The Parcel Yard, London N1
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Bloomsbury, Euston and St Pancras
Contemporary pub (Fuller’s)
8 Shared Service Yard, Goods Way N1C 4AH
T 020 7713 7258 w www.parcelyard.co.uk tw TheParcelYard
Open 0800 (0900 Sun)-2300. Children welcome until early evening.
Cask beer 10 (Fuller’s, 2 guests), Other beer 5 keg, 8 bottles, Also Wines, some specialists whiskies.
Food British food and upmarket pub grub, breakfasts, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Occasional major big screen sport.
Wedged between the main line (platforms 1-8) and suburban (9-11) sides of Kings Cross station and accessed via stairs or lift from the glitzy new western concourse, this ambitious Fuller’s pub and restaurant, opened in March 2012, aims to challenge preconceptions about the station pub experience. It’s housed in the Grade I listed former station parcels office, disused and derelict for many decades. The generous eating and drinking area spreads over two floors, with a mix of spaces around a rectangular courtyard that’s been turned into a delightful glass-covered atrium. Rooms range from comfortable dining areas with big windows overlooking the platforms to a sought-after small lounge with a bricked in fireplace. Decorations reflect the surroundings – signing is in railway style, railway posters are displayed and old fashioned wooden platform benches line corridors.
The pub has already built up a following among local workers and residents as well as travellers, with what’s claimed to be the widest range of Fuller’s beers in London. Chiswick, Discovery, ESB, HSB, London Pride and Seafarers are all regularly stocked on cask, plus a seasonal and at least two guests from other brewers – perhaps Adnams, Butcombe or Ossett. Manager Nick Cameron is a Fuller’s Master Cellarman so quality is good. Fuller’s Porter and Honeydew are on keg alongside Meantime London Lager and Leffe Blond, while 1845, Bengal Lancer and Vintage Ale line up with Franziskaner wheat beer and Sierra Nevada Pale in the fridges. Food is medium priced British cooking with a retro slant: the comprehensive menu starts with 1950s favourite brown Windsor soup.
Visitor note. Though overshadowed by the Gothic Revival extravaganza of St Pancras next door, Kings Cross has its own charms and is currently benefitting from a major makeover that should leave the station looking better than it’s done in many decades. The pub surveys the new western concourse with its spectacular curved roof designed by John McAslan, and later in 2012 an open air piazza will be unveiled along Euston Road, replacing ugly “temporary” buildings from the 1960s and revealing the simple but elegant twin-arched entrance of Lewis Cubitt’s original 1852 building. Harry Potter fans should look out for Platform 9¾ near the steps to the pub.
National Rail Kings Cross, St Pancras Underground Kings Cross St Pancras Cycling LCN+ 0 6 6A 16, Regents Canal towpath Walking Jubilee Greenway, Jubilee Walkway
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