Banc Cafe

431 Third Avenue
(between 30th and 31st Streets)
New York, NY 10016
www.banccafe.com

Came for a weekday lunch with one of my mommy friends on a lovely, spring afternoon at the Banc Cafe, which was formerly a 1920s bank. It was dark, spacious, with comfortable banquettes (lots of words associated with "bank" in this restaurant!). Overall, nice attempt for a Parisian-style atmosphere.

Service
Was extremely accommodating. My friend is pretty particular about her food and asked many questions regarding ingredients and substitutions. Our server remained good-humored throughout our stay and made quite a few trips to the cooks to check and query on our behalf.

Food
Every meal came with a complimentary bowl of soup! Choices were either chicken vegetable or french onion. I had the french onion--super good with just enough melted cheese. And the bowl was just the right size--not too big or too small. It was also not too hot, or too cold--we were able to dig into our soups right away. Goldilocks would have been right at home here!

Grilled tuna wrap: tuna cooked to your preference with guacamole, tomato salsa, watercress, caper mayo in a tomato tortilla. And it also came with a generous side of steak fries. The wrap had a zesty "zing" to it probably due to the salsa, and the fries were cooked to perfection. They had just the right amount of crispiness while remaining not too crunchy.




Not bad for $11!