is also absolutely no need to feel you have to wear anything special here as it is very casual not like many artisan boutique breakfast bars.

Classic dishes like fish and chips are a no-nonsense choice. Portions are generous and you will be very full. There is a large selection of desserts to tempt those with bigger appetites and you really should leave some room. The cinnamon doughnuts for example, are a real delight, hot, light and puffy.
I recommend coming here in the weekends for brunch, to line those stomachs and warm yourself up with plenty of coffee.

Coffee presented to me.

Coffee pattern I created.

Obika - mozzarella bar

 

City Pig’s summary

Snapshot
Cuisine/Speciality:	Italian – (Coffee and restaurant)
Price:	£15 for lunch each – average for pizza and a drink.
Healthy:	·         Healthy scale 4/5 Go for tomato based dishes.
Tasty:	·         3.5/5 – Food ·         3/5 – Service ·         3/5 – Comfort of dining in ·         3/5 - Value ·         3.5/5 – Overall rating
Occasion:	·         Business dining ·         After work dining ·         Lunch time dining
Address:	Canary Wharf branch: Unit 1 West Wintergarden, 35 Bank street, London E14 5NW
Opening times	Monday to Friday: 10am-10pm Saturday: 12-10pm
Eat in/Takeaway:	Eat-in and take-away
Recommended dishes & drinks	·         Pizza dishes ·         Salads – Caprese Classica
Vegetarian dishes	Suitable for Vegetarians.
Loyalty card	No.
Website	www.obika.co.uk

 

City Pig’s analysis

My search still continues in finding good lunch places in Canary Wharf, ever since I work there. I miss the City of London as there is always somewhere you can walk somehow discover a hidden gem. Unfortunately, the number of eateries versus the number of people working and living in Canary Wharf doesn’t quite provide the rich and varied cuisines found in the City.

Obika is located in Wintergarden and is very obviously a classy looking Italian café/restaurant. It is like an upmarket deli but its main focus is on mozzarella. Apparently it is flown in from Italy and this is what makes there dishes amazing.

I opted for the mozzarella salad and it didn’t fail to disappoint. It was soft but firm and just provided my mouth with freshness. The olive oil and balsamic vinegar is amazing. This simple dish gave such great satisfaction purely because of the high quality ingredients.

My friend tried the pizza and I obviously had a try as well. The pizza is more like a flatbread, crisp and thin. If you prefer thick crust you may not like this version. However, I loved it because the base of the pizza has this lightness and less of the usual doughy texture.

I think it is healthier as there were loads of vegetables on top and a flat base which means less carbs! The service is quite attentive but those coming on a Friday for lunch should book to secure a table, otherwise sitting by the bar is the only option.

The pizzas don’t come cheap and averaging around £11 is quite steep. However, this is Canary Wharf, prices are not cheap around there. For the quality of the ingredients it is worth coming here for a Friday lunch. It may not be super filling but all those Mediterranean ingredients must be good for you.

This is a great place to catch up with colleagues or friends for coffee as they have a separate coffee bar area and a casual t but at the same time slick place to be seen in restaurant.

I also like there chocolate and almond cake as this is not too sweet and just goes fantastic with a strong coffee. I recommend coming here if you want some Italian flavours and if you want to rid yourself of boredom.

 

Cafe Bateel

After 5 + City Pig’s summary

Snapshot
Cuisine/Speciality:	Café - Serving dried dates; cakes and coffee. (Bateel is from Dubai.)
Price:	£2.60 for a cup of latte. £3.95 mille feuille.
Healthy:	·         Healthy scale: 1/5 as cakes are high in calories. ·         Dates are nutritious but high in sugar.
Tasty:	·         4/5 – Food (Cakes are very high quality and fresh.) ·         3/5 – Service ·         3/5 - Value ·         3.5/5 – Overall rating
Occasion:	·         Snacking moments ·         Coffee breaks
Address:	Bateel Boutique and Café 76, New Bond Street, Mayfair
Opening times	Mon- Fri: 8:30am – 8pm Sat-Sun : 10am- 6:30pm
Eat in/Takeaway:	Eat-in and take-away.
Recommended dishes & drinks	Cakes/dates/coffee
Vegetarian dishes	Suitable for Vegetarians.
Loyalty card	No
Website	http://www.bateel.com/
Notes	A pleasant break from shopping and a much more relaxing coffee break than Starbucks and the major chained coffee shops. Good quality coffee and a delicious selection of cakes. A fine brand from Dubai.

 

After 5 + City Pig’s analysis

After experiencing, Bateel in Dubai, I was pleased to find that we have a boutique café version of Bateel as well.

Bateel is known for its fine dates, but also the quality in its food produce. In Dubai, Café Bateel serves hot and cold meals.

The London café branch only serves hot drinks, dates and cakes. However, the cakes are wonderful and are not priced too expensive at all. I would recommend people who around the area to stop by for a cup of coffee and cake. This is a much nicer place to come for a place to recharge your energy after a long shopping trip. It may be high in quality but the price is very reasonable.

It really makes a unique change from the chained coffee stores which will be always busy with tourists.

The Mille Feuille is absolutely amazing. It is light in texture and the puff layer with the cream is sensational.  Sometimes, it can be a bit heavy but not this one.

I will be coming here again to try other cakes. The coffee latte was perfect, not too strong or weak. City Pig’s pal had a hot chocolate which you had to make yourself. Hot chocolate chips are in a cup and hot milk is given to you to pour and to mix them together. A unique experience and quite fun.

The hot chocolate may not be the best I have had but it was a better taste than some chained coffee shops. Manon café, just next door does superb hot chocolates using Leonidas chocolates to make it.

Café Bateel must have a lot of Saudia Arabian fans as this place is always quite full and so get there early to grab a spot.