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I headed over to Bill’s last week to see whether or not their latest offering will be my new go-to when seeking somewhere for a boozy daytime catch-up with friends.
Perfect for late risers and those who can’t stomach food upon waking, brunch is typically eaten as a replacement for breakfast and lunch. Menus, more often than not, are comprised of breakfast favourites like Eggs Benedict, Shakshuka and piles of American-style pancakes dripping in sweet syrup and accompanied by crisp rashers of bacon.
It’s one of my favourite mealtimes and when in Leeds, I know there are plenty of eateries offering mouthwatering menus of brunch dishes. Many restaurants stick with the traditional mishmash of breakfast favourites and lunchtime mains whilst others add their own unique twist. In Leeds, you’ll find everything you could possibly dream of for your brunchtime food fix including sushi, tapas, burgers, pizza, curries and much, much more.
In recent years, the ‘Bottomless Brunch‘ has almost overtaken afternoon tea as the daytime dining concept most commonly enjoyed as a treat or on a special occasion. Before the concept arrived locally, I can’t recall a time when I washed down a Full English with copious glasses of Prosecco and I’m definitely not complaining now that it’s encouraged! Numerous restaurants in Leeds are now offering their version of this deal and inviting diners to tuck into some of their most popular dishes and pair them with unlimited drinks for a set price per person.
One such restaurant is Bill’s on Albion Place. They’ve long been a popular city centre dining spot and in recent months, they’ve improved their brunch offering with a bottomless pancakes deal. Now, they’ve added a Bottomless Prosecco Brunch to entice thirsty diners who enjoy a fair amount of fizz with their main daytime meal.
Bottomless Prosecco Brunch at Bill’s is priced at just £16.50 per person. This is the price for the bottomless Prosecco only and doesn’t include the price of the food. If you’ve done a few bottomless brunches then you’ll know they are often priced much, much higher when the food is included. The menus are often quite short too so rather than having the freedom to choose whatever you are fancying at the time, you’re often given just a handful of dishes to choose from.
With so many different meals available at Bill’s, this one is ideal for big parties in which dietary requirements, food preferences and cravings are likely to differ from person to person.
I don’t usually eat lunch at all and tend to stick to having breakfast and dinner only. Hence, why I usually head straight for the breakfast-style dishes when eating brunch out. On this occasion, I chose Eggs Benedict. I’d browsed Instagram for photos of the brunch dishes at Bill’s and this dish looked particularly good to me. My husband, being a lover of big English breakfasts, opted for Bills Big Brunch – fried eggs, streaky bacon, crispy rosemary potatoes, sausage, baked beans, mushrooms, roast tomato, black pudding & toasted sourdough.
We were given our first glass of fizz as soon as we sat down and it was topped up when our server returned to take our food orders. Two glasses each before we even started eating.
You get 90 minutes of bottomless Prosecco with this deal. That’s pretty standard across the board. Most restaurants state the same and there are only a few offering a longer time period and even then it’s usually just another 30 minutes. I’ve had a few bottomless brunches and some haven’t quite been as ‘bottomless’ as advertised. In some cases, it’s a struggle to get your drink filled up and in others, there’s actually a limit on the number of drinks you can have which is hidden in the small print on their adverts.
When our food arrived the first thing we noticed was the size of the portions. Mr Wilson-Barrett’s Big Brunch was never going to be small but my Eggs Benedict was definitely a more than generous portion AND it came with fries. My two halves of English muffin were topped with ham, poached eggs and Hollandaise but I have never been served that much ham with Eggs Benedict before. There were two slices of thick ham draped over each muffin half. The ham was really nice quality too – not slimy in the slightest and possessing a lovely subtle smoked flavour.
Another positive about my brunch main was the amount of Hollandaise sauce used. Instead of my muffins being drowned in the rich sauce as is often the case, they’d drizzled just enough of the sauce over the eggs to add flavour and prevent the dish from being too dry. Others may prefer lashings of the stuff but I’m very much a ‘less is more’ person when it comes to sauce.
Mr Wilson-Barrett couldn’t fault his meal at all. There was plenty of it, every component was perfectly cooked and there wasn’t a drop of grease on his plate. Not the biggest fan of mushrooms and tomatoes, my husband usually leaves these when he has a full English but not this time. He ate every morsel including the four slices of crunchy sourdough toast. He isn’t really a lover of black pudding either but that soon disappeared too.
Our glasses were topped up again whilst we were eating our main courses and again when our plates were cleared. So, four glasses each and we probably had around 45 minutes left.
Having satisfied our savoury cravings, we wanted something sweet and Mr Wilson-Barrett was keen to try their legendary doughnuts. He ordered those, I ordered Bill’s Flowerpot which was recommended to me by our server and our glasses were filled once again.
Regrettably, I didn’t get a chance to try the doughnuts which were served with indulgent chocolate and salted caramel sauces but my husband assured me they were delicious and not too dissimilar in flavour to the fairground doughnuts he adores.
My dessert was wonderfully pretty! Served in an edible chocolate flowerpot upon a bed of chocolate soil, the cheesecake itself was creamy and delicious. A small amount of strawberry compote and fresh strawberries added just enough sweetness and the dish paired beautifully with my 5th and 6th glasses of Prosecco.
Well and truly stuffed after two courses and a generous amount of fizz, we sat back for a few minutes to discuss our meals. We were in firm agreement that we would absolutely not be requiring a meal at home that evening and would most probably need a nap instead. Mr Wilson-Barrett swayed a little as he got up from his chair to find the toilets and once he had disappeared from view, I enjoyed my 7th glass of Prosecco alone.
At £16.50 for seven glasses of fizz, I think the Bottomless Prosecco Brunch at Bill’s is an absolute bargain! The main courses are already reasonably priced with prices ranging from £9.95 to £15.95 and the additional £16.50 just makes sense if your intention is to sink a fair few glasses. I’m certain that neither of us could have stomached another glass but I’m equally certain that we’d have had our glasses filled again if we’d asked.
If you’re looking for a genuinely good value bottomless brunch in Leeds then do consider booking Bill’s. The food is tasty, the restaurant itself is lovely inside and the staff are certainly on the ball when it comes to topping up glasses.
Bottomless Prosecco Brunch is available at Bill’s Restaurant every Saturday and Sunday between 11:30pm and 5:00pm.
This review was written and published following an invitation to dine at Bill’s. An invitation does not guarantee coverage on our publication or any other publications owned by Roaring Media Ltd – we only publish reviews following positive experiences, whether we have been invited to dine or made a personal reservation. The brands we work with have no editorial control over our content
