Diners in London often fear trekking into the heart of the city thinking they might not get a great value meal or the dining environment isn’t suited to their needs. However, restaurants like Forge at Bank are doing all the right things to ensure everyone is welcome at their restaurant rather than just local office workers at Bank.
The set-up here is similar to other cavernous restaurant and bar venues in the city: there is considerable bar space near the front for guests to unwind and imbibe post-work whilst the rear part of the venue is the more relaxed and comfortable restaurant area. Try and book a seat near their open kitchen and admire their rather impressive looking grill with a constant array of steaks and burgers being prepared by their well-drilled chefs.
The menu here isn’t about re-inventing the wheel but offers all the comfort food you crave for after a long day of meetings. We started off with calamari which was served in a cute mini-fryer basket. The size of the calamari was just right so it had a welcome chew without being overly chewy and it was well spiced with paprika, crispy garlic, parsley and chilli as well as being served with an aioli dip.
Chicken and chorizo skewer was appetisingly presented with vividly-coloured peppers interspersed between the meats and felt relatively substantial for a starter dish. Although, the chimichurri dressing, could have tasted stronger so as to not be overpowered by the flavours of the chorizo.
They have a fine selection of dishes available from their grill and spit including spiced spit roast chicken, honey glazed gammon and various steak offerings. We went for their signature Forge burger, which was suitably plump-looking with a lightly toasted brioche bun and well-sized 8oz British beef patty. You really can’t go wrong when you combine this with melting cheddar cheese, baby gem, beef tomato and red onions.
They do offer a small selection of salads and pasta for those who are not fans of their grilled dishes. I tried their prawn linguine and was pleasantly surprised by the generous amounts of almost king-sized looking prawns offered. They were juicy, succulent and smothered with delicious tomatoes, anchovies, fennel, chilli and garlic sauce.
We were sufficiently satiated after our 2 courses, but for those with a larger appetite, they have a list of classic desserts available such as treacle sponge pudding and toffee praline cheesecake
baldwin@townfish.com