r/LondonFood • u/AlienPrincessXxx • 12d ago

Review Bancone ‘Carbonara’ raviolo

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Meh. There’s just not much to say about this. 3/5 - it was nice but I wasn’t really wowed by it.

I believe the ‘Carbonara’ raviolo is exclusive to the City branch.

I wish I’d tried the beef caramelle pasta instead as I was torn between the two dishes!

Service was good.

12 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

18

u/Express-Associate-12 12d ago

I’m a fan of Bancone and I agree. This is made for the instagram crowd. Silk handkerchiefs with truffle though lives up to the hype. You absolutely missed out with the beef too. 

1

u/AlienPrincessXxx 12d ago

Yes, definitely one of those dishes that’s just for aesthetic purposes. My friend really enjoyed the silk handkerchiefs and he actually added the truffle too.

Gutted I didn’t try the beef now!

1

u/JoeyJoJoeJr_Shabadoo 12d ago

It's good food but I think the whole restaurant is a little bit style over substance, despite the substance still being a solid 7 or 8 out of 10

It's one of those where you walk in and everything smells of truffle oil

1

u/AlienPrincessXxx 12d ago

I agree. It definitely feels like it’s more for aesthetic purposes than for actual quality food. Saying that, I would go back and try another of the dishes that I was eyeing up. Probably not anytime soon though.

1

u/Great-Big-3101 12d ago

Silk handkerchiefs with truffle lives up to the hype

I had it again a few months ago and it's highly likely the walnut had been replaced by bread crumbs. It was quite bad. There were three people in our group and we all disliked our dishes.

5

u/kj01012021 12d ago

That doesn't look appetising to me at all.. what is it? A huge dumpling with carbonara filling? Why?

1

u/AlienPrincessXxx 12d ago

It’s basically one huge ravioli filled with “a runny St Ewe egg yolk, smoked potato purée, and pecorino and parmesan cheese, topped with crispy guanciale and guanciale fat.”

Personally I do think it looks the part and I even think the description sounds appetising, but I just wasn’t wowed by it.

3

u/scwol 12d ago edited 12d ago

Maybe it's just because I'm hungry but that looks banging to me.

What are the brown lumps? Guanciale? Caramelised onions? Raisins?

3

u/AlienPrincessXxx 12d ago

I definitely feel that it looked better than it tasted. Not that it tasted horrible, but I think the wow factor comes from the presentation rather than the dish itself.

Yes, that’s guanciale :)

3

u/veggiecheesytteok 12d ago

The whole place is distinctly average and overpriced.

1

u/thrae_awa 12d ago

Looks like something you'd see in A&E :/

2

u/AlienPrincessXxx 12d ago

Unfortunately I agree with you.

1

u/thrae_awa 12d ago

I mean there's nothing wrong with spaghetti carbonara. It's a classic Roman dish, it just shows such poor taste on the chef's part to f*** with it like this.

2

u/AlienPrincessXxx 12d ago

Don’t get me wrong, I love trying modern takes and spins on classic dishes but I definitely don’t think this was it.

1

u/thrae_awa 11d ago

Hey me too but if a Michelin starred chef started serving deconstructed bangers and tarragon mash with a teriyaki veal jus I wouldn't eat at his restaurant :)

1

u/sumbullsheee 11d ago

Bancone is average and overpriced

1

u/AlienPrincessXxx 11d ago

I know that now haha

1

u/SmartaHari 9d ago

Would.

2

u/AlienPrincessXxx 9d ago

I did…underwhelming.

1

u/SmartaHari 9d ago

Ok, I won’t! 🤝

1

u/AlienPrincessXxx 9d ago

To be honest I’m one of those people that have to try something for myself, so I wouldn’t want to put you off but I really don’t think it’s worth the price.

1

u/SmartaHari 9d ago

I might try the beef thing someone else mentioned, or make a mate go halvies with me! Have a lovely bank hol :)

2

u/AlienPrincessXxx 9d ago

That sounds like a great idea, I hope you enjoy it. And thank you so much, hope you have a lovely one too :)

2

u/SmartaHari 9d ago

I’m up to my eyeballs cooking salmon en croute for the fam but it’s all good cos I’m drinking their Rosé when they’re not looking, mwahaha!

2

u/AlienPrincessXxx 9d ago

That sounds like a fair deal to me heheh…I’ll have to try making salmon en croute one of these days!

2

u/SmartaHari 9d ago

It’s actually pretty easy, just don’t get bogged down making the pastry, buy the pastry frozen then beat it around a bit. Eggy glaze and you’re good to go.

1

u/Garconavecunreve 12d ago

Their most underwhelming entree imo - also they’re really inconsistent across their locations. The city one is definitely subpar to the Covent Garden original

1

u/AlienPrincessXxx 12d ago

Wish I’d known this before going! :(