T + 241 Bank Restaurant Review

Bank Restaurant  is located in Brindley Place along side the canal. After a cocktail in the bar, a non-alcaholic berry concoction for me and a cosmopolitan for Gareth, we were seated at a table for two against the full length glass wall that runs along main dining area. Our table gave us a view of the NIA across the  canal basin, sided by flats that were probably now worth less than the value of the meal we were about to have. This main dining area has an impressive look to it with its rows of white table cloths with simple, elegant tableware accented by the red leather and black wood seating.

The menu though on first glance, presented as it is on a single large card, seems a little limited but there is plenty of choice of fish and meat and a couple of vegetarian dishes. The specials of the day included asparagus with soft poached egg and the fish of the day was sea bass in a salt crust. 

For starters I had the French onion soup and Gareth had the sushi grade tuna tartare on a bed of avocado with a soy and citrus dressing. The cheese topped crouton on the soup was a little uninspiring and had lost all crunch by the time it got to the table. The stock of the soup itself however had a heavy, rich velvety texture that worked well with the sweet caramelised onions. Gareth said the tuna was very good but over powered a little by the  dressing and some wasabi on the side would have been ideal.

For main courses we both opted for steaks. Mine was an 8Oz rib eye with Béarnaise sauce whilst Gareth had a 6Oz fillet served on a bed of spinach and a large round hash brown. For accompaniments I had some fine green beans and hand cut chips apparently made from potatoes from Brobdingnag, Gareth had a large side salad in a light vinaigrette . Both steaks were succulent and cooked to a perfect medium rare. No need for any steak knives here. The piquancy of the Béarnaise sauce was an excellent counter to the richness of the meat. The chips were crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside, just how I like them.

For desert Gareth had a rich sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream whilst I opted for the Malteser ice cream served in a brandy snap basket and somewhat oddly a pistachio biscotto which, whilst tasty, didn’t really work as even though I’d ordered a coffee with my desert it was mostly finished before the ice cream came. The Malteser ice cream itself was relatively light and pallet cleansing but the pieces of Malteser gave a little chewy, malty lift. 

The service was very good and our waiter was just what you want, attentive but unobtrusive.

Total cost including 4 cocktails, a bottle of water and the subtly hidden (on the bill at least ) 12.5% service charge was £114