The Bank Restaurant in Birmingham is a cool place to be. It’s modern, chic, and very well appointed. The high glass façade, large windows, sharp edges and crisp white linen all shout quality as you walk through the door.
We were greeted with a smile and seated right away. It was quite busy in the dining room, but the staff seemed to have it all under control. There was no rushing around and no harried faces. It was calm and efficient like a well-oiled machine.
We had a mezze style starter to begin with. This was a plate to share and contained a great mix of olives, pitta bread, baba ganoush, tzatziki, falafel with tahini sauce, some fritters, halloumi and tomato skewers. There was enough on the plate to tempt but not fill. It was fresh, tasty, and made us hungrier than we were when we walked in.
A good start.
Main course was tandoori sea bass and grilled salmon. The sea bass was baked in tandoori spices and was served with mint yoghurt and lemon. The spices were distinctly tandoori, but very subtle. They didn’t overpower the fish at all.
The grilled salmon was the special of the day. It was served over roasted asparagus with fresh crab and orange segments. To be honest, this dish shouldn’t have worked to my mind, but it did, really well. The fusion of flavours was amazing, the subtlety of the salmon was complemented by the crab, which in turn was enhanced by the orange.
Dessert was an apple pie and custard and chocolate brownie and vanilla ice cream. The apple pie was luscious, there is no other word for it. It’s nice to see an English classic still on modern menus, and done really, really well. The chocolate brownie was nice too, warm, soft and gooey, offset nicely by the smoothness of the vanilla ice cream.
Our wine selection, a pino grigio rose worked well with the meal. It was light enough to work with the fish, and that hint of sweetness even worked with dessert.
The Bank restaurant offers fine dining in a chic bar/restaurant atmosphere. The food was excellent, the service efficient and the experience worth repeating.
The Bill: £46 per head
