The Bank By Kahills

A nice surprise in a small town that seems to have very few restaurants that are not chains. We dined here on the way back from vacation. We took our 2 year old with us and there were plenty of options for everyone. Everything was great we had the bang shrimp, macaroni, chicken salad and the prime rib. If given the opportunity to make Emporia a stopping point, we would return!

We have been here twice. Once in the way down to myrtle beach and in the way back. Staff is friendly and the food was wonderful both ways. Would recommend to anybody. The guys loved the diversity of beers. Would definitely come again on our way through!

The restaurant is a cool location and worth visiting. The food was very good and the staff was nice. Their burgers are good, handmade every day and their steamed shrimp had excellent seasoning.

During travels for work, I like to check help to decide where to eat. My search led me here. All I can say is wow! Exceeded my expectations! The turkey wrap is like none I’ve ever had!!! Thick cuts of real meat! So DELISh!!!

Just had dinner here after looking at the Unilocal reviews and so glad we did. We were just stopping through on our way back home and it was the highlight of our stay. The owner is super nice and checked back a few times to make sure we were happy.
The bang shrimp appetizer was awesome, burgers juicy, and brisket was amazing!!! Desserts sounded great but we were too full. Next year, we’re leaving room for dessert!!!
Go visit — super cool building, friendly staff and amazing food. You won’t be sorry. This pace is a keeper!!!

The Bank is the place to go in Emporia. Close to I95 but not amongst the standard chain restaurants that offer average fare at best. Our pleasant server, Meagan, suggested the blackened grouper served over seasoned rice with fresh mixed vegetables. It was superb. We had the milky way cake for dessert. Locally made, it was delicious.

This is probably the best restaurant within 50-​miles! I had the Tuna special tonight (rare) and it was fresh Ahi, cooked to perfection. The portions were just enough to fill up but not burst (I had room for the fantastic Milky Way chocolate cake), the vegetables were fresh and seasoned deliciously, and the staff was friendly and attentive. The owner hung out at the bar with the customers when he wasn’t busy with work. Nice fellow who started a 5* place in a small town off of I-​95.
Well worth the five minute trip off the interstate.

We stopped on our way home from a trip to Florida and were very happy with the food and service. My husband had the rib eye steak which was great and perfectly medium rare. The rolls were hot and great. We all agreed we would stop here again if we have the opportunity. Very easy to get to right off 95.

Not impressed at all. While the architecture of the building is fantastic, the implementation of the restaurant is poor. Waitstaff sitting at the bar with the customers, guests on speakerphone without intervention by the staff, photos from grandma’s album on the wall in lieu of art.
Our experience can be summed up in one word: disappointing. 15 minutes to get the first drink because the waitress forgot; artichoke dip with only a few pita points because the plate got dropped, and the promise to get more was never realized — I don’t expect to eat artichoke dip with a fork for $ 8. No salt/​pepper until we asked for it, and the steak salad was ½ made of fat chunks. I had to be pointed about getting a refill on my drink, and there was only ever one. No dessert or coffee was ever offered, and our meal was $ 47 for an app, a burger and a salad.
All in all, I think it has wonderful potential, as much as I’m sure that it will never realize it. Don’t expect a clientele that will pay $ 35 for a filet when you can’t get an $ 8 appetizer right.
Bottom line: your money is better spent somewhere else.

Bravo Emporia! There are so many chain restaurants in this town. It’s nice to have quality local fare! The food was plentiful and delicious! The staff was friendly and attentive! The place needs a few cosmetic upgrades but other than that I was pleased. I’ll be back.

5 star for this location/​area. Contemporary menu with good quality and friendly staff, attentive to patrons.

Outstanding dinner and environment. The menu was well rounded and the staff were very polite and accommodating. Megan even gave us a small tour and told us the history behind the Old Bank!

In town from Chicago and stopped in for a night cap. Definitely the best place in the area. Shared lots of laughs with the staff and patrons. Can’t wait to go back for dinner… menu looks great!

Passing through on our way from Baltimore to Charleston, we found this cute little place to eat dinner. We saw other Unilocalers enjoyed it so we decided to check it out.
We walked in and we were greeted by the owner and a friendly bartender, Jessica, who invited us to sit at the bar. The atmosphere is very sophisticated but with a casual feel. It is a renovated bank in the heart of downtown Emporia.
We tried some local wines and beers which we loved. The Bang Bang Shrimp was to die for and the homemade rolls and butter were fantastic. My husband had the MecklenBurger and I had the ahi tuna steak salad. Both were delicious, but nothing can top the Milky Way chocolate cake we had for dessert!
Overall we had an excellent experience! The staff was very friendly and we will definitely be returning as soon as we can!

Maybe it’s great for Emporia, but not so much great on the tastebuds.
The key lime pie tasted like cardboard with a hint of frostbite. The tomatoes on my salad were inexcusably mealy and the bang bang shrimp was good (and the best part of the whole experience) but still under par with what it’s supposed to look and taste like by definition.
A lot of history and beauty in the building. Hope one day it serves food with tastebud quality to match.

Traveling from Baltimore, there isn’t much in this area besides the normal I-​95 garbage food. We were so happy to find this place, it’s a little over a mile off I-​95.
They have a very friendly staff, the food was very good. I recommend the scallop spinach salad, also ask for sweet chili sauce if you get a seafood entrée. We had Grouper and it was a great combo.
Good beer selection too, a number of VA & NC brews.

We arranged to meet a friend here while we were traveling in the area with our two young children. It was quite a drive (1.5 hours for both parties meeting, this was the midpoint), and though we knew the company was what we were coming for, the meal was well worth the drive.
My husband and I had the fried scallop salad, which came with a great, balanced bacon vinaigrette dressing (warm!), and a rack of baby back ribs. Both were fantastic. My father had one of the specials, wasabi glazed salmon with mixed vegetables. Also excellent.
The downgrade to only four stars is due to the a la carte options, which we ordered from for our kids. «Homemade» mac and cheese was boxed Kraft from the looks of it, and the broccoli they got was so overcooked that even ketchup couldn’t save it (and our kids love broccoli). Fortunately, we were served enough complimentary warm rolls and melted garlic butter that the kids didn’t come away hungry, which would have made the 1.5 hour return trip unbearable.
Hats off to the staff who carried on despite a minor but dramatic car accident immediately in front of the restaurant that happened a minute before we arrived.

Great eclectic Resturant renovated from the old downtown bank. The wine and beer cellar is the old vault. But by all means come for the food. Tonight we had the specials, prime rib for her and smoked brisket for me. Excellent. I had known about the place for awhile but timing never put me near here for dinner. Finally, and well worth it. Now to get back again, Soon! Tom, thanks for the hospitality. Great place!

Great service, prime rib tender grouper excellent average price. Good atmosphere will stop again when in area.

Simply put, the service was unacceptably slow. To start, my wife called and made reservations for Saturday night. Due to the obvious inexperienced tone of the person on the phone, she called back the following day to confirm. They had listed the reservation for the following weekend instead, so my wife had them correct it.
We had a party of ten at 7:00 pm and arrived at 6:55. The hostess acted as if we had no reservation, and quickly left to get help. After 10 minutes and little interaction from the staff, we called another member of our party and learned that they had already been seated. Not sure how the hostess missed that, so we seated ourselves around 7:15.
The waitress finally took our drink orders 10 minutes afterwards along with a couple of appetizers. Three members of the party ordered coffee — took at least 20 minutes for it to come out and it was lukewarm by that time. The food order was taken around 7:30. We waited and waited and waited. After several attempts to find someone — our waitress was far from attentive — we were told there was some problem with the kitchen. Glad we had to go find out about it instead of being proactively informed by the staff. The food finally came out after 8:45. I ordered the fillet and it was obvious it had been plated for quite some time because it was cold along with the potatoes. Some dishes were fine but others were not — and certainly not worth the pathetic wait time and poor service.
Stay away — nobody who was obviously a manager or owner came by to apologize. Own up to an off night — that’s better than effectively avoiding it. Maybe they got off to a good start based on the reviews, but if our visit on ²⁄₂₁ was an indication, they will not last another three months, nor should they.