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You are here: Home / Life / Food & Drink / Powys’ highest rated place to eat is, believe it or not, a former bank

Powys’ highest rated place to eat is, believe it or not, a former bank

January 13, 2022 Category: Food & Drink, Reviews Region: Mid Wales
Steak sandwich at The Banc, Powys
Steak sandwich at The Banc

Pitching up famished in an unfamiliar place having done no prior research or planning and trusting Tripadvisor is fraught with peril. And yet here we are, on a day trip to the Marches, putting ourselves in the hands of a site that briefly ranked a fictional eaterie in a shed as the top restaurant in London. Boasting 111 five-star reviews out of 122, the Banc may be rated as the best place to eat in Powys, but it’s with a degree of trepidation that we take our seats.

RELATED: ‘Beat the January – and Omnicron – blues in Wales with these one-of-a-kind places to eat at, engage with or explore in safety.’
The vault door from when The Banc was the bank
The vault door from when The Banc was the bank

We needn’t have worried. My steak sandwich is stuffed with sizeable, tender chunks rather than a thin apology of meat, while caramelised onions and horseradish vie for supremacy in the flavour stakes. Equally tasty is a pair of ham croquettes – dense, flat discs of shredded meat in crispy crumb with no extraneous potato padding, served in a pool of apple puree and surrounded by dollops of piccalilli. Upgrading from skin-on fries to hand-cut chips may cost an additional £1.75, but one bite and je ne regrette rien. Meanwhile, our eight-year-old gourmand-in-training interrupts his scoffing to declare his toasted bacon sandwich “absolutely beautiful”.

Table service, courtesy of the sole member of front-of-house staff, is attentive and friendly at the Banc, despite what is an unusually busy lunchtime for a dreary early January day. Formerly the town’s Midland Bank, the building still has its steel-doored vault, now converted into a characterful private dining room whose walls are adorned with photos of notorious robbers. Be warned, though: fail to tip well and you might find yourself enjoying a different kind of lockdown. 

5 Broad Street, Knighton, Powys. Info: 01547 520009 / www.thebancknighton.com

words and photos BEN WOOLHEAD

KEEP READING: ‘With or without a canine friend, hidden Cardiff sandwich specialist Scruffy Pups is well worth going out of your way for.’

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About Ben Woolhead

Writer, editor, pedant. Regular Buzz contributor on music, books, film, photography, food and more. Occasional writer for the BBC, Wales Arts Review and a host of websites and fanzines.
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