The best restaurants serving Brasserie food in St Ann's Haringey London

We recently visited The Banc for a late-night dinner, but the experience left us deeply disappointed. First off, if you're going to accept 11 PM reservations with a 15-minute grace period, don’t make guests feel awkward or unwelcome upon arrival. The moment we walked in, the receptionist was quite rude and informed us that the restaurant would be closing at midnight. She suggested we sit in the lounge, which stays open later, and we agreed to this arrangement. However, we were unexpectedly seated in the restaurant instead, only to be reminded multiple times by different waiters that it was closing soon. These constant reminders about the closing time made us feel rushed and uncomfortable. Rather than enjoying a relaxed meal, we felt pressured to finish quickly, as if the staff were eager to wrap things up. The lack of communication between staff members only made things worse, as we were told the same things repeatedly by different people, making the evening feel chaotic and unprofessional. To add to the discomfort, one of the male waiters (who appeared to be of Latin origin) kept asking where we were from, which felt inappropriate and intrusive. This, combined with the disorganization, left us feeling on edge throughout the meal. When we raised our concerns with one of the waiters, it seemed to fall on deaf ears. We were finally informed that our lounge table was ready, but this was after our food and drinks still hadn't arrived, further adding to the disorganized and frustrating experience. The last straw came when we asked to remove the service charge due to the poor experience. As we were leaving, the receptionist (Ellie) approached us with a strange attitude, saying that her colleague mentioned we wanted to talk to her. The conversation felt dismissive and unhelpful. When my cousin mentioned it was her birthday, Ellie oddly responded with, “It’s also my birthday today,” which felt completely inappropriate and only made the situation more uncomfortable. While the food was decent, the poor service and unwelcoming atmosphere completely overshadowed the evening. What should have been a special night ended in frustration and disappointment. Based on this experience, I can’t recommend The Banc, as their service clearly needs serious improvement.