What do you get if you cross an enthusiastic American with lots of avocados and a member of Blur? Well, this article for Scout London, since you ask...
Fast food is fast food, right? Well, we’re not so sure. Whilst some establishments enter the race pumped up on steroids in the form of artificial additives, MSG and the cheapest of cheap ingredients, others focus on natural nutrition and plenty of prep to get the desired results.
We couldn’t possibly comment on most of the establishments out there, as their techniques are shrouded in behind-the-scenes secrecy. Though from the looks of this recent ‘insightful’ article, it seems The Sun’s hard-hitting food correspondent Alex James was convinced by a few factory tours that a Greggs’ sausage roll and a piece of deep-fried chicken “in a nice box” can be almost as good as coffee and TV.
Expectations
Run by Kiwi Peter Gordon, the undisputed king of fusion food and chef beloved of other chefs, The Providores is renowned for its interesting flavour pairings and uninhibited approach to cooking. It sits atop the more casual Tapa Rooms, but we’re expecting it to take a fun rather than formal approach to fine dining that’s more New Zealand than Old Marylebone.
Experience
There’s less of a distinction between upstairs and down than we’d have guessed. Plain, simple, light and modern are suitable buzzwords for the decor throughout, which acts as a blank canvas for the creativity of the menu. The sheer length of dish names is appetite whetting and we feel genuinely excited as we wait for oursweetcorn and courgette bhaji with grilled Halloumi, tomato yuzu jam, sumac yoghurt, pickled carrot, and a curry leaf salad (£10.60) to arrive. What turns up is a feast of components which, though all present, correct and quite delicious on their own, merge together to form a genuinely coherent (if very generously sized) dish.
