A stone’s throw from the heart of theatre land really is the best place to have a diner dedicated to potato crisps and dips, ideal for that pre-show snack and make no mistake, in spite of the brand name, these really are crisps!

HIPCHIPS, in Old Compton Street, London, has taken the humble spud, and reinvented it as a fancy potato crisp using the same care and attention usually reserved for fine dining.

Run by head chef Scott Davis who has spent the last two years developing the concept in his kitchen, HIPCHIPS specialises in freshly cooked hand-made potato crisps with a diverse range of delicious savoury and sweet fresh dips.

How these guys have reinvented the humble spud: HIPCHIPSA spare half an hour before a theatre show provided the perfect excuse for my family and I to sample the colourful looking potato crisps and wide assortment of dips at HIPCHIPS. The team, Rob, Igor and Beatrice were friendly and explained the concept to my children, who were suspiciously eyeing the purple coloured chips! There were three sizes to choose from, small (two dips – £4.50), medium (three dips – £6.75) and large (six dips – £11.50), which we ended up going for. It was a good-sized box and we requested both savoury and sweet options.

How these guys have reinvented the humble spud: HIPCHIPSThe thought wouldn’t even occur to many of us to combine potatoes with dessert, but Davis’s innovative menu offers up a variety of sweet dip options and with it, a novel experience for the taste buds. HIPCHIPS crisps are dusted with cinnamon sugar instead of salt.

We chose a mixture of sweet and savoury dips including Katsu Curry, Smoky Cheese Fondue, Peanut Butter and Jam and the Halloween special, Fire Pumpkin and Black Cheese Whip.

How these guys have reinvented the humble spud: HIPCHIPSNeedless to say, the crisps didn’t last long. Surprising, my children preferred the savoury options, while I loved the unusual tastes of the sweet crisps which were obviously inspired by doughnuts, I learned that they sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar as soon as they come out of the fryer.

The diner would seat about 40 people at a time and had the most beautiful stained-glass wall, which we spent a good amount of time admiring. The mum in me also appreciated the “wash hands area” in a corner of the room; hands, germs? Enough said!

How these guys have reinvented the humble spud: HIPCHIPSIn all, we enjoyed the moreish dips and crisps. It really isn’t a place to linger, but for a brief stopover on to somewhere else, with friends or family, you can’t go wrong.

HIPCHIPS is located at 49 Old Compton Street, W1D 6HL. Open: Monday-Thursday (12pm-11pm), Friday-Saturday (12pm-midnight) and Sunday (12pm-10pm).

For more information, visit: www.hipchipslondon.com.

2 comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

*
*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.