What can you tell us about Karpo?
It's an all-day restaurant that's attached to the Megaro hotel in King's Cross, just across the road from the main station. It's been run by Daniel Taylor, an American who's previously worked at the Blueprint Cafe with Jeremy Lee and and Le Cafe Anglais with Rowley Leigh. Taylor's influence is visible on the menu, with a number of dishes inspired by American diners.
Who's it suitable for?
The hotel guests, clearly, but also pretty much for anyone in the area meeting up for a drink or a decent bit to eat. Although King's Cross has been going through a gentrification process over the past few years, it's been a very slow process and we applaud any restaurant opening in the area.
Where should I meet for a drink first?
Just across the road, there's The Gilbert Scott which we'd always recommend for a cocktail, as well as a number of options in St Pancras station itself on the concourse. However, Karpo has an large lounge bar downstairs, with an enthusiastic bar manager who will be more than happy to knock you up the cocktail of your choice. There wasn't a cocktail list on offer when we went, but we think the bar itself has lots of potential, and the drinks are good value.
And where should I sit?
We sat near the back of the ground floor near the kitchen, and can recommend that - although we also thought the tables could have done with a little more spacing. We liked the real ivy that had been planted up the wall in the back (this was originally going to be a vertical herb garden, but they thought it might look sparse once the chef had been at it). We were more impressed with the first floor, with plenty of large tables and a "party area" balcony that could comfortably seat about 10.
Is bread included?
Alas, no, but there are a set of three huge sourdough toasts available on the menu for £5. These are spread with lardo, white bean puree and gentleman's relish. We were impressed with these, although we'd recommend ending with the gentleman's relish to avoid the anchovy flavour overpowering the other two options.
And what should we order?
The menu itself is large and split into several sections, which takes a while to get to grips with. Alas, the brunch section was the only one that had the salt beef hash with fried egg, which we were craving at when we came for dinner.
Elsewhere there's a "larder" section - which features cold starters and snacks. From that we can heartily recommend the bourbon and chilli pecans - we would have happily paid for a full sack of these amazingly moreish sweet confections. Otherwise, you can find terrines, salads and cured meats on this section of the menu.
Onto the "hot starters" where we had the scallops with cauliflower puree and truffle (good, but frankly not £18 worth of good - we're not entirely sure if that was a typo...) and the southern fried quail. The latter was another winner - essentially a posh KFC, but all the more brilliant for that and another dish where we could have gone back for more and more.
The mains let the side down a little, with the hanger steak being good, but not outstanding, and the shrimp and grits alas being something of a letdown.
However, things picked up again at desserts - the ice creams at £1.50 a scoop (we chose green apple granita and and excellent honeycomb cream) were fantastic and well worth going for, while the pink peppercorn meringue with passion fruit frozen yoghurt was surprisingly delicious - the pepper working well against a deliciously delicate meringue.
There's also an afternoon bakery here from noon-6pm selling, among other things, eccles cakes, cookies, macaroons and scones. Based on the meringue, this is probably worth checking out.
What about drinks?
There's a large, and pretty affordable wine list on offer, with whites starting at £16 and over 10 bottles (including Prosecco) under the £30 price point, with the reds being similarly priced. Plenty are available by glass or carafe - and we think that this represents pretty good value for the area.
Overall thoughts?
Speaking personally, I meet commuting friends all the time near King's Cross and the area can always use a good new restaurant and bar. Karpo is well priced with a varied menu which promises to change seasonally (indeed the chef says he may even add things to the menu as a day progresses). While the mains aren't quite there yet, we do think this place has great promise. Although we've since returned to the bar for more bourbon pecans and some fantastic cod fritters, Karpo's definitely a place we'll be returning to again.
Karpo - 23 Euston Road, London NW1 2SB. 020 7843 2221
Hot Dinners were invited to eat at Karpo. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
