Grainstore: Garden of Earthy Delights

GRAIN STORE

Granary Square
1-3 Stable Street
King's Cross
London
N1C 4AB

NOTE: since we visited Grainstore the menu has changed to reflect Autumn produce.  We will review that menu when we've got over this amazing trip round the garden of of Earthy Delights (with some but not many apologies to Hieronymus Bosch).

Roman Country Wines (in hats)

SN: We've been to Grainstore before and we were so pleasantly surprised by the surprise menu that we decided to go back again.  As fate would have it in early October, I was travelling through King's Cross and needed a break, so I popped into the bar and persuaded Lou off her sick bed to come and join me for drinks and bar snacks: we booked our third visit to Grainstore on a high of chips (me) and Roman Country wines (Lou).

Grainstore is a busy, bistro type establishment in the Granary Yard at King's Cross - it has competition in the area, it has competition in the City but it my view it yields to none of them.  It is comparable to none of them.  In between visits it's been voted the UK's Most Sustainable Restaurant in the National Restaurant Awards and is 9th on their list of the best establishments. There's a bar and plenty of tables outside when the weather is clement.  It is notable as the idea of Bruno Loubet and has only been open since June and yet already it is acclaimed.  Loubet interview in the Guardian explained the vegetable emphasis (but it's not a vegetarian restaurant is the usual rider to that).

This is a busy place mostly and the bar was chocker when we went.  We whetted our whistles with two of the delicate, delectable Roman wines (as the name suggests these are to ancient recipes) - Lou had a cassis and clove (which is available with red or white wine), I had the warming smoked paprika.  These are home made with staff working Sunday mornings to prepare the supplies for the week.  They are delicate, refreshing and neither too sweet or too alcoholic to blur the edges of your meal.  But if you are wanting something more exotic savoury cocktails flavoured variously with pumpkin and maple syrup or hay and butter, and all equally surprising.

LM: We decided to start with onion bread with creme fraiche butter. Subtly flavoured and freshly baked and cut at the side of the restaurant it was every bit as good as we remembered from before and we wolfed the lot down in seconds.

Onion Bread with Creme Friache butter

SN: To be fair we had been there over and hour and I was acting with that involuntary hunger that fresh bread always seems to provoke.  We were well looked after at our table: the staff at Grainstore know the food, gladly give you an opinion or some options and are attentive but not overly so - they do not simple wait on your table, they are attendants, cabin crew and connoisseurs too. We opted for a three course option.  For starter I went for the Courgette, Broad Bean and prawn falafel with rocket leaves and raita is a wonder to behold with its greens and whites and flecks of sesame seed against the rich crispy taupe coating.  It was divine - and I'm sure veggies would pine for a all veg option of this dish.  The prawn are a sultry highlight against the rich deep spices.  This is a sensual pleasure too in the texture of the pure white crunchy cucumber raita against the crisp delight of the falafel coating.  It's a winner.

We have no problems choosing wines for our meals since neither of us is especially bothered if on occasion the wine doesn't match the food.  But with sausages in mind a strong red presence was called for and I opted for a Jura wine reflecting the roots of the restaurant.  This Ploussard came out of the bottle (once the pleasing heavy wax seal had been penetrated) a little lively and immediately fruity - but as it settled its great vistas of depth, warmth and variety came out.  A lovely fruity tone mellowed deeper and darker and matched the changing tastes we'd order rather well.  I've not explored many wines of this region but the middle lands of Europe are yielding great pleasures for me of late.

LM: My starter was handmade butternut squash ravioli with sage and mustard apricots and pumpkin seed oil. It's worth noting that lots of the dishes can be served in either small or large portions which means if you're as indecisive as me you can easily pick two main courses but have them in different sizes. I tend to avoid pasta dishes; especially vegetarian ones have a tendency to be rather heavy and in massive portion sizes. My faith in Grainstore paid off though; silky handmade pasta filled with butternut squash so well pureed it dropped out of them if you held them upside down was classically accomplished but the idea to pair it with a sticky apricot sauce was just a stroke of genius. Could have eaten a bucket full of it! [SN: she could!] Pretty sure some of the salad leaves were deep fried as well which made them melt in the mouth.

SN: As those who know me will testify, I'm a great lover of sausage, and as it happens pie (evidenced here) and the two ovens at Grainstore serve food off the menu and the choice between rabbit and game sausage was a hard one.  This game sausage was served with roughly mashed carrot and potato, pear chutney and cabbage.  Very straightforward - but the tastes were heavenly - from this earth Bruno has produced the most angelic cabbage I've tasted, rich, concentrated, intriguing but still cabbage.  The sausages were rich too but not too gamey, textured and delicately flavoured in many ways.  As a sausage maker (lapsed), I salute this dish of bangers and mash as the finest I've been served anywhere ever!

LM: Second course for me was vegetable merguez with lemony vegetables. The 'sausage' had a lovely texture and just about as much chilli kick as I can manage (I'm a notorious wimp though, so it's mild by most peoples' standards). The vegetables were the star of the dish though; firm, flavourful and spiked through with an intense lemon dressing.

I went back and forward on whether I wanted a dessert or not; some reviews have been less than complimentary and after two outstanding main courses it seemed a shame to risk a disappointment. Then I remembered where I was and begged for recommendations from our lovely waitress. I went for the goats milk pannacotta with candied tomatoes. I'm not usually a particular fan of pannacotta but I think because of the goats milk it wasn't too sweet, had a lovely firm texture (without being jelly-like) and contained CANDIED TOMATOES. I've never had these before; it was a revelation. Like...jam but with tomatoes but with something dark and sticky...even a week on my mind is still blown. Yes, it takes a little mental work to get past the concept of a savoury dessert, but well worth it.

SN: The cheese on offer was a rare treat.  I chose a mild creamy goats cheese coated in ash and a harder milder French cheese with ash running through it.  The marvel here is not only the gentle benediction to the cheese makers art but a heap of phrase and thanks to the breadmaker's art too.  Delicate, tasty sweet potato flour wafers  provided a crisp alternative preferable to a wheat flour alternative.  Beneath the uneven folds lie a rich date and walnut bread - or at least that what it appeared to be - it was jolly tasty, but who knows what combination Loubet would use to match the cheese.

A glass of heady dessert wine sealed the deal like a cooled mobile light honey, this Muscat de Rivesaltes, Domaine les Enfants Sauvages 2012 each provided a conclusive end to the meal...or at least would have provided an end if I hadn't held Lou up with an Americano which was worth a trip up the road from Kings Cross by itself.  The savage children put to bed by a divine (for London) reminder of French coffee sophistication.

I bought the cookbook to try and keep the high - Lou's dishes fare better than mine in terms of coverage, but Bruno Loubet continues to inspire not just with his exquisite tastes but his reminder that vegetables, fruits, berries, seeds and the produce of good earth can be as exciting, entrancing and immediate as meat, fish or fowl.

Outside Grainstore, Kings Cross has been transformed into something of a water and light wonderland.  Adults, sober adults at that, play, watch, film and chat about a glorious set of water features and boulevardiers reminisce in mini Parisian avenues, with authentic street furniture supplemented by wall friezes to mask the building still going on.

Grainstore represents a change for the better: I love it.

We paid £155 for two - all drinks included 

Paesan

Paesan

2 Exmouth Market, 
London 
EC1R 4PX 
United Kingdom
 
020 7837 7139

LM: After an expensive month following Galvin la Chapelle we decided to try something a little lighter on the purse and visited Paesan on the recommendation of several other food bloggers. The premise is rustic Italian food and the decor of the restaurant is stripped back and dark, boasting (maybe) fake animal heads and...err...traditional neon sign advertising the cocktails.

We turned up early hoping for a drink in the bar downstairs but unfortunately it isn't open every day so worth checking on the website if you're planning to do that.

Nonetheless, staff were more than happy to seat us early and we had a pre-dinner cocktail in the restaurant without being hurried to order food which is always nice. The cocktail list is short with a few specials on the board; I had a Paesan te Freddo, which was lemony, amaretto-y, punchy and basically fantastic. Great flavours and not overloaded with ice which seems to be happening more and more often. We were served bread on the side, freshly made and studded with explosively tasty sun dried tomatoes. So far so good...

SN: There was something admirably relaxed and maybe slightly off-beat about this restaurant, but it felt comfortable the moment we sat down.  Paesan is bright and intimate at the same time.  The staff are friendly and the menu is interesting but it's not a place designed only to appeal to foodies.  Moreover when my first two choices of Italian red wine weren't available the suggestion was for something considerably cheaper, I fell back in my seat and enjoyed the warm inner glow of someone who is not being fleeced....

The decor is quirky and I can excuse my fellow diner's inexperience in assessing the provenance of boar's heads - that one was real - the look of shock at ramming it's head through a wall was authentic in my view.

My cocktail was a very strong chili Bloody Mary and frankly I was left a little woozy by its effect.  My bad.

The Antigniano Sangiovese 'Convito' 2012 which I was recommended is a lovely drink but very much a standard sangiovese taste - warming and rich cherry flavour.  Nothing special but it was half the price or what I'd planned to buy and made real sense against some robust flavours too.



LM: We shared a selection of plates tapas style rather than going down the 'starter-main' route and it worked really well. The website has an idea of the menu but there were plenty of specials on the day as well. {SN: and the staff were happy to advise on portion sizes}

The standout starter for me was burrata with aubergine caponata. Really simple food but done so well; the burrata was rich and creamy and the caponata cut through beautiful, a darker and smokier taste than I'm used to but absolutely delicious.

A dandelion and walnut salad was a first for me and was perhaps a little heavy on the dressing but that might just be my taste; either way lovely to see unusual vegetarian dishes on the menu.

SN: The third starter - a lemon and courgette Arancini had a real flavour and gratifying crunch to it, not at all soggy as reported in one review I've seen.  I recall much sadder affairs in swankier restaurants.  I loved the dandelion salad, I was reminded of the meadows of my youth and unhealthy pre-occupation with kicking the heads of dandelion clocks.  No immediate diuretic effect was forthcoming despite what herbalists might say.

Pizza fritto

LM: Pizza fritto came from the specials board, and was a deep fried pizza base with a gut-busting covering of goats cheese, butternut squash, rosemary and roasted red onion. Healthy it ain't but when it tastes that good it's worth the guilt.

SN:  Our "side" dishes were substantial both in quantity and quality: Cabbage with chestnut was sweet and not a hint of wateriness.  The braised fennel lacked a strong aniseed taste - but that was fine by me.  The potatoes were a substantial presence in aroma, taste and calorific contribution - but it had been a long hard day and carbs were called for.

My main course was grilled chicken with aoili (quite mild - or at least it seemed so).  Very simple, super succulent and filling.  We perhaps ordered one dish too many in view of the size of the main courses but it was nice to sample a range and we were both starving! These things happen when you go into the hinterland.

My sweet was a fanatically acidic Raspberry-y and Lemony Sorbet which frankly I could have done without but it probably aided my digestion. Lou's I think was better....

LM: indeed - I'm fairly easily pleased when it comes to chocolate cake, but this was really wonderful. This one was flourless, but without the soggy middle that sometimes comes with that. Served with fresh fruit and (from memory) vanilla marscapone it was a sensible sized portion and tasted like it had been freshly made within the hour which is (sadly) unusual in London restaurants.

Because I'm a firm believer in gluttony, I followed up with a limoncello shot. Aside from nearly blowing my eyebrows off with its strength it was delicious - very fresh without too much sugar that it became syrupy.

SN: I'll conclude by saying that you will find better food, better wine and better value elsewhere in London - but you may have to search them out and you could will struggle to do better for a reasonably priced hearty meal anywhere within the area.  The Paesan feel is ultimately a million miles away from rural Italy or indeed rural anywhere else - despite the wild boar lodged in one of the high walls. This kind of manufactured effect is done elsewhere in London - the saving grace here is that you won't go hungry, the wine does the job without breaking the bank and everyone is helpful and smiley.  Service is quick, discrete and we stayed at our table for nearly an hour after we'd eaten without any pressure to surrender our table.

There's a slightly over the top feeling to Paesan - if signs like this help you feel at home - its probably for you :-)