Please note, chef Anna Hansen is no longer at The Modern Pantry. Time Out Food editors, June 2019.
As co-founder of The Providores, chef Anna Hansen has form in creating enticing fusion dishes that make the most of unusual ingredients sourced from around the globe – we guarantee even the most devoted foodie will be bamboozled by a couple of items on the menu. Asian and antipodean flavours (tomatillo, yuzu, tamarind) pop up frequently, alongside plenty of seasonal British fare (wild garlic, purple sprouting broccoli); the combinations can seem bewildering on the page, but rarely falter in execution. Perfectly cooked, flaky, pearlescent cod was offset beautifully by parsnip purée and braised fennel delicately perfumed with camomile. The signature dish of sugar-cured prawn omelette with chilli, coriander and spring onion is still a winner; and blackcurrant and liquorice sorbet was a revelation in intense flavour matching. The stylish ground-floor café is quite feminine in feel with its soothing white and grey paintwork, white furniture and burnished copper light fittings – it seems to attract plenty of female diners too. The flexible table layout caters equally well for couples as groups, and intimate conversation is still possible even when the place is bubbling over. White-aproned staff are among the nicest we’ve encountered in London: both deeply professional and utterly charming. There’s a small bar area too and a more formal restaurant upstairs.