In the 1980s and early 1990s Max Renzland and his identical twin brother Mark (who sadly died in 1995 from a heroin overdose) ran some excellent restaurants in west London. Chez Max was initially in Kew from 1989 to 1991 and then later in Chelsea from 2002 to 2004, Le Petit Max was in Hampton Wick from 1991 to 1996 and Monsieur Max was in Hampton Hill from 1997 – 2002, the latter awarded a Michelin star from 2000 to 2004. All were bistros showing real passion for French cooking and ingredients, and I ate many good meals in these fine establishments. Following this, Max disappeared off the food scene for a while, then he headed food development for D&D London from 2007 to 2012. Max travels extensively around France, and has a deep knowledge of its food and restaurants.
In March 2012 he got back into the restaurant saddle, opening Provender in Wanstead, not the most obvious location to open a restaurant. When I lived in nearby Leytonstone in the 1980s the local fare was mainly restricted to fish and chips and the odd pizza and kebab, and my local greengrocer was baffled when I asked for a shallot. The intervening years have certainly seen a lot of development in east London, though Provender is the only serious restaurant I am aware of to be located this far out of the buzzing east end food scene around Old Street. The 80-seat restaurant opens all day, and was turning tables on the night of our visit. The dining room is in two sections, with exposed brick walls and banquette seating.
There are actually two wine lists. The main all-French wine list ranged in price from just £15.95 to £72.50, with a median price of £33 and an average mark-up of 2.6 times the retail price, which is on the low side for London, with relative mark-ups tapering off towards the high end of the list. Example wines included Sauvignon de Touraine Domain Guy Allion 2012 at £24.95 for a wine that you can find in the high street for £10, Chablis Domaine Bernard Defaix 2011 at £36.50 for a wine that retails at around £14, and Puligny-Montrachet Domaine Sylvain Bizkot 2011 at £57.50 for a wine that will set you back £32 in a shop. The separate fine wine list, with limited availability in terms of specific bottles, was more interesting. Didier Dagenau Pur Sang 2009 was £75 for a wine that actually costs £60 to buy in a shop, Henri Gouges Clos des Porrets 2001 was £85 for a wine that retails at £42 and the lovely Etienne Sauzet Puligny Montrachet Les Referts 2008 was £92.50 for a wine that costs £58 in a shop. Baguette bread was supplied from Delice de France, and as ever from this large supplier was distinctly ordinary (12/20 at best). For breakfast bread here they use Flourish, a much superior baker.
Starters were generally priced at the £6 to £7 mark, with main courses around £15 - £17, desserts £3.75 - £6.95. Charcuterie is sourced from the noted supplier Madame Sibilia in Lyon, a stall in the Aux Halles de Lyon market that has been operating since 1911. A board of fishy nibbles included Shetland salmon mousse, potted mackerel and herring. Warm Sibilia pistachio sausage served on a bed of puy lentils with choucroute was very enjoyable, the sausage itself excellent (14/20).
A starter of shellfish cocktail had a mix of prawns, smoked prawns, crayfish and brown shrimp with Marie Rose sauce, which was very pleasant if unexceptional (13/20). Better was foie gras cured in salt with wine jelly, the liver flavour coming through well and the texture smooth, with good toast, this time using bread supplied from Flourish (14/20). I also enjoyed an old Monsieur Max favourite, iman bayildi. The spiced aubergine salad came with a red pepper and harissa dressing, Greek yoghurt and grilled crostini; the spices were in just the right balance, and this was as good as I remember it from many years ago (15/20).
Turbot was roasted on the bone and served with Hollandaise and creamed spinach. The fish was carefully cooked but the Hollandaise was rather thick (13/20). I preferred Barbary duck breast, carefully cooked and slightly spiced, served with very good red cabbage, port jus and excellent gratin dauphinois (14/20).
For dessert the star was sherry trifle with jasmine tea sponge, good custard, griottine cherries and excellent Valrhona chocolate (14/20). Pruna and aramagnac ice cream was also good, with Agen prunes and orange confit (14/20). Coffee was Musetti and had good flavour.
Service was friendly and attentive. The bill came to £107 a head, but this was with a top quality bottle of wine from the fine wine list and additional dessert wine. If you ordered a modest bottle of wine then a typical bill for three courses and coffee would be about £50 a head. Provender is a terrific neighbourhood restaurant, using high quality ingredients and with its owner’s love of France shining through.
Some of the best food I've eating outside of a Michelin star rated establishment ...
Every time I eat there I'm always surprised by the consistency and quality in the food, wine and service ...
I would eat there everyday if I could.
Great food and service. We were recommended by a friend and been there several times since then. It’s very relaxed, not pretentious but the service is top quality. They are very attentive and friendly. We love having a weekend dinner here. We’ll keep visiting :)
Good prices, excellent food & great drinks and service! We've been there so many times and it's our favourite french restaurant so far! :)
Pilar Shannon Perez Brown
+5
Probably the best tasting chicken I have had in London. "Chicken au vin blanc" had mashed potatoes, tomatoes, some veg and a delicious sauce. Very tender meat in a hot casserole. Would definitely come all the way here just to eat it again
The banoffee pie was extraordinary, served in a very modern way, not excessively sweet so that was nice
Friendly staff that was happy to help anytime and go to the kitchen to ask about specific dishes if they were unsure about the ingredients. According to my friend the cheese quiche was also delicious
Daily menu 16,50 or 20,50
Amazing place to eat, the staff was super prepared and friendly (they even surprised me with a birthday desert). Every dish we had was outstanding and the atmosphere was really relaxed (really different from other restaurants in London).
Overall super value for money, I'll definitely come back (even if it more than 1h journey from where I live)
Great place and great value! The steak with Roquefort sauce was cooked perfectly! Almost fine dining at a great price!!
Our first visit, even though we are locals.
I never really felt the restaurant seemed - that welcoming from the outside.
But I'm glad we popped in today, as the food was lovely, great selection of dishes, good menu.
We didn't go for the set lunch... but preferred to try out some more interesting dishes from the main selection. Glad we did.
We very much enjoyed our visit...wine was excellent too. The staff were friendly, welcoming and professional.
Looking forward to trying out their Sunday menu.
Delicious! This was my first time at this restaurant despite me being a local.
We had the French onion soup and ham hock fritter to start and the lamb rump and coq au vin for our mains. To pair we had a lovely Pinot noir. Everything was absolutely delicious and as French as you can get in London. I’d recommend the coq au vin just for that mash potato.
The vibe was great, staff were friendly and welcoming. Book in advance because weekends can get quite busy
We haven't been to Provender for some time. Our visit was definitely worth while! We were seated right away. All the staff was looking happy which is always good to see. Their marinated olives are really tasty. I went for the roasted celeriac and it was absolutely divine. Thank you for the great experience and we'll be back sooner than you think.
Excellent food and found the service to be just right. Never felt rushed but a good pace for a dinner. Would absolutely go again. Poached pairs and aracini were particularly excellent
Lovely little place with beautiful, tasty dishes. The menu had plenty of interesting, unique choices and was all reasonably priced. We had the French onion soup, lobster and shrimp cocktail, duck burger, and stone bass with bouillabaisse sauce. Will definitely be back to try some of the other dishes!
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