Thebanc Reviews 15

I'm a regular visitor, eaten at The Banc at least 20 times but the standards are slipping and this last visit was terrible. The food is getting more expensive with smaller portions and dropping standards. The dynamite prawns were cold, the steak skewers were tough and flavourless and the mac and cheese was basically inedible. It was al dente, lacked seasoning and creaminess, it was nothing like a mac and cheese. Absolutely horrendous yet expensive. Very disappointing.

I’m genuinely shocked by my experience here and would strongly advise against coming to Banc, especially if you value good steak or respectful customer service.

TLDR: starters are bland(ordered the wings and squid), overly loud music, long waiting times for food, and poor customer service, and the whole experience was ruined by being gaslit into believing a rump is a ribeye and that medium is medium rare (even though it was actually medium well).

I ordered a medium ribeye, a cut I know very well and order regularly across many reputable steakhouses. What I was served was clearly not a ribeye. The meat had no marbling, no fat eye, and the texture was tough, dry, and chewy- far more consistent with a rump steak. To make matters worse, it was cooked medium-well, despite being ordered medium.

When I raised this with the server, I was told flatly that it was “definitely a ribeye” and “definitely medium,” and that nothing could be done because the steak wasn’t undercooked. In other words: if it’s overcooked, that’s your problem. I was essentially told to accept and eat a dry, incorrect steak.

The situation deteriorated further when the manager became involved. Rather than listening, he argued with me, contradicted his own staff, and confidently pointed at the steak claiming it was “definitely medium rare.” So which is it medium or medium rare? It can’t be both. Regardless of temperature, the core issue remained: the steak was tough, flavourless, and unenjoyable. I couldn’t even finish it, which says a lot considering how much I love steak.

After prolonged back-and-forth, I was offered a £10 discount, which didn’t even come close to 10% of the bill. The dismissive attitude throughout was honestly more disappointing than the food itself.

This visit was meant to be a celebration, and as someone who lives locally, I had hoped this could become a regular spot. Unfortunately, that won’t be happening.

Bottom line: Banc is not a steakhouse, and it shows in both the kitchen and the attitude.
If you’re coming for steak, do yourself a favour and go elsewhere.

A wonderful experience!
The food is truly excellent, prepared with care and high-quality ingredients. The service is outstanding — the staff is attentive, friendly, and very professional. The atmosphere is cozy, beautifully designed, and perfect for both a relaxed meal and a special night out.
Highly recommended — I’ll definitely be back!

Amazing atmosphere and the staff is really welcoming. I go every year on my birthday it's always as good as the previous time

Immaculate as always! The staff are amazing, very beautiful settings with lovely atmosphere. Food is always perfect and faultless. Favourite dishes are the Dynamite prawns and steak. I highly recommend.

Never fails to impress me. Great atmosphere and an absolute vibe ✨ 5/5

The Banc never fails to disappoint with its food and ambience. A big thank you to Vish who made today’s experience even more memorable with his outstanding service!

Good food bit overpriced but worth the quality of the steak we'll worth the trip and experience!

Went for my daughters birthday. My daughter said she had been before a few years ago and she was shocked at how much it had changed and been refurbished.
Couldn’t fault anything. The food was so tasty and very good portions. The service is 10/10 all staff have great communication they could not do enough for us. The bouncers on the door were 10/10 as well my daughter left her bag in the car they asked for the car keys and walked to the car park and got my daughters bag from the car for her to save her walking back to car park in dark. Has a lovely shisha bar lovely decor inside. Would defiantly recommend I will defiantly be going back

Brilliant food of the highest quality and superb service.

My favourite chill spot, shisha and food always amazing and so is the service!

This place is all about making money for them and nothing else. Having been the once I will never go back again. From the moment we sat down all we were told was time limits and them rushing us to leave. I mean seriously 2hr for 7 people to eat and have shisha. In the end the so called manager gave us an extra 30min but boy did he make us sweat for it. And those last 15min were unbearable. Constant hassle telling us our time limit was coming to an end. The manager had the audacity to tell us the time limit is on the menu. But none of us had been there before so how would be know...duh! We spent over 300pounds and still got treated like crap. And then he has the cheek to argue with me when we did not want to pay the hear £40 service charge. At which point I had to remind him it's optional regardless if we were happy or not. He doesn't need to ask if we were happy with the service. We still tipped £20. Food was ok, did the job. Shisha was fine. Regular coal change but a very expensive night out for a restaurant in North London. Charging central London prices for a non central London venue. £26 for a shisha is a straight up CON. And then the standard line from any shisha place..."cash only...the card machine doesn't work" yea yea....anyway if you want average food and shisha and overpriced cost, just to look good for the gram...then go here. There are way better places out there.

Fantastic dining experience, great food and excellent staff.
Really good atmosphere and thoroughly enjoyed my first night out with our little one!