The Banana Store, Restaurant, bar and Gallery Review

Have been to the restaurant a few times this year and it is excellent...the brasserie, however, is less so...

We felt rushed from the moment we arrived. Wine, drink and food choices weren't available and they couldn't even be bothered to remove the retail label from the replacement wines they did have.

This all resulted in an ambiance of "we have a great location so don't have to care about you, and by the way, we'll also charge you over the odds whilst you inconvenience us with your presence"

Nice steak though, if a little overcooked.

Known the famous place for years but that was my first time there. Nice & trendy bar, superb view, good lunch menu. Food was exceptionally good, staff are friendly & efficient. A second visit to follow soon.

Ate in the bistro, felt a bit chainy and very overpriced. Food good but make sure you get a table with a view or you are paying over the odds for nothing. Rating based on value for money

Only had the pork belly appetizer but it was great. Excellent service and view. With my fiancee Sara Q

Very expensive for what you get. Good views. Generally very busy, worth phoning ahead to book a table.

Second visit arranged through a manager due to concerns after a first experience and VERY special occasion celebration in June! Tonight started with a complimentary bottle of Champagne and just like the first time the service was faultless. Staff are always very attentive under very stressful and busy conditions. The food was absolutely lovely and well presented from start to finish. Wonderful experience and worth every penny! Thank you OXO!

Breathtaking views of the Thames from this restaurant on the top floor of the Oxo tower. The service is tidy, the wine cellar is interesting and the dishes are pleasant. The price-quality ratio is good. If you want to enjoy the view for less, you can also test the brewery on the same floor.

Nice view but over priced. I have expect something more for this price and place. The price is more for place than for food...

Fab expo - Here & Now - at the gallery! BBVA put on a great show.

Great views over the Thames. Probably better in summer when you can sit outside. Always ask for a table by the window. Food excellent.

My husband took me there for my bday dinner a few years ago. Although he had booked a table at the window to enjoy the view, we didn't get it when we came. We were offered to move in the middle of our main course though, which wasn't an ideal thing to do, but we still did it, as without the view this restaurant isn't spectacular. Food was OK, but nothing memorable at all.

They have managed to mess up my birthday cake my husband has pre-ordered for desert - they have served it without any candle, SLICED on 2 plates. When my husband asked to talk to the waiter away from our table he was surprised that nobody has presented the cake to us first in whole (it was supposedly had a message written with choc for me).

Anyway, they apologized and gave us 2 glasses of prosecco for free (although champagne would have been more appropriate in this case).

It was still a good evening because we laughed about these things and kept up the positive attitude, but definitely not going back.

Visited April 2011

Excellent service all around, however somewhat dissapointing menu choices for allergy sufferers - only two things don't have sulphites in which I was very surprised by. I ended up ordering the lamb and they took off part of it which, whilst still tasty, left it rather dry. The service and everything else was good, but for the price I expected better.

Fabulous rooftop restaurant (we go because husband designed the roof!). Amazing food. Staff are super efficient, friendly and accommodating. Their cocktails are always good. Great views of the Thames and beyond. Only gave 4 stars because the only downside is there are only 2 lifts which are VERY slow. Last time got stuck behind a very large group who had all arrived at the same time and each lift only takes about 6 people.

To visit
A breathtaking view in the evening
Excellent atmosphere
Visited in January 2020

It's got the settings, the staff were quality and the food was unreal. 10/10

Good ambience on a Sunday evening with live music, nice food and good service

Pleasant place to dine while watching the sunset over London from above.
Fairly expensive, but suitable for some special occasion.

Great restaurant next to the thames with good views of London.

Very good food. The ambience is very good, a bit noisy with live music. The view phenomenal. The prices are rather in the upper level. For a visit to London and if you are looking for something out of the ordinary.

Brilliant place to get London and Thames views. Great wine and cocktail selection with first class professional service

We had afternoon tea there. The afternoon tea was ok. What makes this place special is obviously the lovely location and the view. The service was also good.

Good views, you don't need a reservation if you just visit the bar area which overlooks the Thames and has stunning views of London

A special stop, with an amazing view. We tried the set menu over the valentines weekend and weren t disappointed. Tasty food, decent portions. A nice atmosphere, and attentive service. Can t wait to go back.

Iconic building by the River Thames with lots of history behind it. Birth place for the great Oxo Cube. The food is quite good but you come up here for the view. On a bright sunny day you can catch a great view of the Thames like I did!

it's definitely let itself slip and is relying on the views to pass off food that is fair to good and patchy at that. to overcook pork belly to a dryness, normally associated with beef jerky is a talent. the rest of the food was good, and the cheese excel

Overpriced burger and chips I think your paying for the view. Service was excellent

good quality location. great views. upmarket venue.

The food was ok, nothing really special- the service was really good - very attentive to the details and every now and again coming to the table- the view is really nice I guess in summer is even better - I think is a bit overpriced

Meet my sisters here for lunch. Faultless service, delicious desserts

Loved the restaurant. Amazing good and service. I had the duck which was divine. Also the crab for starters was very nice. Caramel souffle for dessert highly recommend.

Some great food here (the starters where phenomenal) but very expensive overall.

Excellent service and great food. View is good but not a reason to there

I booked a table three weeks in advance for our wedding anniversary and requested a table by the window. I received an email reply from OXO that tables are allocated on a first come first serve basis. We arrived 20 mins early and requested a table by the window and told the maitre d' that we can wait. He told us that there is no table by the window available for the next hour. We were allocated a table for four and saw that there were two empty tables for four by the window available and they were allocated to other guests that arrived 40 mins after us. We did not let this spoil our evening but we were quite disappointed. Food and service were very good.

Despite the rain and wind outside, a perfect slice of calm with good selection of beers, amazing pork scratchings and array of sharing side plates at a gaie price. Booked a bar area table for a couple of hours - attentive, friendly staff, ensured we were never left thirsty or hungry for long. Highly recommended as a treat. Will save up for the full restaurant experience one day.

Loved it. The OXO Tower Restaurant is one of those iconic places that should be on may people's bucket list. In addition to the historic setting, the views are fabulous - far better than the Shard or other places where you are a gazillion floors up. Views from those places is like looking at a toy set. Four floors up and everything is still real.

And the place has three sections - the formal or more classical restaurant, the bar, and the informal Brasserie. If you are selective in when you can visit, its usually possible to get a table with a great view.

My favorite is the Brasserie. Excellent classic British fare but the chefs invariably tweak them to make it unique and interesting. Most of the time it is a stunning success, with an occasional disappointment - but it's fun. The Brasserie often has live musical entertainment, and the prices are really a good value for what you get and in comparison to it's peers. The wait staff was super friendly and helpful, and the manager keeps a close eye on everything that goes on. Definitely getting the benefits associated with the more classical restaurant on the other end of the floor which adds further to the value of the dining experience.

Coupled with the fact that it's easy to get to by public or private transport its a definite bucket list must visit place. Highly Recommended.

The food was not hot and the stuffing roll that went with the roast turkey was absolutely inedible...tough and impossible to cut.

Outside table on the terrace, lovely evening. Food excellent. Service very good.

We had a great time and so nice to be treated like a princess

I went to the 2nd floor of the OXO Tower for an event. The food was great, although the portions were a bit small. It has an amazing view of the river even from just the 2nd floor. Granted, it was summer time. I would recommend this place though :)

Bitterly disappointing. Careful booking here for the views as yours may well end up be by the fire exit and the condiment trolly. After requesting to be sat anywhere other than the dirt covered fire exit ( other tables were vacant) we ended up eating our main staring at the dusty door. We opted not to get the bottle of wine we pre-chose or stay for desert as it felt like a work canteen at that point. Those empty tables we saw remained empty until close. I can t help but think it s because we didn t look like the other diners/staff as to why we were allocated to the door. Go somewhere like The Shard where they do not discriminate or even have exit door tables to begin with

Went for dinner on a week day. Filled with business customers. The view from the top of the resturant is amazing (rear in London) The menu we had was limited but the food was amazing. Staff services was great. The only issue was that the resturant was load so i had to raise my voice to speak to anyone with me

Good views, good food, good service, music was good too-would have enjoyed it being a bit louder.

Always a nice experience. Good food, good wine. Our somelier was very attentive and kind. The waiting staff a little less polished. Obviously expensive but for the food, experience and view I think worth the price.

Always good to eat and relax at the bar taking in the London skyline.

Pretty good British contemporary food but perhaps a little fussy - some dishes involved too many ingredients. Staff were very attentive and we were offered a table by the viewing window during our meal, which was a nice touch. However we did have to wait quite a long time between our starter and our main. Ingredients proposed could also be a bit more locally sourced.

Excellent service and good food, obviously view is superb. Pricey but, worth it for that special occasion.

Good food, excellent service, expensive but for special occasions

One of the best places in London, with stunning views, food, Customer services and cocktails more than I expected.

The food was impeccable, could not recommend more highly

Accessible lift to either the brasserie/bar to your right and the restaurant to your left. They do provide nice wide walkways to both venues and good seating options as well.

The staff are amazing along with the absolutely stunning food and cocktails not to mention the view! Came here for the afternoon tea with champagne, it was amazing! The food was just incredible, so many different sorts of tasters. It may look small but I couldn't finish it all and was able to take some home in a carry bag!

Nothing special, nice food but small portions and terribly overpriced even for London's average for what it is, if you don't get a table on the river, not even worth going for the food, nor the service

Consistently amazing each time I visit. You can get good value on the set menu mid-week too.

A wonderful evening out with my children for my birthday.

Fantastic attentive service. Obviously great views. Bit on the pricey side for
me but you pay for what you get. Recommended for the views or a romantic meal.

Reasonably priced quality meals and one of the best views of London. Perfect venue to celebrate a special occasion meal and perfect too for visitors to London with views across the Thames River.

A great restaurant location on the side of the Thames and even better during restaurant week when they were part of the event.

A really nice atmosphere to the place and great service and food. At peak times this can become really rather noisy but you come to expect that if you're a returning diner!

Food was fantastic ,too crowded for me in the brasserie too many tables squashed in .

Came here to celebrate a birthday. Very attentive staff, excellent food, lovely surroundings and a great experience.

Amazing view and amazing food ,waiter with attitude, didn't like that

Surprisingly great food and wine. Has improved hugely since I went a few years ago, and of course has amazing views of St. Paul s cathedral and the river.

We spent the family on New Year's Eve in this excellent place between Blackfriars and Westminster. Pleasant layout with colored balloons. Dinner consisting of appetizer, two large dishes with side dish and dessert accompanied by 1/2 bottle of champagne. Right value for money and very accurate service. Of note ....

An expensive night out, but the food and service is very, very good.

Best view and top notch food but restaurant side amazing great time lovely staff thank you xxx

For the price, the food was 'ordinary' and not up to the value of the bill. We also had a 35 minute wait for mains after the starters. Would we go again? probably not

Great for the novelty, food was delicious. A little pricey but you pay for the experience!

Amazing food and wine, very personal and friendly service

Food was really good however let down by below par service, and we were over charged which we didn't realise until we left.

Main issues with service:

- Had to ask for our wine glasses to be filled up as they didn't keep the bottle by the table
- Had to chase drinks orders which led to us being over charged
- Seemed a confusion between which waiters had done what
- Felt that as we weren't a big group likely to spend much we were looked down on

Real shame because the food was really nice

Two words - Pretty average!

The food was such a let down at Oxo tower! So average that I don't think I'll be coming back!



For starter I had roasted duck, I think I was actually given was a thin layer of duck breast with chunks of peaches? I couldn't help myself to tell the waiter that I wasn't impressed with the starter, who very politely offered to change it and I had the seared tuna instead, which was 10 times better!

The ambiance was so loud that we could barely hear each other. After the starter the waiter offered us a "better" table next to the balcony, so we moved there, where there was a lady singing very sloooooow that it was almost painful to listen too.

As a main I ordered a veil t-bone steak which I wanted medium, my friend also ordered a medium rib eye BOTH were Rare not even medium-rare but Rare. I still got the taste of the raw meat in my mouth, when I told the waiter, Mark who I must say was very helpful, polite and understanding, he offered to put it back in the grill. When I said no thanks, he offered something else instead, but I was too upset and a bit embarrassed that the food didn't hit my standards, as it was so average, that I said no thanks I'm done.

Oxo tower claim to be a brasserie that's why I expected a perfect 10 medium steak instead we both got a raw ones, and at the end of the night I was eating my chips but then I was like I'm in a brassiere eating chips, so I thought to myself this is ridiculous!

I'm almost certain I won't be back!

I must say that for such an iconic restaurant like Oxo tower the least I expected was the manager to come to the table to see what's the matter. Instead I saw him looking at the table but he couldn't be bothered to come and speak to us.

He totally epitomised the standard of the place - disappointing!