Bill's Restaurant & Bar Reading

We’ve been to Bill’s before but this was the first time in Reading. It’s in a beautifully old building though unfortunately overall we were underwhelmed. The service was faultless, very attentive, polite accommodating and responsive. Despite booking we had to wait 30 minutes for our table with others, cramped in the hallway/stairwell. Overall the place lacked the air of cleanliness and was very chaotic. The food was more bland previously experienced and not hot enough. There was an imbalance in ratio of pancake to topping, which meant that there was a lot of bland pancake to get through without accompanying fruit etc despite trying to make it look pretty. Be aware that the “pancake syrup” is NOT pure maple syrup. This was obvious in taste too and felt a bit deceptive as maple syrup was mentioned elsewhere on the menu. This place is well suited for those with kids or larger groups less concerned with quality and more with a having a gathering with food. There are plenty of options and they cater for different dietary needs.

We were very impressed with our visit to Bill's. The weekend brunch mains were absolutely delicious (Bill's Big Brunch and Steak Egg & Chips), very well priced for the quality and amount of food. The doughnuts and coffee (in afternoon treats section) was genuinely delightful and absolutely worth the £6.65 as a coffee alone is £3.90. To top off the afternoon, we decided on an Elderflower & Bramble Spritz and Strawberry Margarita, both cocktails looked and tasted great. Slightly on the strong side but that's not a bad thing. The service was impeccable, the manager Iwona made sure we were well looked after. Our server was amazing, checking in on us regularly throughout and upon seeing our dog, she immediately gave him a water bowl and a dog menu to us. Table/plate clearing was very prompt compared to other restaurants so bonus points there. Fantastic weekend brunch - it has our stamp of approval.

I went to this restaurant twice, once for dinner with my husband on my birthday last year and once for lunch with a friend yesterday. Both times I received very poor service from one particular member of staff. On both occasions she was the only one who seemed very stern, not smiling, ignoring our table to take our order and any request many times, even though she looked over and saw we needed a waitress, this was on both visits so it seems to be her style, interactions when they do happen, are very brief and no conversation happens, yesterday she put the bill on the table by saying nothing and slapping the paper down on the table loudly. All other staff are really friendly and you can see good atmosphere with them, but it seems to be one person who makes the visit here not so enjoyable. We love the location, the food and everything about Bills but I believe one person needs their customer service training