Bill's Restaurant & Store, Cambridge

I find it very hard to think of a good place for breakfast in Cambridge, and upon asking other people it would seem that no one else really knows either. You can pop along to the Black Cat cafe for some french toast, or maybe Giraffe for one of their breakfasts but nowhere really sticks out as being amazing.

Bill's Restaurant and Store opened last week, at the site of the old (and not very good) Slug and Lettuce pub. The first thing that really drew me in was the breakfasts, it has a good selection of traditional 'fry up', french toast, eggs benedict/florentine/royale and some interesting inclusions like bubble & squeak and grill vine tomatoes with basil on toast.

As the name suggests you can also shop here, they sell jams and marmalades, fancy French lemonade, pasta, chocolate, beer, the list is endless. Everything is arranged in shelves around the tables so you can shop whilst you eat.

I ordered the Bill's breakfast which was two fried eggs on sourdough toast with bacon, sausage, mushrooms and grilled tomatoes. My husband had the veggie breakfast which was really well put together, poached eggs on toast spread with houmous and guacamole, tomatoes, mushrooms and sweet chili. He also tried the bubble and squeak which the real star, crispy on the outside and pillowy soft inside with a good kick of grain mustard.

The coffee here is also excellent, as are the freshly made smoothies.

We arrived at about 11 and the restaurant was quite busy, it is obviously very popular already, only a few days after opening. The food seems very fresh with attention to detail.

It is a small chain and in a place full of chains I can be wary but Bill's does have personality. I'm looking forward to coming back, mainly to give the puddings a go, which look very naughty!

Bill's Restaurant and Store
Green Street, Cambridge
http://www.bills-website.co.uk/

The British Larder, Suffolk

The British Larder blog has been one of my favourites for a long time, I love the recipes and the focus on local food, as well as the stunning photography. When I heard they had opened a pub restaurant last year it was on my list of places to go.

It is about an hour and a half from Cambridge, two if you go the scenic route (and your sat nav diverts you through all the horrible bank holiday traffic in Ipswich), so we tied it in with a trip to Orford and Aldeburgh for foodie shopping and a walk on the coastline.

We ate in the bar and had a deli board each, which is a really good way to sample all the different flavours the British Larder has to offer. They are incredibly well thought out and everything is perfectly made, exceptional. And for £12 they are really reasonably priced.

I had the Dingley Dell Pork Tasting Board which featured the most impressive scotch egg I've ever seen and tasted. Shredded slow cooked pork with a perfectly cooked egg and crispy exterior. My platter also had a chicken and pork terrine, puy lentil and ham hock salad, the most beautiful celeriac remoulade (with whole mustard seeds in, something I am going to do next time I make it), a vibrant and sweet pea and ham soup, locally made bread (from the Pump Street Bakery) and a perfect green salad.

The husband had the vegetarian deli board which was also excellent. Aubergine and tomato cavair, pearl barley salad, gorgeous spiced sweetcorn fritters, Suffolk Gold cheddar straws, olives, broad bean and white bean hummus, homemade tomato mayonnaise (I didn't let him call it burger sauce!) more local bread and that lovely green salad again.

The little additions like the mixture of different breads, soft creamy butter and perfectly cooked thinly sliced beetroot were lovely.

Naturally I had to opt for pudding, I always leave room. I picked what was hailed as their 'famous' treacle tart, and it was amazing. It was huge, just the thing for a pudding lover like me. Served with white chocolate ice cream and caramel sauce. The inside of it was lightly spiced, it reminded me of the Indian dessert 'gulab jambu' - which is a pretty impressive thing to achieve in a treacle tart.

We also had coffee and tea which was served with little cocoa dusted meringues.

We will definitely be going back, the Sunday roast looks fantastic, the British Larder hasn't been open long and I think is still getting its name out there, so go and support them, everything is as local as possible and cooked perfectly. I can't wait to go again!


We also visited Orford whilst we were there for bagels and doughnuts from the Pump Street Bakery and scallops from Pinneys of Orford. And then on to Aldeburgh for goodies from Lawsons Deli. A lovely day out! Suffolk has fantastic food.

Byron Hamburgers, Wardour St, London

I am by no means the first or the last person to review Byron but I am going to anyway!

The smell of meat is the first thing that hits you when you walk into Byron, and instantly makes you hungry. There are lots of burger joints all over the country but mostly they aren't very inventive, tasty or interesting.

I was most looking forward to the sides, which is probably an odd thing to say. We ordered the skin on fries and the much talked about courgette fries. The courgette fries were just brilliant, lightly battered and really fresh tasting.

The other highlight of the meal was my amazingly big pickle, something which seems to be much more popular in the USA but you don't get much here. Unfortunately my burger was a little underseasoned but otherwise it was very tasty once I added some seasoning.

I also ordered the Oreo Milkshake, which was a bit like cookies and cream ice cream but melted, it was a lovely, and quite filling, so much so that I uncharacteristically didn't have any room for pudding.

We booked for Saturday night at Wardour Street, but arrived half an hour earlier which I was glad of because by the time we left about 7.30 there was a huge queue out of the door. I'd recommend booking or going at a quieter time in the weekdays to secure a table.

Byron Hamburgers

Wardour St
London
http://www.byronhamburgers.com/