Bill?s opening on East Dulwich Road rumours?

[Loutwo]

Heard today from a shopkeeper?

Louisa.

[cella]

Fantastic if true. The Aneto site maybe?

[peckham_ryu]

Bill?s has such an awful reputation for the way it treats its staff. I gather the waiters still don?t see a penny of the service charge.

Louisa?s Wetherspoons petition gets more appealing every day!

[Sephiroth]

Bill's food is overpriced frozen rubbish anyway - it's a looong way from what the original in Lewes used to be like

I live in Lewes and never go near the place

[DulwichFox]

I saw a program on TV some time back and Bill's looked somewhat appealing.

However my only experience of Bill's is at Bluewater.

Loads of people seated with no food in front of them staring at Menus

trying to attract the attention of a waiter. Pure Chaos.

[Sephiroth]

Yeah they did used to be nice enough when they were small in number. But as ever once the VCs come in with cheque books, bottom line is king. You can't roll out multiple dozens of a small idea and not lose something

[beansprout]

What does it serve? Can't believe one needs more food places unless of course it is niche but doubt it from comments.

[Loutwo]

I notice on their menu they do fish finger sandwiches. Tbh I?d rather make them at home.

Louisa.

[Sephiroth]

What I would say is - Bills tend to be pretty busy places. They know how to get people through the door. And that space seems very Bills-like so it wouldn't surprise me

(although it isn't as high-street adjacent as they tend to go for)

[tomskip]

Bill's is really nothing special. Certainly nothing to get excited about.

[cella]

True Bills is a chain but the two I've been to a few times, Victoria & Covent Garden, are great and would certainly do well in ED Road if they took over the only empty site - Aneto.

[Seabag]

beansprout Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> What does it serve? Can't believe one needs more

> food places unless of course it is niche but doubt

> it from comments.

Unless they do curry or cheesy chips, I?m not interested. But I could be tempted by a fish finger sandwich round at Lou?s, what time are you opening?

If I can eat it in front of the telly, even better. Why more restaurants don?t have tv?s to watch, I don?t know. You could have individual screens and wireless headphones, then order by text or something like that. A bit like having a takeaway, but in a restaurant.

Plus that way you don?t have to talk or listen to anybody, but you get table service and tv in one place.

That would be great, specially if the chair was a recliner and you put your feet up. I wonder if this Bill place might consider this idea for ED? it?d be a winner.

Dreamsville 👍🏽

[intexasatthe moment]

Seabag - what a lovely idea ,my kind of place .

[fishbiscuits]

Pure fiction.

[jimlad48]

The original bills was lovely, I went there a couple of times. The chain on the other hand is a totally different experience - very average and a lot of the charm and experience lost.

[NewWave]

Sephiroth Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Bill's food is overpriced frozen rubbish anyway -

> it's a looong way from what the original in Lewes

> used to be like

>

> I live in Lewes and never go near the place

Utter rubbish food-as you say original was good but We visit Lewes often and would never dream of going there now...btw wasn't it originally called Bill stickers or am I imagining this?

[malumbu]

Two questions

1. Why is this on the lounge? Seems more mainstream ED to me.

2. It would be helpful to understand what is Bills, and why all of the excitement. By the power of Google I found out that it was a small chain, but didn't look that exciting. So why all the fuss?

An open question.

Separately I've heard a branch of the Le Manoir aux Quat?Saisons chain is coming to Dulwich - perhaps Belair? For those not in the know it's a Michelin starred restaurant in Oxfordshire with a good write up on Tripadvisor https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g1096521-d752551-Reviews-Belmond_Le_Manoir_aux_Quat_Saisons-Great_Milton_Oxfordshire_England.html#REVIEWS

[Captain Marvel]

>

> Separately I've heard a branch of the Le Manoir

> aux Quat?Saisons chain is coming to Dulwich -

> perhaps Belair?

Now that would make Mrs. Marvel very excited

[BrandNewGuy]

I've only been to a 'chain' Bill's and it was poor ? bland food, small portions and painfully overpriced. Decor's friendly, I s'pose... Style over substance.

[Loutwo]

In answer to malumbu?s first question.

This is in the lounge because I am unable to post in the other section. The only location that would be remotely viable for such a high street chain would be LL, and even that is pushing it by their other cited locations on the website. Far busier than anywhere around here. Therefore, EDR seems like a bit of a strange choice, and the former aneto site is the only place I can think of? Unless someone can think of somewhere else?

Louisa.

[TheCat]

malumbu Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Separately I've heard a branch of the Le Manoir

> aux Quat?Saisons chain is coming to Dulwich -

> perhaps Belair? For those not in the know it's a

> Michelin starred restaurant in Oxfordshire with a

> good write up on Tripadvisor

> https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g1

> 096521-d752551-Reviews-Belmond_Le_Manoir_aux_Quat_

> Saisons-

Great_Milton_Oxfordshire_England.html#REVI

> EWS

This seems remarkably unlikely to me (happy to be proven wrong)....perhaps this is what you've heard about....

https://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/whats-on/pavilion/2019/july/pavilion-supper-club-the-gathered-table-by-ollie-dabbous/

[Seabag]

I actually read the guff on the link.

Chefwank of the highest order.

[TheCat]

Seabag Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I actually read the guff on the link.

>

> Chefwank of the highest order.

What? You don't look beyond today's realities, To re-imagine a better, brighter way of dining, in a 'subtle, organic way'....??

[Michael Palaeologus]

I live opposite Aneto and am sad to hear of its closure. It did seem to be a more successful formula than the previous iterations (Flying Pig etc) at least in terms of footfall.

If Bills does move in then my use of the place will not change - occasionally for breakfast when I am feeling lazy or the odd takeaway coffee.

The issue is, of course, rent.

As a chain Bill can drive down the production cost of its food and drink by bulk buying and a degree of mass central preparation of food. The cost of staffing is a moot point, did Aneto pay above minimum wage or London Living Wage?

I am sad that Aneto is going but I am not emotionally attached to the place and Bills will offer me a similar experience.

My concern is that this is a pattern that will see the indies driven from ED and landlords populating the Lane and ED Road with chain restaurants and shops because they can afford inflated rents and indies cannot.

[diable rouge]

I read a headline yesterday about Labour having some ideas of how to save our high streets, didn't read the article, but have always thought that the Gov of the day should try and help independent retailers like they do with first-time buyers. High rents seems to be the common factor why these smaller shops eventually close down. Perhaps some kind of rental tax relief is needed if not already provided...