Restaurants

This huge, costly, Spanish-themed bar-restaurant in the heart of the King’s Cross construction zone was a big gamble for owner Richard Bigg. Originally the bar and restaurant sections were completely segregated (you had to go outside to move between the two), but they’ve now been knocked together, and the original ‘concept’ menu (a fiddly, fold-out concertina) has been replaced by a conventional, linear list. In the bar you can order good tapas, but it’s worth sitting down for a proper three-course meal in the restaurant, where the exposed brickwork and natural materials are married with soft lighting and murals to create a laid-back ambience.The cooking conveys the central principle of traditional Spanish food: the finest ingredients, simply cooked. Fish is always of a high quality; at a recent meal, pan-roasted sea trout with tomatoes and rocket, and grilled sea bass with roasted winter veg, were terrific. Steak is also a favourite. The wine list is all-Spanish, with everything available by the glass and many interesting bottles up for grabs. Also noteworthy is the little-known, but marvellous, Spanish beer Ambar. There’s still a long way to go before King’s Cross is properly scrubbed up, but Camino is a shining beacon of things to come.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009