Bill's (London)

In honour of pancake day, I have decided to review Bill's, where I recently caught up with a friend over brunch. I'm sure you've all heard of Bill's as it has chains scattered across London, and in other parts of England as well, I believe. However, I'm ashamed to say it's taken me three years to sample their tried and tested menu.

Breakfast is definitely my favourite meal of the day, so I felt spoiled for choice when looking at their menu. Unable to decide between sweet and savoury, my friend and I decided to split the Bill's Breakfast (cumberland sausage, fried free range eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, smoked streaky bacon & toast) and the Blueberry and Buttermilk Pancakes. Our third companion went for Egg's Benedict.

Sadly, I didn't think there was anything particularly special or exciting about our food. I could definitely have made an equally tasty English breakfast at home. If you're in London, I would say forego Bill's and check out some other places for breakfast/brunch, like the famous Breakfast Club or even L'ETO Caffe, where I've had better pancakes. It does, however, have quite a cosy and familiar atmosphere with its rustic furnishings, which is quite a nice environment to catch up with friends and have a relaxed meal.

Food: B

Ambience/Deco: A

Service: B

Price: $ (1 course breakfast) 

My Old Dutch (London)

Conveniently located in High Holborn, My Old Dutch has recently become my favourite place to go for lunch after class on a Monday. Why? On Mondays, they have an amazing deal where all their savoury and sweet pancakes are sold for only £5. Considering that I could spend a similar amount at a place like Pret, My Old Dutch's Monday Madness is incredible.

I've tried their chilli con carne pancake, the smoked salmon one, and the banana/nuts/cream/chocolate combo - and everything has tasted great so far. Thin, soft pancake and rich, flavoursome fillings, whether it be sweet or savoury. Despite the low cost, the pancakes are huge and stuffed to the brim. I'd recommend this place for a yummy and casual lunch with friends. I haven't sampled their milkshakes yet, but with flavours like oreo, nutella, and kinder bueno available, I'll definitely be back to try.

The only thing is, with the 'madness' of the deal on Monday also comes the 'madness' of their service. Both times I've been they have either messed up or been slow with an order. If you're going with a large group, you may also have to wait for a bit. I'd still say it's worth it for an amazing 5£ pancake though!

Smoked salmon

Chili con carne

Banana, nuts, and chocolate sauce - with cream or ice cream

Food: A-

Ambience/Deco: B-

Service: C

Price: $ (If you're there on a Monday!)

Viet Eat (Holborn)

Since my campus has moved up to Kingsway this year, I've been able to explore the Holborn area more. That being said, for lunch between classes I've still stuck to the basics - Pret, Wasabi, Hot, etc. So when a friend told me that she had visited a good Vietnamese restaurant in the area, I immediately jumped on the opportunity to try a new place out.

Viet Eat is a simple Vietnamese restaurant nestled amongst a large variety of other eateries on Kingsway. Its the kind of place you'd go for a quick lunch on a work day, and surely enough the place was completely full by around 12:30. Viet Eat offers very 'typical' Vietnamese food - a variety of pho, baguettes, rice dishes, rolls. I decided to order the pho with beef as it was one of the recommended items on the menu. One of my friends ordered the same thing, whilst another ordered the pork with vermicelli, another recommended item.

I was definitely disappointed and underwhelmed by my order. I had to load up on sriracha because the pho's soup base was pretty bland. The condiments were also lacklustre in taste and the beef was rather chewy. It pained me to think I was paying £9.50 for a very mediocre bowl of pho, whereas in Hong Kong (particularly in Nha Trang) I could get something incredible for less than half the price. #LondonProblems. My friend's pork dish was a little better; the meat was definitely softer and more flavourful. However, all in all, I would say to give this place a miss. If you're looking for Asian food, head over to China Town or, perhaps, a little Vietnamese place on East Street in Camberwell, the yummiest and best value restaurant I've found in London so far for this cuisine.

I feel like you can tell how bland this is just looking at the photo.

Food: C

Ambience/Deco: C+

Service: C (Didn't tell us beforehand that there was a minimum card charge of £10, and were rushing us with our cheque.)

Price: $ (So, so not worth a tenner.)