London King\'s Cross Restaurant Guide

An “ideal location overlooking the canal and the King’s Square fountains” means this King’s Cross gastroboozer “books up fast – I’d go again if I could get a table”. Despite the old-time name, it’s a starkly contemporary grey-brick-and-glass building over several floors with a big terrace, which can get “noisy when it’s rammed”. But reporters say it’s “fun” and the mod Brit gastro fare earns very solid ratings.

A “good choice of drinks” helps fuel the “buzzy” style of this “good value” Hispanic group. Some reporters feel its tapas offering is rather “standard”, but most reports are of “good tapas at good prices”.

“A hole-in-the-wall type place, but some of the best buns in London!” – these “hipsterish”, if “haphazard” Taiwanese cafés in Soho, Fitzrovia, and now also Borough, have made a big name for their “sensationally tasty” steamed buns and other “inventive, delicious plates”: superb “homely food at very reasonable prices”. The new SE1 branch, opened in Spring 2019, has a grab-and-go delivery hatch and a karaoke room upstairs; and both here and in Fitzrovia you can book – at Soho you run the gauntlet of a big queue and it’s more “rushed”.

“They put the price up from £10 to £11, but it still can’t be faulted!” – for a “a great steak, without any frills” this “always busy, lively and buzzy” chain remains “a winning formula”: “it’s so nice to have a simple menu choice, and what they do, they do very well”; this includes the very impressively “friendly and professional service-with-a-smile”. One catch: “you have to put up with no bookings”, so “be prepared to queue”. But “if you want a great meal on a budget: go visit!”

For the “mind-blowing sound system”, or as “a great place to grab a drink and a bite with your mates”, this “groovy”, music-led four-year-old, near Granary Square has won quite a following. (It was founded by music consultant Paul Noble, who has worked with Monocle and the Beeb; and Canteen founders Patrick Clayton-Malone and Dominic Lake). “The new, handy Festival Hall branch has the same vibe as the King’s Cross original, and here they offer really well-prepared cooking to match the cool sounds, laid-back atmosphere and enthusiastic service... it deserves to thrive.”

A “great setting” next to the Regent’s Canal, with a large and attractive terrace that comes into its own during the summer months, isn’t the only feature that raises this bar/dining room to being a destination rather than merely an arts-centre amenity – “its farm-to-plate ethos is something special” too, with a dedicated Northumberland farm providing all beef and lamb (hung onsite in their own hanging room, and with an in-house butcher). A recent refurb has added an open kitchen and large meat-aging cabinets on view.

“Delicious, fresh pasta” is a particular highlight of the “reasonably-priced homemade food” at this “cosy corner-Italian in the atmospheric backstreets of Bloomsbury” (within walking distance of King’s Cross).

“Authentic Sri Lankan food (just like my friend’s mum used to make)” has won fame for JKS Restaurants’s “buzzy” (“not much elbow room at busy times”) and “fun”, street-food cafés, which – although not quite as “novel” as when they first opened – are still “simply sensational” for most reporters. “Obviously you must have a hopper” (a rice pancake), and also “the curries are delicious, especially the seafood one”, as are the “really tasty dosas”. And “it’s unbelievable that you can have a table filled up with exciting food at less than £30 a head, including drinks!”. “While the original location (Soho) is better, it’s nice that you can book at St Christopher’s Place”.

“Superb, zesty southern Thai food” has won a sizeable fanclub for this “cramped canteen” in King’s Cross and as a result it’s “frequently full”. It may be “a bit pricier than many such places in London, but that is reflected in the top-notch quality of the food”.

“Some of the juiciest burgers out there” are prepared at this three-year-old King’s Cross indie (with outlets at Boxpark Wembley and the Lexington Angel in Islington), which minces its beef onsite every day and offers two veggie versions.