Camino King's Cross

Camino used to be my favourite restaurant in Kings Cross however, they changed the menu not so long ago and took off the platters that they used to have. This was a real shame and they also changed the squid on the menu and it used to be my favourite dish. However, Camino continues to be excellent for a quick informal catch up with friends or it caters really well for larger groups. As it is tapas food, everyone will get to have a taste of everything so it can become very good value. We also had our work Christmas party there last year and that was really good fun too. The drinks are extensive and they also have a fantastic enclosed courtyard, which is heated in winter and buzzing in summer. There are now four Caminos and I have been to three of them - as it is starting to become a bigger brand in London, I hope that they don't choose profit over authenticity too much, which I fear happened already at the Kings Cross one since it first opened. However, I do still enjoy going there.

Terrific lunch this week. The short(ish) menu had some excellent dishes though could have had one or two more vegetarian choices. The lamb cutlets were outstanding as was the morcilla with peppers but the prawns could have had more flavour. Staff were efficient, pleasant and knowledgeable. Highly recommended.

Delicious tapas, really friendly staff and relaxed atmosphere. Great post theatre jopint

Well! I absolutely love it here - the food, the atmosphere, the staff! It's amazing! I probably come here about once a week and I have brought loads of people here too and they all love it. Probably the only minor point I have is that the service could be slightly more attentive - I have had to raise my arm up to get attention on a couple of occasions. However, the food definitely makes up for that and the fact that they all remember my name when I go in! It's such a lovely welcome. The outside part is brilliant, especially during the summer and even in the colder months, it can get quite hot inside the bar with the fabulous Latino music being played that just gets everyone dancing!

The best Sangria ever is here. Right here in King's Cross, London Town. At Camino. Camino means 'road' or 'path' in Spanish and it's one I certainly want to take again. The Sangria was silky smooth with a caramel/vanilla (I couldn't decide which) aroma. Definitely the best tasting Sangria I've ever had. The secret, because I asked, is Liquor 43, a Spanish golden liquer infused with 43 herbs, spices and fruits. Along with red wine (obvs), Whitley Neill gin, orange juice, cinnamon, and lemonade. How many times need I attempt this at home before I get it right?! But we didn't just come for the Sangria. That was an added delight. Gin and Tonics are also a specialty, served the Spanish way with lots of ice and perfectly-matched garnish. I had the Gin Mare, infused with botanicals including citrus, thyme, rosemary and basil. The Chase Seville Orange was tantaslising,with orange, juniper berries and elderflower. The food though. Here at Camino, it is superb. Tapas dishes but without any faff or fancy stuff. Yet still elegant and more than edible. For six of us (including one vegetarian and one gluten-free) we ordered 14 dishes and it was just about enough. I could have kept eating, obviously, but it was just enough. Had to leave room for dessert (and more Sangria). The best dish by general consensus was the arroz negro, a black rice with cuttlefish and squid ink, dolloped with a creamy alioli. The special was recommended by our waiter with gusto, ribs with caramelised spring onions, and many other things besides, we got the last one. Glad we didn't miss that! The only dish that did not get hoovered up was the piquillo peppers with black quinoa. There we were, trying to be trendy and healthy at the same time - no, quinoa will never do it for me, and it ruined a perfectly nice piquillo pepper. Dessert. Churros of course! Long doughnut sticks with a melted chocolate dip. Real Spain in your mouth. I only had a taster of the almond tart, apparently it was quite tart, but the creamy custard was sweet and light. Tocino de cielo, for my gluten-free friend, was literally, Heavenly Custard. Tea was served with a multi-egg timer so you can gauge the strength you wish. We all want to buy one of these for our own homes now... To add to the ambience of Spanish-ness, people sit at the bar, drinking glasses of vine Tinto and ordering tapas dishes seemingly as they feel like it. Large legs of Iberico jamon sit on the counter tops, being sliced as we watched. Latin and jazz plays in the background while all around us people relax and drink cerveza, cava and carafes of vino. A cousin of the Bankside Camino and others, Camino was one of the first restaurants to help King's Cross become the foodie destination it now is, with Dishoom, Caravan, The Grain Store, Addis and many more now amongst the top restaurants in London. Right across the courtyard in Varnisher's Yard is Bar Pepito, London's first sherry bar also serving tapas, and managed by the same company. Imagine sunny afternoons drinking Sangria in the plaza... Be in Spain right here in London. Me encanta.

For many years, the only reason for most people to be in the King’s Cross area of London was to use the train station. However, an air of dilapidation has been replaced by new developments and the whole area has been notably reinvigorated in more recent times. Even the station has been done up. For diners (or those just curious to see how an area of London has been successfully transformed), there are therefore a myriad of options. A recent weekend outing allowed my comrade and I to sample the delights of Camino, a buzzy Spanish restaurant that has become something of a local institution. Our evening actually commenced at Bar Pepito (owned by the same team), located opposite Camino in the Regent’s Quarter development, just up Pentonville Road beyond King’s Cross. We loved the authentic décor and hence atmosphere of the place that was neither too empty nor too crowded when we visited at about 8pm on Saturday. Sherry remains one of the most under-appreciated and under-valued alcoholic drinks and yet Pepito’s range does a service to the industry, highlighting just how diverse it can be, from the salty refreshing taste of a Fino to the unctuousness (not dissimilar to Christmas pudding) of a Pedro Ximinez. Feeling suitably buoyed by our drinks, we crossed to Camino. Meaning ‘road’ in Spanish, the proprietor has travelled extensively across the country, seeking to find the best regional examples of classic dishes. Most impressed too: the padron peppers from Galicia varied from the innocent to the devilishly spicy; the empandillas (small pasties) contained a great combination of spinach, pine nuts and goat’s cheese; and, the morcilla (black pudding and peppers) was a delight, hearty and invigorating. However, the problem, as almost always seems to be the case with tapas, was that not all the dishes were stand-out. The pan con tomate was decidedly average and mostly tasteless while the arroz negro (black rice with octopus) bordered on the bland and was accompanied by an unnecessary alioli. Nonetheless, given the competitive pricing and an excellent bottle of wine from Navarra, we were not really complaining. Perhaps best enjoyed with a large group (and the opportunity to sample a wide range of dishes), don’t just travel to King’s Cross to catch your train; also check out Camino.