POPTATA Review – It’s a gravy free chip paradise

LDN Life visited POPTATA, our first stop on our BoxPark Shoreditch Foodathon (Working title) We plan to review one of their food venues every week until we run out, or they stop asking us back to try and find the one that rules them all.

It’s probably best to say right now that I can never ever ever give POPTATA 5 out of 5, to do so would go against my northern heritage and my love of gravy.

Sure I love chips and their Parmesan, seemingly their most popular, at least while I was waiting, looked and smelled amazing. Order after order of beautiful chips topped with parmesan and neon pink garlic mayo tickled my nostrils as I waited for my ‘Fully Loaded’ Guaca Fries to arrive.

SOOOOO I did that thing, that thing you really shouldn’t do. I read a menu, picked what I wanted to order and then as I ordered…. the fatal words “What do you recommend” left my lips and then the super friendly guy taking my order recommended the one thing I wasn’t going to order. BAHHH

In fact, he actually recommended the Parmesan as well, so the frustration was doubly annoying, but I told myself that IF the Guaca fries were as good as the Parmesan looked and smelled, I was on to a winner. Oh and if you must know, I’d had my heart set on the other “Fully Loaded” option… Meatball Fries.

Finally (I say finally, but it was about 7 minutes) my Guaca fries turned up smothered in smashed avocado, goats cheese, and roast peppers. Plus extra halloumi on top, and I was transported into a chip oasis that dreams are made of.

The chips were hot and cooked to perfection, topping that just worked and for the very briefest of moments I wondered if smashed avo could replace gravy. Then I wondered if I’d been in London too long, the answer to both was a straight no, but the fact that POPTATA even made me think like that, really is a credit to their ingredients.

I’ll be back there soon to try their Parmesan fries and probably slowly but surely to make my way through their menu and all their sauces. As I said at the beginning they are a killer gravy away from a perfect score, but I’m not going to get my hopes up.

If you love chips and can overlook the lack of gravy (like I did), this is simply the finest chip selection known to London kind. (Or at least to LDN Life) You can find POPTATA in Shoreditch and Croydon Boxpark.