Time Out rating:
<strong>Rating: </strong>3/5
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<strong>Rating: </strong>5/5
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Time Out says
Wed Aug 8 2012
One thing’s for sure: you can’t miss Karpo. it’s housed within the Megaro Hotel, opposite King’s Cross station. The Georgian building’s owners daringly paid four street artists to spray-paint the brick façade with an enormous technicolour mural (reputed to be the capital’s largest).
Once inside, though, the design is less assured. The surroundings take their cues from a palette of vastly different styles, from industrial chic to French brasserie. Similarly, the menu veers from the Deep South to smart Italian, but – despite this muddle – execution is very sound.
A Scandinavian snack of smoked eel on dense Finnish bread impressed, as did a starter of tender, fleshy salt duck, served with tiny pickled mirabelles (a type of plum). Grits, a Southern US staple made of boiled cornmeal, came formed into a neat block, then topped with shelled ‘shrimps’ and a buttery mushroom sauce. Another main course, of pink-middled slivers of lamb leg served with a provençal-style green beans and anchovy dressing, was simpler but no less memorable.
Desserts ranged from a decent selection of cheeses, to salted caramel ice-cream or polenta cake, the wine list showcased organic and biodynamic bottles, and service was warm, engaged and accommodating.
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