The Grain Store, Granary Square, Kings Cross, London
Tucked away next to Central St Martins, amidst the cranes and rising concrete of the revamped Kings Cross, is the Grain Store, a beautiful restaurant in a converted warehouse. Ravers who used to congregate here at Bagleys and the Cross would be struck at the change.
You might struggle to find this restaurant, but once inside you'll be glad you persevered. It is spacious, light and well-decorated, blending the industrial charm of the building with eclectic modern touches. It feels like somewhere for elaborate cocktails in expensive outfits, and there's a bar area at the front for just that. We applaud the fact that their menu has at least one APF (Animal Product Free) starter, main course and dessert, which frankly is a rarity in London. If you're anything like us, and get swamped in indecision and want to order absolutely everything on the menu, then a barrier to choice anxiety is far from a bad thing.
You might struggle to find this restaurant, but once inside you'll be glad you persevered. It is spacious, light and well-decorated, blending the industrial charm of the building with eclectic modern touches. It feels like somewhere for elaborate cocktails in expensive outfits, and there's a bar area at the front for just that. We applaud the fact that their menu has at least one APF (Animal Product Free) starter, main course and dessert, which frankly is a rarity in London. If you're anything like us, and get swamped in indecision and want to order absolutely everything on the menu, then a barrier to choice anxiety is far from a bad thing.
Our criticism is that if you're going to try and appeal to vegans who are bored with bland, vegetarian mush, then you need to ensure that your dishes are carefully thought out and not simply vegetarian options with the dairy on the side. The main course of chilli with vegetables and wild rice was neither spicy nor that satisfying, for our £15.75. Its presentation was cute and the wild rice crunchy and salty but as it was the only APF option on the menu and advertised with sour cream, we expected something specifically APF rather than being told that the vegetarian parts came as side dishes, and so we could simply leave them on the side. Chill with rice and sour cream became vegetables and rice.
We hoped things might improve for dessert. The APF dessert option sounded innovative and tempting: kaffir lime and coconut tapioca. We could see kaffir lime being zingy and refreshing on a hot summer day, but perhaps it was the lack of London heatwave that left us feeling slightly let down. A re-visit to the restaurant and the vegan dessert
was cut to chocolate ice cream,
We are however ever optimistic. The staff were helpful and happy, and the decor is a delightful change from the usual dour surroundings of a vegan cafe. Our veggie dining friends did have, so we were told, delicious main courses. So we just seemed like 'difficult, hard to please vegans' once again. *Sigh* Not our intention!
We hoped things might improve for dessert. The APF dessert option sounded innovative and tempting: kaffir lime and coconut tapioca. We could see kaffir lime being zingy and refreshing on a hot summer day, but perhaps it was the lack of London heatwave that left us feeling slightly let down. A re-visit to the restaurant and the vegan dessert
was cut to chocolate ice cream,
We are however ever optimistic. The staff were helpful and happy, and the decor is a delightful change from the usual dour surroundings of a vegan cafe. Our veggie dining friends did have, so we were told, delicious main courses. So we just seemed like 'difficult, hard to please vegans' once again. *Sigh* Not our intention!
