What has a German Gymnasium, a Grain Store, a Greek Larder and a Dishroom got in common?
They're all great places to have a bite in and around King's Cross.
King's Cross has been busy of late, really pulling it's socks up in the redevelopment stakes and this extends so some of the fantastic eateries in the area.
Here are our faves...
The swanky St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel (called the world's most romantic place to stay) is home to The Gilbert Scott, one of Michelin-starred Marcus Wareing's restaurants. It's named after the architect who designed the gothic building, and the menu fits its theme with classic British dishes like rabbit pie and pork neck with mustard sauce.
The Great Northern Hotel houses Plum & Spilt Milk, a casual British restaurant with stunning art deco design. The menu includes pork cutlet with an almond and gooseberry salad, beef Wellington, and halibut poached in olive oil.
You can't miss the bright graffitti-style paint on the front of this brasserie, which is just across the road from King's Cross station. Inside they serve gourmet versions of comfort food from around the world including Josper-grilled steaks and prawns, with a 'living' wall on one side. On the roof there's a vegetable garden the chef puts to good use in his cooking.
This vast restaurant set over two floors plus a heated terrace, occupies what was once England’s first gym. The food comes from central Europe, so as well as German dishes there is Austrian veal schnitzel and Hungarian beef goulash.
This Greek venue combines a restaurant and a deli stocking olives, charcuterie and sweets from Greece. Open from breakfast through to dinner, the restaurant has meze including souvlaki and stuffed vine leaves, as well as deep fried courgette flowers filled with feta and quail roasted over charcoal.
Dishoom now has four branches, and this one on Granary Square is their biggest one so far. Inspired by the Irani cafes of Bombay, Dishoom specialises in mixing Indian and western ingredients, for instance their bacon naan roll for breakfast, Cheddar toasties with chilli, and of course a variety of curries. In case you were wondering, the 'Godown' in the name is the Indian term for a storage shed, referencing the building's past as a train shed.
Part of the Great Northern Hotel, GNH Bar is one floor below British restaurant Plum & Spilt Milk. However the food here is so good it's hardly a problem to stay to eat if you can't get a table upstairs. It features beautiful art deco interiors - one particular favourite touch being the mirrored ceiling. The menu has small and large plates, highlights including the Reuben sandwich with tender salt beef and melted Emmental on soft rye bread, and Scotch eggs made with perfectly seasoned sausage meat served with chunky homemade piccalilli.
This ever-growing company now has a dozen branches. The mammoth burgers are made with carefully sourced British produce, such as free range chicken and meat from acclaimed butcher's Ginger Pig. As well as stomach-rumbling inducing burgers, a firm favourite on the menu are the salty, thin-cut rosemary fries.
One of London's top ethical restaurants, Itadaki Zen take this issue very seriously. Not only is the Japanese menu vegan in its entirety (with vegan sushi as well as noodles made from sweet potato starch), guests are encouraged to take any leftover food home so as not to waste a single morsel, and the furniture and decor are either made by hand or have been rescued.