Café des Banques

A fine dining restaurant with very sleek décor and professional service. I enjoyed my dishes (tuna tartare and apple tart) which were tasty but wasn’t particularly impressed or blown away by them. The waiter was very attentive and the ambience is sophisticated yet not snooty. After your meal they put these huge jars of candy on your table which I find an interesting yet odd touch I would definitely like to come try some of the other dishes they have one day.

Ok now that’s a real five stars and here goes the story. I went there twice, first time since it had great reviews and I was on my own on a business trip to Geneva. It feels kind of weird when eat in a restaurant on your own for the first time by the way… And secondly, the next day with my manager.
I arrived here in the evening and I was the first here (it was about 19h45 if I’m not mistaken). The waiter asked me if I was looking for something to which I answered «Well, this restaurant». Despite the fact that I felt completely out of place due to my casual attire instead of the «Formal» that would be expected in such place, I was most welcome. They told me that it would be preferable to sit outside because a group of 20 people or so was coming. No problem, of course.
I took a random table close to the wall and I was given a small pesto ramekin along with bread. Then I ordered a «Sea bass and lime tartare, Mediterranean pisté of courgettes» (32, — CHF) along with a glass of wine (9, — CHF). In order for me to wait they gave another appetizer which, if I’m not mistaken was a courgette cream with fromage blanc (same size as the pesto). The wine was a red wine from Geneva (Pinot Noir), pretty good.
Then the group of people arrived and they took an adjacent table first (that wasn’t planned like that it seems). So the waiter asked me to move, I gladly obliged but they told me not to move my dishes myself (bad student habits, you know…). So I moved to another table very close and I quite felt out of place as in the group of people everyone was well dressed… Well, but anyway, I had no negative comment from them just a «Bön appétit» and a strange look at the candies (spoiler, see below).
Then the main course arrived, bass tartare, along with a fresh salad. That might not be that much, but to me that’s more than enough. Both the salad and the tartare were excellent. They asked me if I wanted another glass of wine after I emptied the first one, but I declined (well, I’m not an alcoholic, or I’d like to think I’m not at least). However they gave me another one for free because I was requested to move.
I moved on to the «coffee» question as I finished my main course, I don’t drink coffee so I took a black tea instead. Then they brought a shitload of candies (see picture), one waiter which talked to me for some time since I was alone made about candies luring young ladies (I must say there was a very good looking one amongst the people). Regardless, they also offered me a limoncello. The table felt slightly awkward with tea, candies, wine and limoncello, but, what can I say? It’s free.
As I said, the situation was maybe because I was alone, there was this group of people, I talked to the server and all, that’s why I got all this stuff (not the candies, that’s standard). I finally asked for the bill, and it was only 42, — CHF… I left 8 CHF as tip (the least I could do).
As a side note, a vagrant come by and was gently asked to go somewhere else (I didn’t exactly looked at the event, but, that’s better than other restaurant I’ve seen so far).
I returned the next day with my manager. This time adequately dressed and I got the classic observation «Ah, now that’s better»… Right, this time I took the dish of the day (24, — CHF) which was a Greek salad with prawn. Simply amazing to me. I tried their white wine as well though I forgot which one (I believe I tried something local too). Really nice as well. This time I tried a dessert «Speculoos mousse» for 9, — CHF. Pretty tasty but heavy however. I noticed that people taking coffee had jars of candies as I had had the evening before. Can’t tell about the price of the bill this time, my manager paid it.
Beside that the decoration is classy and the terrace, despite located close to the road, is really nice too. I tried both, the terrace in the evening and the interior during midday since the weather wasn’t really clement. The location is also very convenient since it’s close to a lot of bank, however not close to the rise or lake, unfortunately…
The bottom line? Top-​notch for business or small events IMHO. Go for it.

J’ai adoré ! Je me suis régalée avec le Croustillant de bar en tempura, flan de brocolis et légumes du moment. Hummm miam miam ! rien que d’y penser :-). Le service soigné et souriant.

Un très bon restaurant mais un peu chère pour une assiette de légumes. J’aime bien situatuin au centre de Genève.

très bon restaurant.
Carte variée.
Le service est à la hauteur de l’endroit.
En plus de votre dessert vous aurez droit à de grands pots remplis de bonbons!

We were recommended Café des Banques by a colleague who really knows the Geneva restaurant scene — and it did not disappoint. The décor is superb and its clear that they are out to impress — there’s a glass panel in the restaurant wall for example to see into the kitchen. I started with the special — raw steak with a red onion marmalade which was decorative but tasted superb. Just before my bouche had been amused by an asparagus jelly confection which was as tasty and it was unusual. For my main course I had scallops with risotto — the only thing I could criticise as the rice had an ambrosia air to it although the scallops were perfection. They have an excellent wine list and the service is good too — just the risotto stopped it being the perfect meal out.