Banco

I’d heard about Banco from the Zomato chaps at the most recent Scran Salon event, as they’d been patrolling the Southside, just recently. I had been unaware of its arrival, so made a note to visit at the earliest convenient opportunity.

The premises are slick and modern. The coffee sack covered chairs are a nice touch. The branding looks much more like that of a chain coffee shop than a small independent. In that regard, it gives an impression similar to the one you get from Social Bite and Martha’s that this could be the first store in a burgeoning new multi-location business, which is an exciting thought.

I was keen to try their coffee, but was also hungry so grabbed one of their meatball, mozzarella and tomato paninis from their well-stocked shelves. The friendly and obliging counter woman heated it for me and brought it over, but not before I’d tried their espresso.

Roasting their beans on site represents a strong selling point. Their stated aim is for something in between a French and Italian roast. This isn’t really my thing, unfortunately, so I found their espresso way too dark for my palette.

Their panini, on the other hand, was absolutely first rate. Tender meatballs were brought together in sumptuous mouthfuls by nicely fruity tomato and deliciously melty cheese. It was really very good indeed.

So overall, I really like the idea of Banco and think they are on to a model that could potentially be replicated at scale to great success. However, given that they really want their coffee to be the star of the show, I think they have a little tweaking to do. Their food is very much on the right lines, though, with delicious, well-priced sandwich combos. I’d recommend a visit and look forward to hearing what you make of their coffee.

Scores
Blythe scores Banco
4/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
4/5 for service
3.5/5 for setting
giving an overall 15/20

I ate: meatball, mozzarella and tomato panini

I drank: espresso (2)

I wore: action footwear

Total bill: £6.05