BANK Cafe and Bar

I was there on Monday evening to experience the regional «3 course menu». The meal included a chilled white asparagus soup, duck confit leg and thigh and apricot crème brulee. The service was good and most of the food. Our server was attentive without being overbearing. The chilled white asparagus soup was refreshing but heavy on the cream. The duck was good but the skin was not crisped! It’s essential for duck. Especially for a Ken Frank restaurant.
Loved the dessert :-)

I am a local Napa Valley resident, work in the wine industry and write about wine and food pairings. My wife and I visited Bank Café after a movie in the close by Century Theaters. Our first visit to the restaurants, it just came up on a search in open table so we decided to try. Great service, delicious food but unpleasant surprise when the bill came out. Our server was surprised that we were locals, now I know why. Locals do not like an 18% service charge line item plus sales tax on that for two people, for 6 or more this is common practice. If you want to do that please disclose that clearly in your website and on the restaurant menu. And please remove the tip line from your POS. There is many great restaurants near by in downtown Napa that do not deceive their guests with this practice. I do appreciate Chef Frank culinary creations, tried them in many wine and food events, including Flavor Napa Valley, The Napa Truffle Festival and a couple of wine pairings events at La Toque Restaurant. I did have the pleasure of meeting Chef Frank in these events. I am sorry Chef Frank but I will not be back at Bank Café or La Toque if you continue with this practice. Just CLEARLY DISCLOSE this on the menu so guests have the choice to leave.

We are staying at the Westin and thought this would be typical hotel food. But that was not the case. We started with the lobster buttered popcorn and it was very yummy and so unique. I had the tomato and mozzarella salad on a recommendation by our server. And it was divine. I wanted something light and refreshing and that is exactly what it was. Our server was extremely pleasant and enjoyable.

Hotel bar. Extremely snooty staff. Sterile environment. Nice layout in a pretty building. Bar, indoor, outdoor and lobby seating. Extensive wine list (you can get the wine list from La Toque if you ask). Decent menu selection. The steak tartare was good. Cocktails are tiny for the price. I just can’t get past the attitude of the entire staff.

If I could rate 0 stars I would. The fact the hotel bar closes at 11pm, even with a full bar is ridiculous. We were notified that the bar manager had the discretion to keep it open but still refused to serve approximately 40+ people at closing time. We offered to purchase a few bottles with their absurd markup and they still declined. The hotel also refused to sell any alcohol through room service after 11:00pm; in Napa Valley of all places! Additionally, room service had a very limited food menu, i.e., nothing after 11:00pm. Also, the rooms do not have a mini bar – no snacks or beverages.
We were there with a group/​conference of over 100 people and had many events at the hotel. I cannot believe they would not accommodate the group after all the money we spent there. Additionally, certain accommodations such as complimentary coffee in the lobby was not provided. They charge $ 3 dollars for a small coffee and $ 4 for just a soda! And the room rate was $ 700 a night! The least they could do is provide coffee!
Just down the road at the Embassy Suites, you get a FREE full cooked to order breakfast along with a complimentary happy hour everyday. And for a third (¹⁄₃!) of the price. Plus the standard room at the Embassy Suites has a full living room plus a separate bedroom. The staff is so friendly and accommodating.
We will NEVER recommend or refer the Westin Verasa to any friends, associates or family. Save your money and go elsewhere.

Server had attitude. Food was good and cooked well. I got a burger with bacon and side salad with ranch. Salad came pre dressed with balsamic.

Very good food… delicious. you get what you pay for your food… its expensive but good quality!!!
very clean dinning room. Very friendly server and very good service.

My food was absolutely delicious and the cocktails are also really good. They close rather early but it’s worth it.

*****Arrival*****
We were coming up to napa for Bottlerock on Sunday and wanted to grab brunch beforehand. It also happened to be our friend’s birthday, so we were a group of 7. We looked this place up the night before, and we though we booked on open table (turns out we never actually booked it).
When we arrived the hostess was amazing. Really one of the best customer services I have seen. Not only was she able to sit us, she also was kind enough to say we can book with open table if we want the points. Our group arrived separately with second half of the group being 35 minutes late. They never rushed us at all and were super accommodating.
1^st car got free valet parking (despite festival day), second car was less lucky and the senior vallet guy was pretty nasty to us. All got resolved when we spoke to junior vallet
*****The Setting******
As some of the reviews state, it is pretty open to the lobby, but it also opens onto the terrace, so it felt light and airy and very pleasant. Lobby was not busy and we didn’t feel disturbed at all
*****The Food and Drink*****
Again, super accommodating to having us to our own at the table mimosas with fresh grapefruit juice
Most of us wanted to have the chicken and waffle. Waffle machine was broken, so we had chicken and buckwheat pancakes, which were super tasty (wish there was a tiny bit more chicken).
Overall:
Really nice brunch place in napa in my view. Easy to book for a large group, which is an advantage. I wish I had taken down the name of the hostess, so I could call her out and thank her. Really made our experience special and festive and made us feel well cared for

We almost went out for breakfast, but decided to dine in the hotel instead for time reasons. What a great choice! They offer lots of delicious, high-​end, nutritious meals that will it disappoint. It was a little bit costly but that’s the nature of Napa. We came early and were seated immediately by the window which was lovely in the morning. Overall I recommend stopping down here for breakfast if you’re staying in the hotel or in the area.

Terrible service and food was mediocre. They were understaffed and servers would completely ignore you if you’re standing around. The breakfast sandwich was terrible — no idea what kind of sausage is hard and dry. Our server’s friendliness was very forced, maybe because it was understaffed. Very disappointing breakfast here.

Bank sucks.
Sucky staff, sucky food, just sucky.
If you’re a guest at the Westin, whatever but I’d recommend not going out of your way to eat, drink or hang here…

When you look at the photo on Open Table the restaurant looks more substantial. In essence it is a bistro and bar right off of the noisy Westin lobby much like a «restaurant» in the terminal of a busy airport.
Nonetheless we tried it for Valentine’s Day and were disappointed. First we were seated at a corner table such that my 6′ 3″ frame had to contend with the table post and my wife’s legs. Maybe the hostess thought that would be more romantic but being cramped is not romantic and other tables were available. Like a lot of restaurants now the terminology on the menu leads you to think you will get some fantastic presentation but my wife’s crispy kale salad was fried and the oiliness took away from what she thought would be a healthy salad. My beet salad was good, but could use more seasoning. Of course salt and pepper are not provided so we had to ask.
Both main courses were problematic. My wife’s salmon BLT was undercooked to the point of almost being sashimi. I ordered the duck burger w/​foie gras and fries. The fries were delicious and well seasoned but the whole grain mustard condiment on the burger just didn’t seem to fit the flavor profile of the burger well and there was sufficient juice to make the bottom bun soggy.
The big surprise came about 2AM after the dinner. I ended up with food poisoning so hence I am writing this review. I do post positive reviews and do not generally go out of my way to give a negative review but there were so many issues at Bank that I could not restrain my impulse.
To add insult to injury Bank charges 18% gratuity on ALL tabs. I am usually a 20% tip provider but was appalled that I could not voice my disappointment in the tip column. The Bank host did not have a good explanation as to why the 18% was added onto all tabs. We will not go back.

No no no. Unfortunately they don’t live up to their pretentiousness. The food is bland and the staff is disconnected. Not only that but they charged us over $ 100 for three bowls of soup that tasted like water. They put the wrong drinks on the bill and include tips in the bill. No wonder the service is awful. The tip is included. They don’t have to try for it. Absolutely a disgrace to the hotel industry.

the best parts of our meal were the well-​priced wine list, the delicious cocktails (not the ones with gross 209 gin), and the best scallops I have ever speared with a fork. the steak tartar is overdressed for my taste (I like it minimal), and the pork belly is a little sparse in the buns. the setting is a little odd since it’s literally in an alcove off of the hotel lobby, with hotel patrons wandering around in their pajamas, but they’ve decorated the space intimately enough. our server was delightful and attentive without being overbearing.

Not sure why previous reviews are giving such low marks.
Here’s why I liked it:
–Organic, local, non antibiotic food sourcing
–they actually made me a custom dish off the menu after asking for it — a vegetable scramble with avocados on top, and fruit instead of potatoes, plus whole wheat toast. It came out perfectly, eggs perfect, not runny at all, vegetables fresh and not crisp, not over cooked
–The service is awesome. The woman came by 5 times to check on us. Even gave us custom drink requests like hot water, lemon and honey. She did it every time smiling and was very responsive
–I actually think 15% gratuity already added on was great. It says very clearly on the top of the menu that it is added, and on the bill, they highlighted that line item in a different color. They deserve more than 15% in my opinion, they did a great job.
–Shares the same chef at La Toque — that’s a good thing!

This place was recommended by a couple of locals I met during the day. The locals also mentioned that Bank Café and Bar shares the same kitchen/​chefs as the upscale La Toque, but half the price. After contemplation, why not check it out?!
My friends and I arrived around 8:30pm on a Friday night, it wasn’t crowded at all. We were greeted and seated promptly. We ordered ahi tuna, salmon and soba noodles, and pork chop cutlet type dish. They all came nicely presented and tasted fabulous!
The ahi tuna was really fresh and literally melts in your mouth. The salmon and soba noodles were light in seasoning so I could really taste the flavors. The porkchop was tasty as well.
We mentioned who referred us and they threw in a complimentary appetizer, shrimp something, which was a nice gesture.
The staff wasn’t pushy, came to check on us from time to time. The ambiance was great, I’d totally come back here again. Plenty of parking, restaurant location is easy in and easy out, on the left side when you walk into the hotel lobby.

If you come here at the right time, you get the place to yourself. Had a few glasses of wine and a couple of snacks, while waiting to go to dinner. Nice bar area, and an outside patio. Great way to lounge pre or post dinner.

****************************** REVIEW 852 *******************************
Bank Café And Bar is located inside the Westin Hotel in Napa. We stayed for spring break so we ate here twice. It’s a casual bar and restaurant. The wine list as expected, pack with Napa local wines. They also offer a nice list of Scoth, Cognac, Nourbon, and Tequila that you don’t find around here — a 1965 Single Grain Scotch, a 1965 Darroze Armagnac, Hennessy Richard Cognac, J. M Rhums, Pappy Van Winkle 23 year old Bourbon and Chinaco Negro Tequila.
Seating is available both in the lobby Bar and outdoors on the patio facing the nature preserve and the Napa River, and the pool. The menu for lunch was reasonable, however surprisingly they automatically added the 15% tips to the check. I thought that was odd for this finer property.
We came in around noon on a week day, and no one was greeting us. We sat ourselves down, and later someone came by. With only 1 more table near us, at lunch time, the food took quite a while to get out.
Our server was very nice and tried his best to make u have a good time. After he saw us sat ourselves down.
— Steak salad, generous portion, good.
— Clams with bacon, beans, herbs, and broth, it was hearty good but a bit salty for my taste.
— Crab, shrimp, tobiko daikon salad was nice, refreshing, but was also overly salted for my friend. I wish it was lighter, it would be a perfect dish.

On the previous day, at the bar, was busy during the happy hour, we also waited a while before we got our service at the bar. So there’s definitely room for improvement on the service here. Note that we were here the day after Easter Sunday.

Review only on the chocolate dessert:
They have awesome awesome chocolate dessert here. I say yes, give it a go!