The Banana Garden — Restaurant in London

It's a shame to say it was not a positive experience. I had passed this cafe many times and thought it always like a nice place to pop into. Maybe it was bad timing, but we were not really impressed. We went in after the post lunch rush, most people in there had finished their lunches, and one couple were waiting to be served their lunch, so we assumed ours would be served quite quickly. My wife ordered a Coronation chicken sandwich and I ordered a Coronation chicken panini. Seeing as there seemed to one member of staff taking orders and another 4 behind the counter, we assumed we would receive our food and drinks quite quickly, but we were wrong. What I thought would be a simple lunch to prepare took around half an hour. We got our drinks after 10 minutes and then our food another 20 minutes. Suffice to say my drink was pretty much gone by the time my lunch was with me. The food was nice, though not special enough to warrant that kind of wait. To add insult to injury, a group of 4 came in after us, and received their food within a reasonable time of being ordered. I'm really not one to complain, and only tend to leave positive posts, but this felt like it needed to be said. The staff were nice and...

The Banana Garden is a spacious eclectic cafe located on the borough's 1930s-built 'The Oval' parade of shops. The interior features bric a brac, ornaments and quirky furnishings. As a person with a larger than average rear end I can confirm that the metal chairs dug into my flesh and weren't at all comfortable. The tables are squashed in somewhat and the plastic tablecloth stuck to my legs!? The menu isn't the most comprehensive either and is very expensive compared to other cafes I've previously visited, but maybe there's a levy for the business being located in a Sidcup postcode?

The service was friendly and attentive. During my visit, there were a couple of noisy patrons who shouted down their phones rather loudly and somewhat disturbed the peace. I know this wasn't necessary the management's fault, but I do wish that they'd been asked to pipe...

Very nice cafe with an eclectic mix of ornaments and mirrors on the wall, a shop at the front selling cards and ornaments and a cosy garden at the back. It's very quaint. My rating is mostly down to two things, I didn't find the staff as friendly as others have said, in fact they didn't initiate conversation with me even when waiting to order at the desk, and some of the seating area and tables are very uncomfortable, especially if you're planning on setting down a laptop or tablet and grabbing a coffee...