The best restaurants, bars and cafes in King's Cross

Kimberley Coke 02 February 2022

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

1 York Way, London N1C 4AS

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

40 Doric Way, London NW1 1LH

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

2 Bagley Walk, London N1C 4PQ

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