The overwhelming scent of incents makes it kind of hard to have a walk around the plastic flowers and tacky stationary inside this shop, but if you take a deep breath before you walk in, it will only take you a minute or two to brows through the selection. As Jo has mentioned, they always drop the price off some special items. Lamps one day, coffee-mugs the other, you never really know what good bargain you can make. Still, most of the stuff here is cheap-ish looking and not really worth any investment. And the special offers wouldn’t be the nicest items in store. But for 50 cent, I don’t care if my mug has a tacky sunflower on it as long as it keeps my coffee warm. They deserve three stars for that.
Ciara K.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Banana Tree always has a half price sale advertised in the window. I pop in here for a look almost every time I walk past. God knows why I bother, I have never, ever bought anything in here. There’s an eclectic selection of rather horrible rugs upstairs, and some framed prints of flowers and country scenes on the walls. The frames are actually quite reasonably priced, but you’d have to replace the pictures inside. Downstairs there are lamps of all shapes and sizes, some furniture and bedding, cushions, candles, pot pourri, fake flowers, glitzy jewellery, ladies handbags and scarves, and other gifty bits and bobs. They had some nice giant mosaic bowls in here hte last time I was in, but they were a little on the pricey side, and apart from those, there was little else to detain me.
Maire B.
Rating des Ortes: 2 Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Banana Tree is the kind of shop you think might have things you might want but then you go in and experience immediate apathy… or at least I do. I know I have bought some things here over the years but mostly I have an overwhelming sense of can’t be bothered when I go in… how many indian inspired bits of tat do I really need for my flat? They do have some handy gift items, but I think they are overpriced. I find myself amazed that they’ve hung on in there for all this time, but I guess the reductions throughout the shop show that people have less money to spend on things they don’t need. There are pretty little oddments here and there, but this time nothing took my fancy… actually nothing even motivated me to check out the price. Could do better!
Jo M.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Sydney, Australia
Banana Tree stocks a somewhat eclectic range of homewares, furniture, home improvement options and ladies’ handbags! There is always something interesting to look at in-store, and it seems they always have a sale on some bizarre item or other. The other day it was on tiny lamps(must have ordered an entire ship load!) Good place to shop if you need a little extra something for your gaff but you’re not entirely sure what it is yet… their prices aren’t too bad either. While some items are a little on the expensive side, others are quite reasonable and even cheap when compared to other homeware stockists like Dunnes, for example.