YetAnotherGin

Review: BANK, Brindley Place, Birmingham

Bank is one of the finer restaurants that exist within Brindley Place (Birmingham), it is only a stone throw away from your All Bar One, Cafe Rouge and such. Yet it delivers a totally different experience, both in the food the serve (some delightful prix fixe menus) and the range of cocktails their bar offers.
This is a great place for a pre, and post dinner cocktail. The atmosphere is very relaxed, though from my experience they don’t offer table service (well, unless you are dining)!  Also with Brindley Place being a sun trap, you can wile away the afternoon here.

The atmosphere within reminds me a bit of an industrialist concrete jungle, with the ceiling more typical of a carpark, and large venting pipes for the air conditioning running amok. The bar itself is quite a long L shape, with barstools, soft seats, and the wooden tables looking out into Brindley Place.

When it comes to drinks, it seems the Mojito is rather, nay, extremely popular. Over the course of one evening we heard, and smelt, a LOT of mint was being slapped. As some readers may have picked up, I’m not the biggest fan of the Mojito, and instead I went to see what else was on offer.

Over many visits Negronis, Martinis, Singapore Slings and other drinks have been tried, tasted and thought upon. All in essence have been great, served to a high standard, whilst being in the £7-8 mark. This places BANK at the high-end of the Birmingham cocktail scene, though that’s to be expected considering the venue and standard of food on offer from the kitchen.

There is one little niggle that means that I don’t come back here as much as I feel I should. This is the bar that I walk past twice a day, yet hardly ever pop into. It’s because of a ‘Company Policy’ that means that they won’t serve egg white (do I look pregnant?) in a cocktail, they also don’t stock Absinthe. So that removes a lot of drinks I like, including a Sazerac. The bartenders know how to make the drinks, but they had to apologise due to the decisions of the owners. [Note: The restaurant have responded, and state egg whites are due to their Health&Safety policy, citing salmonella risks]

So, if you pop out to for a lovely meal and want a drink afterwards, certainly have a cocktail here. Just take a look at what else they offer, even if you do love a Mojito!

Atmosphere: 6/10
Staff: 9/10
Price: 7/10
Drinks: 7/10
Overall 7.5/10

Location: BANK, Brindley Place, Birmingham
Website: BANK Restaurant

View Cocktail Bars – YetAnotherGin in a larger map

Picture of BANK, from BANK Restaurant Website.