Friday 8 May | 2015
London is full on. The city pumps seven days a week, with crowded streets, traffic, great nightlife, and queues for the best food. To take a break from it all, make like these clever pigeons and head to the up-and-coming suburb of King’s Cross. Here you’ll find several stellar brunch hotspots, which have taken up residence in the old converted warehouses.
Saturday morning, 10am, rain. A queue has built up outside Caravan anyway, and when the doors open everyone floods through the entrance to fill all the tables within 5 minutes flat. To smarten up and make a reservation, visit the website here (weekdays only).
Many are here for the killer coffee. It’s fresh, lemony and acidic, or at least this supply is – Caravan sources small batches of beans from around the world, and roasts daily both single origin and blends for their filter coffee and espresso menu. You can of course buy a bag to take home, and brewing accessories are on sale here too.
The atmosphere is hard, fast and loud, and you’ll shout across the table at each another. But despite catering to around 80 people all at once, the frantic kitchen has our food delivered to the table in under 15 minutes.
So let’s eat. Baked eggs are fast becoming a café staple, with Caravan setting the benchmark. Theirs (£8.00) are classic, served over a chunky tomato salsa that is spicy but well balanced, and topped with a welcome dollop of Greek yoghurt. On the side is a super thick slice of St John Bakery sourdough, which is again on point with its heavy crust and iconic sourdough flavour.
If there is a weak spot this morning, it would probably be the black coconut rice (£6.00) – it’s a bit boring really, unsolved by the few spare chunks of pineapple on top. But maybe it’s just because there are better options on the menu.
Like the corn and courgette fritters (£8.50) hiding under a pile of peppery rocket, marinated feta and tomato chilli jam. They are heavy and nourishing, with loads of flavour, and tip us off that one of the co-founders is Kiwi. Of course!
Things we wanted to try but had no room for: coconut bread with lemon curd. Would the recipe be as good as ours? Also the Chapel and Swan salmon, the Bulgur wheat fattoush, and the lemon and poppyseed cake above, the many different breakfast cocktails… of all the brunch spots we have visited so far, Caravan has the most impressive menu.
And when you leave, the sun might shine again. Might. This is London after all.
A heavy hit of London for breakfast.
Caravan
Granary Building – King’s Cross
1 Granary Square
London N1C 4AA
United Kingdom
Menu? We hear you:
