Partly thanks to some great station restoration work along with a real vision for its open spaces, canalside and squares, King’s Cross is firmly a dining destination in its own right. From Granary Square and Coal Drops Yard to the canalside, all a few minutes walk from the station and dotted with restaurants and bars, it's one of London’s buzziest places to eat and drink.
Budget
Aux Pains de Papy
279 Grays Inn Rd, London WC1X 8QF
They describe themselves as a "rustic French bakery" selling some of the very best French loaves in the King's Cross area. Also, it’s ideal if you need an impressive cake to mark a special occasion and we are addicted to their Croque Monsieur.
Beer & Burger Store
Very much doing exactly what it promises, Beer & Burger Store combines a huge range of craft beers with smashed-patty burgers that are among the best in London. Be sure to get some dipping gravy for your burgers too.
Dim Sum Duck
124 King's Cross Rd, London WC1X 9DS
Everyone’s raving about Dim Sum Duck, a tiny gem in Kings Cross. It's run by a dim sum chef with more than 30 years in the business and specialises in hand-made dim sum and in-house roasted duck. Critic Fay Maschler said it was the best Cantonese cooking in London.
Flat Iron
47-51 Caledonian Rd, London N1 9BU
With nine sites across London, Flat Iron offers delicious and affordable steak. At their King's Cross location, they serve up the usual flat iron steaks for a bargainous price alongside punchy cocktails, beef dripping fries and homemade soft serve for dessert.
Hiden
Unit 114 Lower, Stable St, London N1C 4DR
If you value a menu that cuts straight to the chase, this no-nonsense Japanese canteen is the place serving up three varieties of curry and rice and nothing else.
Pizza Union
246-250 Pentonville Rd, London N1 9JY
With no bookings and super-fast Roman pizzas, this is a great spot for a quick dinner with friends. The price point is excellent too, with many pizzas all under a tenner. Don’t forget to order dessert.
Roti King
Roti King established a huge reputation from a tiny basement. It's regularly lauded as being one of the best Malaysian restaurants in town. You can expect some of London's best rotis as well as the most tender Beef Rendang on a bed of fragrant coconut rice plus lots of vegan options.
Sons + Daughters
Unit 119a Coal Drops Yard, London N1C 4DQ
The FTs ‘How to Spend it’ magazine named Sons + Daughters as one of the top 10 best sandwich shops in the world. And they may well be right, we could eat their tuna melt sarnie on repeat plus they also do delicious soups if you want to change it up.
Supawan
38 Caledonian Rd, London N1 9DT
This brightly coloured restaurant serves up some of the most delicious and authentic Thai food in London at great prices. Try Phuket cashew nuts or Southern specialities like Pla Tod Naam Pla – crispy seabass with sugar, fish sauce and green apple salad.
Thenga Cafe
120 Cromer St, London WC1H 8BS
Located inside the YMCA yoga centre, Thenga Café is quirky and inviting, offering a purely vegan menu with European and Indian influences due to the chef's travels and Bengali heritage. The daily set meals are one of London's most affordable eats.
Mid-range
Arabica
Arabica KX, 7 Lewis Cubitt Walk, King's Cross, London N1C 4AD
This all-day restaurant is a Levantine restaurant from the same group as the original London Bridge outpost. Food is consistently delicious, with special cold and hot mezzes, fresh day boat fish, halal steaks and much more.
Barrafina
Coal Drops Yard, Stable Street, King’s Cross, London N1C 4AB
Barrafina are considered as being some of the best Spanish restaurants in London and this Kings Cross outpost is no exception, with a particular focus on Catalan cooking. It's primarily counter dining, but they also have a stunning alfresco-only grill restaurant, Parrillan.
Cafe BAO
Unit 2, Building, 4 Pancras Square, London N1C 4AG
The BAO team continue their success with this opening inspired by the western style cafes in Asia. You'll find their signature bao buns alongside inventive western-style dishes like Chicken XO Kiev. As this location is also a bakery, you can take home your very own BAO goodies.
Casa & Plaza Pastor
Coal Drops Yard, Stable Street, London N1C 4AB
Casa Pastor serves up Mexican classics like slow-cooked pork tacos and tuna tostadas with the outside heated area Plaza Pastor sharing a similar menu, potent cocktails and featuring live music and DJs at the weekend. It’s an excellent party spot in the centre of Coal Drops Yard.
Dishoom
5 Stable Street, London N1C 4AB
We often daydream about the bacon and egg breakfast naan at Dishoom. Consistently packed and offering a buzzy atmosphere, people keep coming back for its excellent Indian small plates. Be prepared to queue at busier times.
Happy Face
14 Handyside St, King’s Cross, London N1C 4DN
This relaxed restaurant comes from the team behind Spiritland and offers Neapolitan wood-fired pizza with lots of traditional toppings, Prosecco, and an extremely memorable Nutella pizza to finish off! Downstairs is Supermax, its basement late-night licence cocktail bar.
Hoppers
Unit 3, 4 Pancras Square, Kings Cross, London N1C 4AG
Hoppers offers dishes inspired by the street food of Sri Lanka and South India. This Pancras Square venue has the biggest bar of all its venues. We can’t get enough of the hot butter squid and creamy bone marrow varuval.
Vinoteca
3 King's Blvd, Kings Cross, London N1C 4BU
Wine is what it's all about at Vinoteca, whether you're buying to take away or sitting in with friends, there are loads of options to choose from. The food's good too, with a range of small and big plate options - The Neal’s Yard cheese croquettes with aioli are always good.
Luxe
Booking Office 1869
St Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, Euston Rd, London NW1 2AR
A hugely impressive looking venue, this has a decadent menu by Allegra's Patrick Powell which includes market oysters, sashimi tuna skewers and snacks like fried chicken and cashew hummus. It’s a proper destination restaurant and bar inside St Pancras.
Decimo
10 Argyle St, Kings Cross, London WC1H 8EG
At the top of the Standard hotel in King's Cross, Decimo is run by chef Peter Sanchez-Iglesias who has two Michelin-starred restaurants in Bristol and features tapas-style food inspired by Mexico and Spain. The views are breathtaking, and you can enjoy pre-dinner drinks at the super glamorous rooftop bar.
Coal Office
Coal Office has eye-popping interiors by Tom Dixon and food by Palomar chef and restaurateur Assaf Granit. If you're up at the counter, it's a scene quite familiar from The Palomar - Jerusalem-inspired food served up by a lively kitchen.
German Gymnasium
1 King's Boulevard, London N1C 4BU
This used to be the first-ever gym in London - a huge imposing building just outside St Pancras. Expect plenty of German food, humongous sausages and Bavarian beer on the menu. It's brasserie-style downstairs and more of a fine-dining approach upstairs.
Hicce
Coal Drops Yard, Stable Street, King’s Cross, London N1C 4AB
Pip Lacey, the former head chef at Murano is the brains behind Hicce, a restaurant with wood-fired food that's brimming with British flavours via Norway and Japan. Also worth noting, they have a little wine shop and market downstairs.
Rotunda
90 York Way, King's Cross, London N1 9AG
This King's Place restaurant is in a super setting especially during the summer months with a massive terrace opening onto the canal. The menu is modern British, and you'll find all the meat here sourced from the restaurant's own farm in Northumberland.
Bars
The Drop
Unit 22-24, Bagley Walk Arches, Coal Drops Yard, London, N1C 4DH
From the same people as Casa Pastor, this really makes good use of the old coal storage area to evoke the feeling of a wine cellar. The wine list is, obviously, one of the best in the area served expertly by people who know their stuff.
Gas Station
Goods Way, Kings Cross, London N1C 4UR
Gas Station has taken over a prominent corner of King's Cross right next to the canal, offering an alfresco drinking and dining space complete with heaters and a moreish seafood menu of oysters and lobster rolls.
The Lighterman
3 Granary Square, London N1C 4BH
This has a great location, overlooking the canal. It's said to be one of the most popular places on Granary Square at any time of the year - but it really comes into its own in summer with extensive outside space. Dogs are welcome too.
Parcel Yard
King's Cross Station London N1C 4AH
Parcel Yard is an all-day Fullers pub inside the station, with a seasonal menu inspired by the best of British. Think dishes like lamb’s liver with bubble & squeak and red wine gravy and they also have a great kids menu. It's perfect for a quick drink before you grab a train.
Porte Noire
Unit A Gasholder 10, 1 Lewis Cubitt Square, London N1C 4BY
Idris Elba has his very own wine bar in Coal Drops Yard. Wine tasting is available plus a well thought out selection of champagne, cocktails and wines by the glass. It’s a sophisticated spot and you never know which A-lister you might bump into!
Vermuteria
Coal Drops Yard, Stable Street, King’s Cross, London N1C 4AB
Restaurateur and chef Anthony Demetre (of Wild Honey) has brought his vision of a Spanish/Italian Vermuteria to Coal Drops Yard. As the name suggests, there are plenty of vermouth and negronis on the drinks list along with a seasonal tapas-style menu.
Markets and shops
Real Food Market
In front of King’s Cross station itself, you’ll find this collection of food stalls featuring fresh bread, brownies, doughnuts, cannolis, custard tarts, bhajis and even haggis.
Granary Square street food
You’ll often find food trucks and pop-ups at Granary Square during the week - so if you’re after something different for lunch, head up there. Hugely popular at the moment is the Korean Toast popup from YouTubers Korean Englishman.
Sourced
Inside the station, Sourced is well worth a visit for some last-minute provisions, snacks and sandwiches (and some excellent coffee).
Longboys
In Coal Drops Yard, this small batch bakery sells to-die-for long doughnuts to go.
More delivery areas...
North: Islington, Highbury, Stoke Newington | King's Cross, Camden & Clerkenwell
South: Borough, London Bridge, Bermondsey | Clapham, Brixton | Peckham, Camberwell, Dulwich
East: Hackney | Shoreditch and Spitalfields | Walthamstow and Leyton
West: Chelsea, Kensington & Belgravia | White City and Notting Hill
Central: Central London restaurant deliveries
And there's more
And for even more delivery ideas (including shops, coffee, booze, bakeries and more), check out our Staying in section.
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