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Banana Tree

Banana Tree

103 Wardour Street, London, London, W1F0UG, W1F 0UG, United Kingdom

Pizza • Cafés • Sushi • Seafood


"I’ve had the Tastecard a little while now, but never got around to using it. The restaurants featured on the program are largely chain-based. Or not very good ones. So this is my first experience with that in hand. BananaTree is located in the heart of Soho making it an ideal spot to catch up with a friend from the office. The deal meant buy-one-get-one-free so we had a lot of food for not a lot. A good start. Our order consisted of the chicken wings, money bags along with our mains of the beef rendang curry and the pad thai. The fried wings are very good. Messy, sticky and lots of sauce. They offer a recipe for their tantalising wings on their website. It all looks well and good and I get excited up to a point. Then I realise, and decide it’s too many ingredients and too much work. It is one of the most popular appetisers at Banana Tree, and easy to understand why. The rendang was just above average, the meat tasted a bit dry and there wasn’t enough curry for my liking. The beef is quite chunky, and of good quality so its got that going for it. Banana Tree feels like yet another whitewashed Asian-inspired food restaurant in London. Others that come to mind: East Street and Dim T. Dishes across Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam all meld into one being rather than having each of its own elements celebrated. The first store opened a staggering twenty one years ago and now its eight stores it may have traded that authenticity with domination. The venue at Banana Tree has a nice, vibrant atmosphere and this is only completed by the size of the crowd. It’s plenty busy and a popular haunt for some of the other corporate dwellers from the looks of it. I didn’t find the find innovative but it was tasty."

Isarn

Isarn

119 Upper Street, London, N11QP, N1 1QP, United Kingdom

Thai • Bars • Fish • Juice


"Came across this Thai restaurant whilst venturing around Upper Street in Islington Angel. This is not a cafe, this is an exquisite Thai restaurant that serves supurb Thai food in a lovely setting. We hadn't booked but were fortunate to be allocated a table, their is seating outside at the front of the restaurant, lots of seating inside but then it opens into this lovely outdoor garden area which really gives this place an unique and stylish atmosphere, it has a lovely ambiance with fantastic hosts so attentive and so professional. We chose The Chicken Dumplings £6.65 and the Spring Onion Pancake £3.00 as our starters, incidentally served very quickly. They were slightly greasy and luke warm but nevertheless you could taste the thai flavours oozing through every bite so we didn't mind. Our main courses were the Grilled Chicken Curry £12.90 and the Massaman Beef Cheek Curry £13.80 were both delicious. Succulent chicken and the beef was just so tender it was absolutely perfect, the flavours infused with every mouthful made these dishes. We both had the egg fried rice served with our curries which were reasonably priced at £3.50. The drinks served here are on the tad pricey side but that being said in fairness if you expect quality food, perfect ambiance you expect to pay slightly more for your drinks. The only negative criticism I can give is that the seating in the outdoor area could do with being more comfortable hence the 4 star review. In conclusion a lovely Thai restaurant not sure why they call it a cafe though as the name does not do it any favours as this establishment certainly doesn't look like a cafe, it doesn't feel like a cafe and it definitely doesn't charge cafe prices as the restaurant includes a 12.5% service charge. Highly recommend opens ever day 12.noon to 23.00. We noted that it closes 10.pm on Sunday's so beware."