IT’S A RAIL GOOD TIME
CLAIRE SPREADBURY finds regenerated King’s Cross is on track for the coolest retail and restaurants
ONCE I would have shuddered at the idea of eating and shopping alone. But as I sit on a minimalist wooden seat at Cafe Bao, in London’s Pancras Square, sinking my teeth into a perfectly plump bun, I’ve never felt less lonely.
King’s Cross is buzzing with people – in a way that feels good right now. This area of London has been actively undergoing regeneration for a good decade. But what it’s striven to achieve has made King’s Cross the place to go. It’s very cool, but not intimidatingly so. If you look around, you’ll see every generation enjoying the space.
In Granary Square, young couples are curled up watching sport on the big outdoor screen, sipping beers, while kids splash about in the water fountains, watched by parents, topping up their energy with coffees. And friends are everywhere here – making up for lost time when we were all shut away. It feels cosmopolitan and relaxed. I meander down to Lower Stable Street in Coal Drops Yard – a shopping destination and foodie hotspot, where people are working outside on laptops.
The shops here are a wonderful mix of high street stores, designer labels, independents, second-hand treasure chests and tattoo parlours.
Start a conversation with a local and you’ll get a friendly reply. One enthusiastic shopkeeper tells me how great all the events are around here, and how I must seek out the ‘Bookbarge’ – the floating book shop, Word On The Water.
When it comes to food, I want to eat everywhere. Names that need no introduction grace street corners, with Great British Menu banquet winner Pip Lacey setting up Hicce opposite Dishoom.
I’m in awe of the architecture at German Gymnasium – an all-day Grand Cafe in a former gym built by German gymnasts in the 1800s. Inside the twofloor venue you can still see hooks in the beams from where ropes and trapezes used to be suspended.
The German beer slips down like silk – try a Rothhaus Hefeweizen for £7.25 a pint, or a double pint of Rothaus Pilsner for £13. A Holstein Schnitzel will set you back £25.50, but cost doesn’t appear to be putting off punters, as the tables are heaving .
At Redemption Roasters – the UK’s first prison-based coffee company, where they train offenders to become baristas – supervisor Ben attempts to educate me. He brews me a shot by Mageyo Washing Station in Bujumbura, Burundi, and I genuinely enjoy it. Not at all bitter, with notes of redcurrant, chocolate and Earl Grey tea, it goes down really smoothly. Word has clearly got around, as huge queues form at all times of the day.
Come dusk, however, people are sniffing out a different kind of brew just opposite at the tiny House Of
Cans, which specialises in canned drinks – mainly craft beers. They work with artists to produce cans so beautiful, it feels wrong to recycle them. The beer is delicious, but a takeaway can set you back just as much as a pint in a pub (four pint-sized cans cost £27).
With all this on your doorstep, and an international train station – in case you fancy travelling further afield, there is no better place to stay than in the original railway hotel, the Great Northern Hotel, which has been around since 1864.
Rooms are bijou and everything else is small but perfectly formed, though some extra clothes storage wouldn’t go amiss. The deep blue ceiling and woodpanelled walls provide an air of luxe.
Restaurant Plum + Spilt Milk carries the colourways through. Wooden and metallic edging makes the space feel special, the large windows flood the room with daylight for a relaxed breakfast setting, while cosying up the space come evening.
On my visit, the rain clears up just in time for the Independent Label Market, which has been taking place across 17 cities for a decade. Stands are set up selling vinyl, T-shirts and badges, live and loud music blasts out from the decks, and DJs and music lovers excitedly rummage through records, anxious to make a purchase.
Coal Drops Yard has taken the ailing retail world and transformed it. This isn’t somewhere you come when you need a new coat.
You come here for the overall experience. You wander, you browse the multi-concept shopping spaces, sit for a beer and a catch-up and eat fantastic food.
The people are friendly and the vibe is cool. Add in some themed markets and, surely, this is the future of retail as we know it.