Review: The Bank, Low Fell

November 7, 2015 by Rachel Kershaw in Eating Out 2

James and I are always on the look out for new places to eat and drink in Geordieland and although The Bank isn’t new, it has recently had a complete makeover and change of ownership. As a result, you could say that interest rates are on the rise at The Bank (sorry, that was lame wasn’t it?)

To celebrate the re-launch there was an exclusive tasting event for journalists and bloggers which gave us the chance to check out the stylish interior and sample lots of lovely dishes with perfectly paired wines supplied from Corney & Barrow. I know, spoilt rotten aren’t we?

Credit: Round Table Solutions

After ordering a drink from the welcoming bar area on the ground floor and a catch up with some of our favourite North East bloggers, we headed upstairs to the restaurant area of The Bank.

Credit: Round Table Solutions

James works in construction and has a keen eye for detail. He can often be heard muttering under his breath about the fit out and finish when we visit revamped venues but he was very impressed by the quality of the work done at The Bank. You could certainly tell that that a lot of time, money and effort had gone in to give the place a high end feel. If I was a local in Low Fell I would certainly find myself venturing in to town a lot less!

So… on to the food…

A selection of yummy starters

Sample sizes of the amazing fish dishes available

To give us a real insight in to the new menu we shared a selection of three different starters and three different fish courses. The quality of the food was excellent, I particularly loved the sticky glaze on the chicken skewers and the tomato and chorizo cassoulet with monkfish wrapped in parma ham. The fish pie also got a big thumbs, as did the prawns but it was definitely the cassoulet that had the most flavour, I would order that again for sure!

Not just one but three different steaks plus lamb too!

I could barely believe my eyes when the main course was brought out, we each got served the plate shown above so that we could try the meat dishes that The Bank prides itself on. There was filet, rib eye, sirloin, rack of lamb with a mouthwatering herby crust, a generous portion of roasted vegetables and a huge jug of peppercorn sauce! I immediately regretted wearing skinny jeans! My highlight was the filet steak without a doubt, I normally order rib eye but oh my word, this filet has converted me. It was perfectly pink and tasted delicious.

I really enjoyed drinking red wine with the steak too. I’m not huge fan of red and wouldn’t usually order it but as the wines were chosen for us I didn’t have to worry about what would go well with the food. The staff were very knowledgeable.

Three puddings! They had to roll me home!

You would think that after that feast I wouldn’t be eating again for a week but how could I resist when this beautiful plate of sample desserts was put in front of me? I enjoyed them all, especially the poached pear which was quite refreshing after all that rich food.

Gareth Beddard provided the perfect soundtrack

Brilliant Bloggers Samantha and Chloe

All in all I had a wonderful evening at The Bank and would definitely recommend it. The atmosphere for the event was warm and welcoming with music provided by a local covers singer, Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for The Bank as I think live music is something that definitely makes a difference to a bar or restaurant’s appeal. The food really was fantastic and James and I have already made plans to head back for Sunday lunch. It was fab to catch up with some of my favourite bloggers too.

Thanks to Round Table Solutions for the invite and best of luck to Kevin and the team at The Bank for a successful future!