Grain Store, Granary Square, 1-3 Stable
Street, N1C 4AB
26/07/2013
She said: The ongoing transformation of
the King’s Cross area is resulting in the creation of a
contemporary-industrial, food and arts hub within the former warehouses and
canal-side derelict buildings…Granary Square is now a great open square with
balletic fountains, the University of the Arts and a number of urban chic
restaurants of which Grain Store is one. The outdoor terrace was very appealing
overlooking the life of the square but we decided to eat inside and enjoy the
open kitchen and modern yet rustic- interior. Despite walking into an almost
empty restaurant we were informed we could only have a seat at the bar; when I
scoffed we were offered two seats next to each other at a long, empty communal
table. As we hadn’t reserved we accepted so I was miffed when on leaving only a
handful of tables were actually being used (what’s that about)? Moving on
however, the food was fantastic. I had a beetroot, pickled onion and labneh
starter which was light but full of flavour and I ‘tried’ some of his
courgette, chick pea and prawn falafel which was extremely moreish. For mains I
has the starter special of truffle risotto which was absolutely delicious and
very rich so the starter portion worked perfectly as a main. The dessert menu
options were equally creative but I was craving chocolate (which was absent) so
we settled our bill - £45 including one beer and one juice - and went on our
merry, happy way. Will definitely be back ( if seated properly).
He said: it’s pretty amazing what’s going on in Kings Cross. In the
blink of an eye all the ‘character’ (ie zombie junkies, limping prostitutes, vomiting
suburban clubbers, sketchy baldies clutching brown paper bags, etc.) have all
been swept away and replaced with the kind of breezy, fun, and optimistic town
planning that is so nice it’s almost Canadian. I know we Londoners have grown
only to like things that are a struggle and/or almost good, but go check out
this Brave New Corner of our old city; so different that it’s almost its own
little mini state, like Christiana, in Copenhagen, minus the drugs. We hit
Grain Store after sweating-up an appetite roller-skating to the oldies at the
pop-up roller disco nearby(!). Grain Store, like the New Kings Cross, is
bright, breezy, urbane and international – I mean, look at what I had to eat:
falafels made of broad beans, courgette and prawns, followed by vegetarian
merguez in a bun. Wow. This is seriously mixed-up, jabberwocky, post-modern
stuff. The falafel was awesome, though the prawn was a little lost and perhaps
unnecessary. The veggie merguez was a let down: the ‘sausage’ was too dry and
not spicy enough, the bun also too dry, and the relish too sweet. I must have
had a duff one, because there’s no way Chef would munch this and keep it on the
menu. I grew up in an area with lots of
Moroccans, and gobbled a lot of these in my pre-veggie days. Merguez is like my
Madeleine. It’s unique and one of those
foods that definitely deserves UNESCO protection, or whatever. Perhaps a good
veggie one is an aberration, like a London where everything works. But I
applaud Grain Store for the attempt, and I will try this again.
