I have been to a brilliant immersive heist play where you are prepped to rob an imaginary bank; however the Heist Bank at Paddington is mostly a culinary experience rather than a theatrical experience. It is in the ultra-modern part of Paddington Basin where they are still building modern apartment blocks and pristine commercial buildings.
Visiting with a vegetarian friend, the feedback was what an accommodating menu they offer for guests with dietary requirements. There are numerous vegetarian starters and pizzas on offer, some of which sound extremely appetising like olive and cheese curd doughnuts.
I opted for the grilled squid with creamed and grilled corn and bacon crumb which had a great mixture of textures from the exquisiteness of the squid to the smoothness of the creamed corn to the crunchiness of the bacon. The other appetiser we tried was taramasalata, lavosh, shaved fennel, pickled kohlrabi which as a very healthy tasting vegetarian dip with lava bread. Although there is a certain sense of identity confusion, as most of the dishes are modern British using local ingredients but the small plate starter section does have quite a few Middle Eastern dishes.
The rainbow trout is beautifully grilled, although feeling particularly British I wished they stated that it came as a whole fish for those who don’t enjoy handling delicate bones. The meat is orange in colour and has a slightly sweet, almost nutty taste. The raw vegetable and herb salad added to the healthy nature of the dish.
The smashed peas, courgettes, Rosary goats cheese and mint pizza is an unusual concoction. The ingredients are cold on top of the warm pizza base: essentially it is a salad on top of a pizza dough. It is perfectly summery with an abundance of well-matched ingredients on top and ultimately very filling.
We were contemplating sharing a banana boat for 2, although unfortunately they had sold out of that on the night; so we ended up with the classic English strawberries with cream.
There is much more than just food at Heist bank, they have an extensive list of local brews on draft including one named Heist bank naturally, a fine selection of gin and tonics, they have an in-house florist, a karaoke room with retro nintendos and board games and also a pool table. Maybe with a name like heist bank, they should introduce an immersive escape room game experience into their vast venue.
baldwin@townfish.com