Plum + Spilt Milk

If security checks and passport queues have left you mourning the glamour of travel, dine here. On the first floor of the Great Northern Hotel just beside King’s Cross Station, the check-in for Eurostar at St Pancras is but a fond adieu across the road, and the classy dining room seems to buzz with the excitement of having just arrived or preparing to set off.

Directed by Michelin-starred chef Mark Sargeant, the kitchen showcases contemporary and classic British cooking. My dish of orange-poached figs in a salad with beets and English blue cheese was tangy, soft and well matched with crisp, candied walnuts. Mains aren’t cheap, but my companion’s lamb was pink, tender and, I’m assured, well worth the outlay, while my baked marrow melted deliciously on the tongue, and was served with heritage carrots that were earthy and delicately seasoned with coriander.

Without a Continental train journey on which to snooze it all off, it was good to see that desserts are offered in two portion sizes. Thanks to the friendly guidance of the attentive but unassuming waiting staff, the piquant iced peanut and salted caramel mousse ‘little pudding’ proved just the ticket.