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Please note, House Kitchen has now closed. Time Out Food editors, July 2019
‘Oh, I think I’ll just grab a sandwich.’ They’re not usually words to inspire a memorable lunch – but this no-nonsense, high-quality Kentish Town joint from the group behind Soho House might make you reconsider your Pret habit. House Kitchen sits in the courtyard of Highgate Studios, a complex of offices in a block of converted Victorian warehouses on the way up to Hampstead Heath. It’s essentially a work canteen – modern, spacious, with office-workers milling about – but it’s open to the public and the vibe is professional and efficient. You can eat in, although it’s as much a quick-in-and-out takeaway place as anything else. It offers everything you’d expect – sandwiches, salads, soups, juices, coffees – but all at a quality at least one notch above most places offering a similar catch-all quick-bite menu.
I visited at lunchtime (although the breakfast menu looks worth a shot) and I decided to test my long-held aversion to putting beef between bread by trying the beef short rib, watercress and horseradish sandwich (£5). Good choice: it was served just warm enough to put off any memories of leftover roasts, and the meat was soft and tender. Even better was the egg and mayo sandwich (£3.50), a simple British standard that many places get badly wrong (supermarkets - I’m looking at you). Not here: it was rich, gooey and deliciously eggy. A broad bean salad was also impressive, and I didn’t regret splashing out on a small pot of hummus (good texture, slightly spiced) to wash it all down. House Kitchen is unfussy and affordable (an Americano is just £1.50), and it might cause you to skip back to your desk feeling smug. It might also cause you to skip past the high-street alternative next time you’re tempted.