BANK: Brindley Place, Birmingham

BANK

Date of Visit: 14^th September 2013

Ambience

Firstly, this restaurant is in a great area, close to the NIA and Broad Street.  We had no issues in getting a table despite not having booked on a Saturday night (probably because we arrived for early dinner about half 5). As we were shown to our table, we passed the bar along a long corridor which was fairly dark but the seating area for food was bright with large side windows offering views of the canal.  We were seated at the end of the restaurant on a half booth table overlooking the canal.

The servers were smartly dressed and as it got darker, small tea lights were placed on each table.  The overall atmosphere and the view was quite appealing – even the toilets are worth a mention here… the entrance is along the corridor opposite the bar but it blended in with the rest of the wall but what was notable is that each cubicle (at least in the ladies) had its own sink and hand dryer so you can top up make-up etc. without prying eyes.

Food

The food here is excellent.  For starters, I tried the scallops which were served in a shell (3 pieces) on a bed of mashed potato.  The scallops were cooked to perfection and tasted fresh albeit, a little on the small side (but adequate for starters).  We also tried a tart which we expected to be a caramelised onion and goats cheese tart from the Daily Special menu but as it was ordered, the waiter advised that the tart was quite big, given it was a main – this we were surprised about since the price indicated it was a starter (a little over £6) but it didn’t faze us since we said we’d all try a bit.  When it arrived, it was huge but very tasty.  We assumed we had got what we asked for as the tart was topped with caramelised onions, cheese which didn’t taste as strong as Goats cheese and butternut squash.  We didn’t remember seeing butternut squash on the description but we shrugged it off as it was very tasty indeed.  The tart based was very light as it was filo pastry instead of a short-crust base as we had all expected.  Anyway, it turned out that the tart was a Butternut squash, Spinach and Devonshire cheese tart from the a la carte menu under mains.

For mains, we had a Haddock and leek risotto, fish and chips and a Malayan Chicken.  I didn’t try the battered fish but the batter looked slightly overdone and a little oily but apparently the fish itself was good.  The leek in the risotto was too overwhelming for my liking but it was smooth and creamy.   The Malayan chicken appeared to be the best dish as the chicken breast was soft and very nicely marinated.  You could taste the spices with every mouthful and the thin green coconut curry like sauce it was served on helped to create flavour on parts where the spices could not reach (i.e. the inner parts of the chicken).  The sweet potato cubes it was served with was nice but my only complaint is that it contained small amounts of coriander which was not mentioned on the menu – I’m biased since coriander is my pet hate but given it’s quite a strong spice, I would have expected it to be mentioned.  Anyway, since the amount was very small, it didn’t spoil my dish but it did mean I had to be careful with every bite.

Service

The service was good and our waiter was informative and helpful.  When the bill arrived and we noticed the tart costing over £12, we queried it, showing the price of the tart on the Daily special menu and he immediately corrected it without question.  It was only when we left the restaurant that we confirmed there was a Main tart on the a la carte menu.

Summary

I really enjoyed dinner at BANK – it was great food at reasonable prices with good service and a nice view.. what more can you ask for?  Good drinks? I heard cocktails at this place is really good too so that will be something to try next time if I ever return.