So a bit of a diversion maybe but I thought I'd tell you about this fabulous restaurant that I go to every time I'm in Southampton. My dad calls it 'the office' considering he's in it so often and it's owned by a friend of his who is a bit of a restaurant magnate in ye olde Southampton.
Banana Wharf is a friendly, busy place that serves some excellent food. It's contemporary, has a great view of Ocean Village and is child-friendly and adult-friendly (considering my dad, that's a must!). The bar staff are quick and efficient, the waitresses know their stuff and Kerry, the goddess who runs the show, is very organised and more importantly: friendly.
I'd like to point out that whilst we take friendliness for granted in restaurants, we often shouldn't. Some staff are rude, others are abrupt, and some are so busy that any attempts at niceties come off as completely false. It's not always their fault: busy kitchens and a packed restaurant does not always mean that staff have the time to take a lot of care over their customers but I really think that this is exactly the issue. Staff should have time to make a customer feel welcome, especially when they're parting with a lot of money for the experience. Why should I pay £50+ a head when the staff are rude little shits? This might sound a bit extreme but I assure you it isn't; some restaurants have the attitude that you should feel lucky to have gotten a table there and it's just not the right message to send.
Anyway, back to the review. Banana Wharf thankfully has some great staff working there who are friendly, will relate messages on dietary requirements back to the kitchens and who are very knowledgeable about what they're serving. They've been trained well!
The menus are varied, with plenty of choice. There's fresh seafood, shellfish, pasta, oriental dishes, burgers, steaks and a multitude of pizzas and yummy starters. All the food is fresh, delicious and leaves you feeling full. I've tried a few things now and my favourite starter still has to be the chicken liver parfait which comes with warm bread & a side-salad. The steaks are beautiful and my knife always cuts through them like butter.
They also have a fab Sunday lunch (which isn't for the faint-hearted!). Kerry can tell you on the day or a couple of days before what the roast will be and it tends to be a shoulder of lamb which is so tender it falls off the bone with hardly any effort. Although I'm not a fan of bones or playing with my food, I have often made an exception for this culinary delight. It's too nice to turn down!
The prices aren't bad either. Although it's not a huge value-for-money establishment the prices are reasonable, the damage to the wallet is justifiable and the food is so nice that you won't care by the time the bill comes anyway. A starter is between £5-8, a pizza is about £9 and a good-sized fillet steak is £20. Like I said, very reasonable.
It's somewhere to head to for a gathering of girls, a family meal, a breakfast the morning after the night before (I believe most of the Ocean Village family have visited at one point or another!) or a special occasion like a birthday or anniversary. The food is of a high quality, the service matches this and it's always a pleasure to eat there. So the next time you're in Southampton, head to Banana Wharf at Ocean Village to eat - You won't be disappointed!
The Vitals
Banana Wharf (Ocean Village)
Ocean Village, Southampton, SO14 3JF
Tel: 023 8033 8866
Website: http://www.bananawharf.co.uk/southampton/restaurant/home/
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