We were recently invited to the opening of Drake & Morgan at King’s Cross and enjoyed what we found very much.

 

Just for those who haven’t been to London or King’s Cross in a while – things have changed. Quite a lot. We all remember a time when this area of London was synonymous with being seedy, dangerous and generally unpeasant, but ever since the refurbishment of St. Pancras Station, the arrival of the Eurostar terminus and the British Library, as well as the dramatic new design of King’s Cross station itself, this part of London is worth looking at. And it’s worth spending your time there and not just in between waiting for your train connection.

King’s Cross has transformed itself from a point of departure into a destination in its own right.

Just North of King’s Cross station and halfway on the way to Granary Square on the banks of Regent’s Canal, another place you should look at whilst you are in the area, you’ll find ‘Drake & Morgan at King’s Cross’, the latest opening from the people who gave us ‘The Refinery’ and ‘The Fable’, amongst others.

 

This place is huge: there are two floors with two bars, a large, light dining room, private dining spaces, a deli, a candy bar!!!, a remote working lounge and two bookable ‘kitchen pods’. There is also and outside terrace.

Kudos to the interior designers who managed to make all this space look interesting, warm and inviting, all at the same time.

   

We were welcomed to the party with a glass of Pommery Brut Royal, which remained on offer all night, and we also got to taste a few of the cocktails devised by Bar Manager Jay Newell:

Doctor’s Orders – Kamm & sons, mescal, honey water, ginger & lemon

Lemongrass Collins – Ketel One, lemongrass sugar, rice wine, coriander, peychauds bitter & soda and

Mr Dandy – Barcardi blanca, aspall, honey water, dandelion & burdock

  

The food was wonderful, all mini portions of dishes on offer from their menu created by Head Chef David Green, and prepared right in front of our eyes in the open kitchen:

  

Fish & chips, tuna with sesame & ginger, breaded lobster mac & cheese.

   

BBQ pork skewers with peach glaze, sirloin steak with béarnaise sauce, buttermilk chicken burgers.

Peppered goat cheese with watermelon & almonds, deep fried butternut squash ravioli.

  

Salted caramel chocolate tart, cappuccino semi fredo, grilled pineapple & passion fruit cones with coconut cream.

The only thing we did not enjoy very much on the night was the musical entertainment. Despite there being two DJs behind the decks twiddling the buttons and playing with the equipment, it felt like we were listening to the same tune all night. It was also a tad too loud to have a conversation. But fear not, this was just put on for the party and maybe we were a bit spoilt that week as Grandmaster Flash had been our DJ at another do that week.

Anyway, we will certainly be back, for one of the steaks and the Wagyu Burger and a full sized portion of the salted caramel chocolate tart.

The restaurant is open for breakfast (including Sunday brunch with bottomless Bloody Marys and Bellinis), lunch, dinner and late night drinks.

www.drakeandmorgan-kingscross.co.uk