The Providores, Marylebone, London W1

A friend and I were in Marylebone having drinks on a Friday evening. Feeling peckish, we walked down the road to The Providores, somewhere I would describe as an upmarket tapas place. Very attractive decor with high tables and there are even four seats at the front bay window so you can watch the world go by. If you are lucky enough you may get one of the two outside tables on a sunny day.

The service I found to be a let down. We were asked to wait outside the door until they cleared up a table for us. There was another group of four outside who made the same comment about being made to wait outside. It is a small place but maybe they should consider being more efficient at clearing up the tables.

When we did sit down, we had to wait at least 15 minutes to get service. There is an extensive wine menu with prices starting at £23. A vast selection of tapas to choose from we chose a couple of dishes each.

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The food looks like someone in the kitchen put a great deal of thought in the presentation. Prices ranged from around £3.50 to £12. Depending on how hungry you are probably 2 to 3 dishes per person. Tidy, colourful and exciting looking dishes. Tasting them however was a let-down. Average dishes with nothing note-worthy or memorable. Providores is also known for it's Sunday brunch. A friend who has been has rated this as average also.

Looks can be deceiving. In this instance they certainly were.

The Providores, 109 Marylebone High Street, London, W1U 4RX, Tel +44 (0) 20 7935 6175 http://www.theprovidores.co.uk/