Welcome to The Buzz, a feature where we look at what the Internet is saying about brand new restaurants. It’s too early for a review, but when has that ever stopped anyone?
People have been getting excited about Banq for some time now. Banq comes to us from the owners of Mantra and, like Matra, it combines French techniques with Indian flavors. Expectations have been high, so let’s see how the actual experience is shaking out, shall we?
The Good: Chowhound luminary and Phoenix reviewer MC Slim JB very much enjoyed his visit to Banq: “Prices are better than I expected for a fancy South End place. … The dining room is very attractive, soaring ceilings, pretty hardwoods, well-spaced booths. … The wine list is a nice surprise, not overloaded with $100+ bottles. … The food is mostly very good, few outright misses. … Overall, a pleasant surprise so far.” Kate of local blog The Dish also loved her visit to Banq: “WOW! Everything was spectacular! The cod was crispy on the outside and perfectly seared, and the lotus root was a delightful new side dish for my taste buds, while the generous portion of short rib was rich and sinful, eaten sans a knife of course. … The entrees are under $26, the portion size is liberal, and the drink menu is unique and fun. Another very welcome addition to Boston’s South End, a neighborhood that’s simply bursting with flavor.”
The Bad: Views on Banq’s dessert menus are decidedly more mixed. ‘hounder kron reports: “Went out on a limb and ordered the “banq tasting” dessert. Bad idea. This “tasting” included wasabi ice cream, blue cheese ice cream, a pineapple spring roll (?) and some sort of berry-sushi (um, no). Awful. Thought it had potential (well, at least we thought the ice creams had potential), but realized it is something probably best served at some mediocre new american-asian-fusion restaurant that’s trying to be hip. We think Banq should take it off the menu asap.” Yelper Dan O. concurred: “For dessert, we ordered the sampler, and it was a little disappointing. The bleu cheese ice cream was my favorite on the plate…the bleu cheese flavor doesn’t hit you until the end. The wasabi ice cream was a little too weird. The pineapple spring roll was unimpressive, and the chocoalte sushi was disgusting.”
Banq [MenuPages]
Banq [Official Site]
Banq - News/Comments/Reviews? [Chowhound]
You Can banQ on It [The Dish]
Banq [Yelp]
