Restaurant reviews | Caravan Kings Cross: just a very nice restaurant

Restaurant reviews

Caravan Kings Cross: just a very nice restaurant

There was a time when Kings Cross was the last place you’d have gone to for a meal. Still now, despite the gleaming new station makeover, it’s hardly a destination to seek out if you only have a few days in the capital. But if you’ve done Shoreditch and find Soho just too tiresomely hip and crowded head up to Caravan.

It’s not the easiest place to find. So much so that they now position a large freestanding arrow on the new station concourse. You walk up between Kings Cross and St Pancras, look for the bright red hoardings then up the walkway between them, past the street food stands (worth stopping at on another occasion), over the canal and you find yourself in a very fine square with a set of playing fountains almost worthy of Las Vegas. Behind is a dark imposing building and in it is Caravan.

The inside is big and beautiful with the soaring ceilings and exposed brickwork you’d expect from a converted warehouse, industrial lighting and lots of bright blond wood tables. The beer - brewed by Camden Brewery and infused with their own coffee is fantastic. Settle down with a glass while you read the menu.

Jalapeno Corn Bread

And the food? There are the inevitable inconsistencies you get from the early weeks' trading. I”ve been twice now and have had dishes I’ve loved - the grits (soft cheesy polenta topped with girolles - simply awesome), spicy quail and chickpea purée and sumac, the jalapeno corn bread (right); those I’ve thought were fine: a duck egg salad with peas and samphire, fried chicken and watermelon, burrata and lentils and those that haven’t quite come off: the rather grainy, dirty-looking baked cauliflower with smoked San Simon and breadcrumbs, a panzanella-style salad made with underripe tomatoes and a smoked trout and eggplant pizza (great crust but there are reasons why nobody thought of putting smoked trout on a pizza before).

Neither time did I do justice to the dessert menu but a gingerbread and treacle tart didn’t have quite enough ginger.

As you can see from the quantity of food consumed it’s all about small plates which are not too irritatingly small and reasonably priced. Two of us ate for just over £40 yesterday lunchtime including coffee (don’t order the filter*) and service.

Fountains in Granary Square

This part of London is definitely on the up, foodwise, apart from the buzzing street food scene. The fashionable Shrimpy’s which I’ve yet to get to is just around the corner. Bruno Loubet is rumoured to be moving in next door. And in the meantime it’s just a nice, affordable, stylish place to go with a friend - and to sit using the free and admirably fast wi-fi afterwards. I suspect it would be great for brunch.

If you don’t want to schlep up to Kings Cross Caravan also has a branch - the original one in Exmouth market though it’s smaller and gets a lot more crowded.

*Why did I order it then? I wouldn’t normally but our charming waitress assured us it was ‘very good’ and given the reputation Caravan has for its coffee I thought it was worth trying. Hmmm. Should have stuck to my usual Americano.

Caravan Kings Cross is at 1 Granary Square, London N1C 4AA. Tel: 020 7101 7661.

Top image © Marc Rogoff

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