Tesco make really bad sandwiches. The Bank made a really good one.
I had very low expectations for The Bank because:
- It’s menu was all over the place
- It looked like a school hall
- Bar snacks were uniformly a ball busting £4.95
The Bank surpassed expectations because:
- The food was actually very good
- The clientelle had some very amusing outfits
- Our waitress was both hot and French
It was sandwiches all round. The ladies opted for fish fingers, served in thick grainy bread. The boys had burgers with proper meat and decent buns and an afterthought of onion relish (delivered late, in masterchef style, by the chef to the table).
I had a heritage tomato open sandwich - it was very fine. The tomatoes were excellent, a picture of british summer. They were served on a thick slab of not quite toast with some too-neatly sliced mozzarella and a drizzle of marjoram. It needed more olive oil, otherwise faultless. A dollop of slaw was equally stellar, fresh, crunchy, light, zippy, no mayonnaise required. Some parsnip crisps were pointless.
Chips (£3) were fat and piled high but bought in. Nothing special.
Our waitress removed our plates before everyone had finished, which is fine in America but not in Clapham.
The menu really does jump around: From India to China to France. There is a good selection of beers.
Grab seat outside on Northcote road, soak up the sun, put up with the service - this is not a bad spot for lunch.
The nitty gritty:
Distance from croydon: 12 minutes from EC
It was about £12 a head for a sandwich a drink and a fat pile of chips.
