on the ground floor of the providores tapa room there are two semi-skinny high tables running the length of the space. there is the noise and clutter of conversation. the sun is shining in brightly and women sitting in the window are brunching over the sunday paper. o and i have a short wait outside the door before a cheery waitress comes and seats us. there isn’t much room for maneuver and the waitress skirts around the tables rather skillfully, all the while balancing crockery and cutlery. i have read much about the changa eggs – a turkish inspired offering. o settles on these and me on a tortilla that combines a number of my favorite ingredients. a teapot of earl grey presents itself soon after our order – i have come to love the serving of tea, a white tea cup holding a tiny jug of milk in its rotund base with a spoon aside. o is a smoothie lover and orders a tamarillo and kiwi fruit one. it is a delightful concoction of sweet and tang that has a dark pink grapefruit color and comes with a slice of kiwi wedged onto the rim of the glass.
brunch arrives shortly. nesting in a bowl are two poached eggs that hold themselves firmly. they are blanketed by snow-white greek yoghurt. breaking the purity was a saffron colored melted butter flecked with deep red chili flakes. two large slices of sour dough bread brought up the side. mine was a square affair. an inch thick and a medley of mediterranean color; my tortilla was made of paprika roasted potato and a warm orange sweet potato. it took up a square space on the plate and working top to bottom the first layer was the tortilla itself, then a thick dollop of greek yoghurt, a pink-red salsa of tomato and piquillo and a crown of rocket lettuce tossed lightly in a vinaigrette. the first mouthful revealed the satisfying comfort of potato, a hint of crumbly feta and a lone edamame bean. the taste of caramelized onion was evident too. the silence on the other side of the table and reiterating admissions of ‘i can’t get those eggs out for my head’ meant that o was more than satisfied.
quite full but still tempted by a sweet ending o and i ordered the brown rice, apple, maple syrup and miso porridge with tamarillo compote. this is more adequately described as a fusion rice pudding. we were served a slightly frothy and whipped, nutty tasting complex dish that had a mellow sweetness to it. the brown rice was nutty, the compote slightly tart and the apple rather sweet. the providores tapas room brunch is truly tasty.
