Banana Tree Oxford Review: Great Service, But the Food Missed This Time

We were invited to Banana Tree Oxford, but as always, our views are our own.

This was our first visit to Banana Tree Oxford, and while there was plenty to like, it didn't quite hit the spot overall.

Where is Banana Tree Oxford?

Located on George Street, Banana Tree Oxford serves up pan-Asian street food covering Vietnamese, Malaysian and Thai cuisine. It's the kind of spot that works for pretty much any occasion whether it's a pre-cinema dinner, a catch-up with friends, or a night out kicked off with their all-day 2-for-1 cocktails. The menu is refreshingly diverse too, with a genuinely strong range of vegan options running right through the starters, mains and sides, so it's an easy pick for mixed groups.

Worth flagging if you're local: every Wednesday from 4pm is Noodle Wednesday for Big Flavour Club members, with any dish from the Wok Tossed Noodles menu at a discount, and the option to upgrade to soba or pad thai favourites for a little extra. A solid excuse for a midweek visit.

What we ate

Sweetcorn fritters

Our favourite dish of the meal, hands down. Crisp and golden on the outside, sweet and soft in the middle, with just enough seasoning coming through to make each bite moreish. They arrived hot, didn't feel greasy, and disappeared from the table faster than anything else we ordered. A properly well-executed starter and one we'd order again without hesitation and recommend to anyone visiting.

Satay chicken

A reliably good starter and one of the more consistent dishes on the table. The chicken itself was tender rather than overdone, and the satay sauce was rich, nutty and well-balanced without tipping into overly sweet, which is where a lot of satay dishes go wrong. Nothing groundbreaking, but a dependable, well-made version of a classic. We'd happily order it again.

Duck teriyaki soba noodles

A nice dish overall, and one we'd get again, but it needed more flavour. The duck itself was cooked well and the soba noodles had a good bite to them, the teriyaki sauce on the side was a nice touch as the noodle flavour felt unbalanced. There's a genuinely good dish in here; it just needs the seasoning turned up a notch.

Chicken pad thai

This one didn't land. We weren't expecting a show-stopping pad thai, but this was bland and needed considerably more flavour; the tamarind tang and depth you'd hope for just wasn't there. That said, we visited on Noodle Wednesday, so for £9.95 with our Big Flavour Club pass, we really can't argue with the value. It's not a dish we'd rave about, but at that price, we can't complain.

Banana Fudge Cake

Recommended by the menu, so expectations were high going in. The flavours were genuinely nice - sweet, banana-forward, with that fudgy caramel note you'd want from a dessert with this name but the texture let it down, coming across as dense and a little claggy rather than soft and indulgent. A case of good idea, execution not quite there. Not a dessert we'd return to.

Miso caramel fondant

The redemption of the dessert round. A warm, gooey centre, a savoury edge from the miso that cut nicely through the sweetness of the caramel, and a texture that delivered exactly what the fudge cake was missing. Easily the better of the two desserts and one we'd order again.

The service

This is where Banana Tree Oxford didn't disappoint. Service was lovely throughout; warm, friendly and unhurried, without ever feeling like we were being rushed through the meal. Our hosts were attentive from start to finish, checking in at the right moments without hovering, and clearly happy to talk us through the menu when we had questions. Whatever the kitchen's off day, the front-of-house team more than made up for it. No complaints here at all.

The verdict

On this first visit, the food was underseasoned at times, leaving several dishes falling flat. The sweetcorn fritters, satay chicken, and miso caramel fondant are all worth going back for. The banana fudge cake, less so and the pad thai we would only get on the Noodle Wednesday pricing.

Would we go back? Yes - the service alone makes a strong case, and we'd like to see if the kitchen hits its stride on another visit. We'd be keen to try the bottomless brunch or bottomless bowls next time, too.

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