No matter how you pronounce it ("bank" or the très-French-sounding "bonk"), Banq is easily one of the past year's most buzzed-about culinary additions to the South End. Helmed by Hemant Chowdhry and Mark Raab, who obsessed over the project for 18 months before opening the doors to the public, the architecturally stunning restaurant serves up French cuisine with an Asian flair. Chowdhry and Raab developed a relationship when the former, a partner in Mantra, kept crossing paths with the latter, a frequent patron of the über-trendy restaurant and lounge. Today, Raab handles the finances while Chowdhry assumes responsibility for the operational side of things. And the two show no signs of slowing down: weekend brunch debuts soon, and they're already scouting out another city for a similar concept.
[Photo by Tim Gray]
