Caravan Take II

It's been a hectic week at work, but I found the time to take lunch at the new King's Cross branch of Caravan, which recently passed the Bex macchiato test. It was fairly busy when we arrived, around 12.30, but by 1 pm, the place was bursting at the seams, demonstrating how desperately KC needed a restaurant like Caravan. The first disappointment came, however, when I saw the menu and realised that they don't serve brunch during the week and breakfast finishes at 11 am, leaving us with the all-day menu. Don't get me wrong: the all-day menu looks great, with plenty of quirky, creative dishes, but for local workers in need of a fairly fast one-course lunch, the small-plate-heavy all-day menu isn't ideal.

Caravan King's Cross: no brunch on weekdays :(

Luckily, there are a few large plates--including a half baby chicken with salsa verde, hazelnut stuffing and broccoli--and pizzas on offer. I went for the standard margherita, which was a steal at £7 (cheaper than a pizza from eat.st). I was expecting it to be good, but I wasn't expecting it to be as fantastic as it was: charcoal-fired, thin and crispy, with really good mozzarella and a tasty tomato sauce. You can also choose more adventurous pizzas for a pound or two more. There wasn't time for pudding, which was a shame because there was something involving salted caramel, but I did steal a sip of the salted caramel hot chocolate they serve. Much as I enjoy Caravan's macchiato, I can see the gorgeous, rich, salty-sweet hot chocolate being a big weakness of mine once the temperature drops. It's delicious.

Salted caramel hot choc, macchiato, margherita pizza

The staff are all very friendly, although went from initially overly attentive to very slightly remiss as Caravan filled up with the lunchtime rush. I spoke about the décor in my previous post, but it really is a lovely, bright place in which to hang out and eat. I liked the fuzzy, felted grey benches that line the wall-side tables. Because you might not have been able to tell that they are into minimalism...

Now, of course, I'll have to go back to Caravan at brunch o'clock, which may prove problematic because the last place I want to be at the weekend is next to my office. Maybe a pre-work breakfast, then.

Caravan. 1 Granary Square, London, N1C 4AA (Tube: King's Cross). Website. Twitter.