Last Updated on March 5, 2024
A good time in leafy Chislehurst
Bank House Chislehurst is a bar and restaurant in a very green suburb on the edge of south London serving very good modern European and traditional British food. It’s owned and run by husband and wife team Stuart and Cecilia Gillies who have bring excellent “pedigrees”. Stuart was CEO of the Gordon Ramsay Group for seven years and worked as chef in various Michelin-starred restaurants including The Connaught alongside Angela Hartnett. Cecilia, meanwhile, is a front-of-house expert who trained in Paris, before helping to open Marco Pierre White’s Criterion and relaunching Soho’s Quo Vadis.
As its name suggests, Bank House occupies one of Britain’s many defunct Victorian bank buildings. It has been transformed into a relaxed but comfortable, grown-up space with no visible vestiges of its former purpose. We immediately liked the warm welcome from the staff, the atmosphere and the music at Bank House.
We began our evening at Bank House with cocktails. I had the largest Aperol Spritz I’d ever seen – not quite on the scale of a Texan Margherita but getting there. Anyway, I like a long cocktail so I wasn’t complaining. My friend meanwhile was indulging in a Negroni, which she declared lovely and strong.
We decided to try one of Bank House’s small sharing plates to go with our cocktails and picked the chorizo and honey. These were delicious – spicy, salty and just a little sweet, the honey adding a touch of mildness – and just the sort of thing to make one’s drink go down a little faster.
It was time for starters and I chose the beetroot cured salmon. Beautiful purple stained salmon with juicy chunks of beetroot was well matched with a good potato salad enlivened by horseradish plus pickled shallots. A very satisfying mix.
My companion enjoyed her spiced cauliflower with tahini dressing and toasted almonds. The dish had a mild nutty flavour, a light tahini dressing and a good mix of textures with crunches and snaps added by crispy green leaves and fresh chicory as well as the nuts.
We each chose a glass of white wine to drink with our starters. My Ponte del Diavolo Pinot Grigio was a nice crisp blend of pear, sherbert and lemon and a good match for my salmon starter. My companion wasn’t wild about her Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. Not enough gooseberry apparently (she lives in France and is difficult to please winewise).
I am difficult to please when it comes to beef but I was in the mood for it and so ordered the red wine braised and roasted beef rump. This was definitely the right decision. Both types of beef were tender and full of flavour – the rare steak, well rested and seasoned, and the braised beef – slow cooked to just the right point. A nicely truffled super-smooth mash and a quite delicious deep red wine jus brought it all together.
My companion’s fish pie was packed with king prawns, salmon and haddock and served with a salad of rocket and parmesan. She pronounced it good homely comfort food with a lovely creamy sauce and good mash as well as beautifully cooked fish.
We shared the Tenderstem broccoli with aioli – a generous plate and a good accompaniment to both our mains. Plus the aioli didn’t overwhelm the broccoli. We both liked the fact that Bank House obviously takes vegetables seriously.
When dessert time came, my companion decided to stick with the savoury and ordered the cheese. This was a meal in itself, two huge chunks of a local unpasteurised cheddar – the Sevenoaks Winterdale Shaw alongside a good pickle and lots of crackers. This dish must have been designed with sharers in mind but my companion made a good attempt at finishing it off solo.
My sweet tooth was too strong. I found myself torn between the bread and butter pudding with Bailey’s custard and the warm chocolate fondant tart with vanilla ice. Our helpful waiter solved the decision-making problem by asking me one simple question: was I in a custard mood or an ice cream mood? Custard was the clear winner so the bread and butter pudding it was. This was warming, tasty and lashed with excellent custard but lacked the crunchy edge of my mother’s fabled version.
On the evidence of this visit and, in particular, the excellent beef cookery, I’ll be returning soon to try out Bank House’s Sunday Roast. Their festive menu looks good too. Overall, Bank House is the sort of smart but unstuffy, friendly, well-run restaurant cooking up good food that any high street would be lucky to have. I’m adding it to my list of places to go within striking distance of my corner of southeast London.
11 High St,
Chislehurst
BR7 5AB
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