Banana Tree

Always a fan of some good Asian food, I thought I’d go have a look at this restaurant. I liked the atmosphere when I got on around 4 because it was quiet but by the time I left around 5.30 it had become crowded and noisy.
The service in general was a bit slow, no matter whether there was one other table or 10, but the food came out quickly which was good.
I ordered their special curry and made it a combo to get rice and salad with it too. The combo is a lot of food and will fill you up but the curry on its own is not nearly enough so you do have to order something extra with it.
To be honest I do not think the curry is worth the £10 price tag, especially considering that you have to spend another £5 at least to get enough food so I’d say you’d be better using a tastecard to get a discount or look for another restaurant.
I can’t see myself going back to this place again as there is much better Asian food out there for much better prices.

Je me suis régalée.
Après une soirée festive à Londres, nous sommes sortis déjeuner près de notre appartement. Et nous avons choisi Banana Tree. Une bonne idée.
J’ai commencé par un cocktail de fruits pressés fait en direct. Il était délicieux. Nous avons enchaîné par des starters plutôt bons et un Pad Thaï plutôt pas mal. Certes j’en ai déjà goûté des meilleurs mais il était quand même réussi.
Le service était impeccable, les toilettes aussi. Bref un déjeuner réussi et pas trop cher (20£ avec cocktail de fruits, entrée, plat et café).

This seems to be the only branch that serves totally halal everything — I did email them via their website to ask about the other branches but was full blown ignored, shame really, they lost a star in that process.
I had their veggie duck the first time I ever came — «the hell is that?» You ask? Well, it’s not meat but it tastes like meat so vegetarian friendly too and man does it taste goooooooood!
I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad experience here which keeps me coming back. Nice mocktails (Lychee! Woop woop!), cool atmosphere, quirky low lighting as if you’re in the East and simply great service (in the branch that is).

Nice atmosphere and good service. Tasty food, beautifully presented, though the options were limited compared to other restaurants of the same type. The prices weren’t unreasonable, but still a bit high for the portions offered. The desserts menu was more impressive and the actual desserts tasted as good as they looked! Four stars for the overall experience.

I like it. Good prices, very consistent and service is usually good. Love the laksa!!! Might be a bit plastic and chainy for some, but you can always rely on the Banana tree!

This place is rarely disappointing me, even after years going there… I find most of the dishes amazing. Today tried the Singapore noodles, that were less amazing but still 4 star good. Good choice of drinks.

The Asian fusion is a chain restaurant but each had a warm and welcoming environment, it’s good for groups and takes reservations.
The starters are portioned for 2 – 3
The mains curry is a good size but rice needs to be ordered separately
They have deals throughout the week and on meals with sides so that can help with the cost
The portions are full and filling
The cocktails are great as well as the sodas and fruit juices
I ordered the
Laksa soup
This is nice and filling with a variety of ingredients perhaps you may wish to order a side of rice to make a meal more filling.

The service was unacceptable. The food was bland. The place has potential.

Well executed for such a multinational cuisine.

I hate to do this. But I have to: 2 stars. Went back here 2 years after my initial try. This place is in theory something that could be nice: a fusion of Asian signature dishes: phở from Vietnam, Beef redang and Satays from Indonesia, etc. You get the idea.
Except for: it’s not done right. Not even close. Just to illustrate what I mean by that: he phở comes with all sort of weird shit in it, like tomatoes and portobello mushrooms. WTF mate, say what? Also: no condiments. Then the Indonesian stuff; it was not like it was super bad. It was just not. very good either. Again. The Indonesian ready made stuff that I can buy in any supermarket in HoIland is just 10x better. I am afraid I have turned into a food snob. But sorry guys, your concept is kinda interesting (that’s why I gave 2 stars and not 1) but in terms of execution it totally lacks.

Bland food and soulless environment.
I went to this restaurant with a friend for lunch. This is a canteen style restaurant not dissimilar to Wagamama. I rather like the busy atmosphere and set up at Wagamama, but here it just didn’t work.
The restaurant itself felt fussy and crowded and it smelt slightly odd as if the cleaning staff had used too many chemicals to clean, or stagnant water.
I ordered a meal that was basically Ramen, this was watery and did not have a lot of flavour, I think this is because they had used so many plain powdery noodles of which there were plenty, however this dish lacked pretty much anything else.
It was reasonably cheap and the portion size was very large. However this does not make up for the quality.
I would personally suggest that you avoid this restaurant as there are so many nicer alternatives in London.

3 stars although there is nothing ‘wrong’ with this place — They have a great deal where you get a mixed platter of starters for an extra £2.95 with your main and my vegan friend was actually stuck for choice for once which is usually unheard of when you just wander into a place off the street.
The staff are very friendly (if a little absent-​minded when I was there), the prices are decent, the food is decent.
There’s just nothing that particularly warrants any more stars unfortunately.

Never never never again. Bland and icky. I’m being nice with the second star, for the friendly service.

I had just finished up a very rewarding yoga experience at my gym and decided I needed a reward. What better way then with FOOD? I had walked by the Banana Tree Canteen several times and decided to give it a try after taking a gander at their menu outside.
I opted for take out since I was in my sweaty yoga clothes (Yum!) but while waiting and looking around thought it would make for a good dinner or lunch spot as well.
The gentleman that took my order was more than helpful and courteous, which goes a long way with us yanks missing the home where «the customer is always right». I got my food really quickly as well and was on my way!
I ordered:
Lamb Lettuce Wraps — Now if you’ve ever been to P.F. Changs in the states you know that I was expecting a bit of minced meat and too many lettuce cups to fill. I was pleasantly surprised when we opened the box to find (1) lettuce cup filled to the BRIM with wonderfully marinated Lamb pieces! This could have easily been a meal by itself. If you’re sharing I’d suggest asking for a few more lettuce cups.. .
Pad Thai with Chicken — Pad Thai is pretty standard but I can be picky considering I used to live in Thai Town (in L.A.), but this I enjoyed even more because the chicken was obviously white meat and was also grilled perfectly. Nice big chunks of chicken! (no mystery meat here!)
Chargrilled Beef (I forgot the name) — This was heaven. It was one of the specials at the end of the menu, I’ll make sure to update this after I go back, because I will be!
All of the above was 22 pounds! It was more than enough food for two people and definitely made me feel rewarded after my yoga sesh. I will be going back to the Banana Tree!

Hovered between 3 and 4 stars.
Pleasant surprise just around the corner from Queensway near Bayswater tube station.
Sparse, minimalist ‘asian’ décor, and high quality food at a decent price.
Menu clear indicates vegetarian options and distinguishes vegan, though that does end up revealing how few vegan options there actually are.
I had the Nyona Sauce with Chashews stir fry (with Tofu), and Sweet Corn Cakes appetizer.
The Stir-​Fry was competent, though nothing special but the Sweet Corn Cakes were perfection — I should have just had three orders of that side for dinner.