*2 courses and a cocktail were part of a gifted experience.
With just two days to go until #FoodieFortnight is back again in Southampton, I was invited down to the newly refurbished Bills with Southampton Bloggers and the organisers of Foodie Fortnight – Go!Southampton.
#FoodieFortnight
#FoodieFortnight is the hashtag being used to promote an event encouraging local restaurants to group together offering special offers for a period of two weeks encouraging locals to explore the Southampton Foodie scene. The event is running from the 23rd September to the 6th October, so it starts this Monday!
Bills is just one of these restaurants, alongside others including Ned’s Noodle Bar, Mango, Banana Wharf and Byron Burgers.
Bills
Last Wednesday I headed to Bills to try out their offering for #FoodieFortnight – 2 courses for £15 or 3 courses for £18 from a set menu.
I hadn’t actually been to Bills since the refurbishment and had only been once previously, so was pleasantly surprised by the slightly eccentric interior. There are lots of plants, artwork, dimmed lights and a lovely seating area at the bar if you wanted to just pop in for a drink. It was very welcoming and our view of the lit-up Southampton Old Walls and the fairy-light outdoor seating area was perfect.
Once seated, we were all offered a drink. I went for the frozen watermelon margarita – a tasty cooling drink with a twist of ginger. It was delicious and the perfect way to start the evening.
Crispy Calamari 
Chicken and Sesame Dumplings
Following this, we all each ordered a starter. From the five choices available the most popular seemed to be the rosemary, pea hummus and garlic sourdough, chicken and sesame dumplings and the cripsy calamari.
I had the crispy calamari which is amazingly only the second type of fish I’ve ever tried. (Fun fact – I only started eating fish again when I was pregnant and “needed” cod). The calamari was chewier than I was expecting but this is purely down to me not expecting the texture. It was battered and perfectly complemented by pieces of red chilli. It was such a huge starter portion too, much bigger than I was expecting, so definitely plenty for two if you wanted to mix up your starters.
Burger of the week 
Carrot, Cashew Nut and Mushroom Wellington 
Minute Steak
Following this, we had our mains, between us we tried five out of the six choices on offer. I went for the burger of the week which was a tumeric chicken burger with fries. The tumeric added a lovely twist to the burger complementing it well, but it was drier than I was expecting, probably because I don’t like mayonnaise so opted for this to be removed.
All five of the meals were well presented with every last bite eaten, which certainly says something about the food!
After we had finished our main a few of us ordered a dessert to end the night. I’m definitely a pudding girl at heart, but actually rarely have one out so decided to treat myself to the warm chocolate brownie. This was my favourite of the three as I have such a sweet tooth and it was utterly delicious. It’s also one of the desserts available as part of Foodie Fortnight, and the offer of 2 courses for £15 or 3 courses for £18.
I had a great evening and love the idea of Foodie Fortnight. If you would like to see a full list of the restaurants participating there’s lots of information on their website at FoodieFortnight.com.
*Cocktail, starter and main were provided complimentary in return for this review for #FoodieFortnight, but as always all thoughts and opinions remain my own.
