Interesting food, done well. A little limited on the bar side, but the food is delicious and done with care. Two nice spaces for dining and a private room available, service was ok. It's a little hidden but worth looking up.
In the heart of King’s Cross, the understated Karpo Grill boasts some tasty fare. The three-storey rustic, modern grill combines relaxed dining in a modern setting on the ground floor of the 4* Megaro Hotel. The entrance area and adjacent bar gives off the feeling of a vibrant, neighbourhood-friendly eatery. The convivial environment in the main and upstairs dining area, which overlooks the esplanade of King’s Cross station, is a little let down by the accompanying décor. Waiting for food to arrive, Sharking noticed the grubbiness of the plaster walls, while a mixture of concrete, wood and marble tables affect a slightly disjointed interior design feel. However, a refurbishment is due to take place in the coming months, creative marketing firm Chocolate Ltd confirmed.
A culinary delight with great ingredients and super service. This is how food should be prepared and presented. Went for the small plates of Tuna tartar, pork belly, scallops and goats cheese salad. ..shared between two just perfect. We also are regular guests at the Hotel. Far from home but serms close to home. See you soon.
An empty restaurant has never been a good sign in my book, especially in a busy area like King’s Cross, but Karpo turned out to be a pleasant experience. The mood was set nicely by the low lights (even if that really completely messed up my pictures as they’re all blurry – I refuse to use flash).
A couple of weeks after suffering at the hands of a huge, geographically vague menu at Cha Cha Moon, here we are in a brand new restaurant in Kings Cross that has exactly the same problem. Look at the size of it - Brunch, Lunch, Larder, Hot Starters, Wood-fired Oven, Not Wood-fired Oven (weirdly), Puddings, Ices, it goes on and on and on. And I can see why they wouldn't want to lump quite so many items under anything so prosaic as "Starters" and "Mains" but how the hell am I supposed to know which of "Speck & pickled quince" or "Vegetables a la grecque" - both filed under "Larder" - are big enough for a starter without guessing based on their price? Karpo is also billed as an American-style diner, but despite the appearance of a burger, "Shrimp & grits" and a Macaroni cheese, the rest of the dishes seem to hail from more or less anywhere. There's risotto with buffalo mozzarella, sourdough toast with Gentleman's Relish, a fish taco (lunchtime only) and Omelette Arnold Bennett (for break
Gingle Lists Everything
+4
I came here yesterday for a quick brunch with the girls and I was more than pleasantly surprised. Previously, I'd had some of their ginger cake to take away which was lovely but hadn't eaten a proper meal. Their brunch menu is pretty small - several egg dishes, a full English and four choices of pancakes (though they also have their regular menu available). After being convinced I'd have pancakes it turns out I really fancied eggs on the day so had the eggs florentine. I think it was one of the best poached egg dishes I've ever had. The eggs were beatifully done, the yolk was vibrant and deep in colour, the spinach was fresh and not too irony and the hollandaise was just perfect. Sometimes it can be too heavy but this was just the right amount and texture, with a nice lemony zing. I scraped up as much of it as I could. And of course I had to have a bloody mary or it didn't count as brunch. Nice and peppy, I did wish it had come with a celery stick to munch on, rather than the mint, however.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Karpo, located a stone's throw from King's Cross St Pancras station, is an all-day independent restaurant serving food from 7am until 10pm. Dimly lit with a rustic wooden design, Karpo also uses foliage on the walls to give it a fresh vibe making one forget the hustle and bustle outside the front door.
There is a balcony with extra seating upstairs and the atmosphere is relaxed with quiet background music rather than the pulsating beats often heard in other London eateries. It is possible to book private areas in the restaurant which is great to know considering the very convenient location.
Would I Want Seconds?
We dined in the evening however the breakfast menu is wholly tempting with everything from eggs benedict to buttermilk pancakes being served up until 11am on weekdays.
I was pleasantly surprised by how tasty the food was at Karpo considering the fact I did not have much choice in their offerings. My starter was pumpkin soup which was well seasoned and warming. If served alone, perhaps it would have been a little dull however it was greatly improved as it was served with great thick slices of granary bread with sunflower seeds and salted butter. It made for a tasty and filling starter.
For my main course, I had the wild mushroom risotto which was creamy and flavoursome and went down a treat. As I like risotto the fact that this was the only option was not a huge problem for me however if the option had been a goat's cheese tart or something of that ilk then I might have had issues.
At Karpo, the desserts change regularly so they aren't published on the website. I would encourage you to try the recommended wine that is allocated to each dessert in order to enhance the flavours. My dining companion had a delicious and attractive strawberry and white chocolate cheesecake but being a self-confessed chocaholic I opted for a chocolate and hazelnut praline. It was artfully presented however the dessert was so rich that an accompaniment of ice cream or cream would not have gone amiss.
Could I Afford Seconds?
Depending on what you are eating, you could afford seconds. Notoriously vegetarian dishes are cheaper than meat dishes and at Karpo you could be spending a hefty £60 on the Cote de Boeuf. The veggie dishes are a little more reasonable and you would be spending around £25 for three courses excluding drinks.
Overall:
I had an enjoyable meal within pleasant surroundings and with good service. Obviously more vegetarian choices would be preferable but if you like flavoursome food with delicious desserts then you won't be disappointed with Karpo.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
After some pre-dinner cocktails at Megaro we settled down for a meal at the airy Karpo, which is directly opposite Kings Cross tube station on Euston road but hard to spot from the road.
We were sat next to the indoor garden (on the wall!) and next to the pass so I could easily see what was going on in the kitchen. They certainly keep up a frantic pace at Karpo, and whilst our starters were served quickly, the mains were slow to arrive.
However, the offer of chunky seeded bread with butter whipped on site (served with a pile of salt and toasted pumpkin seeds) kept us going while we waited.
The menu has a nice range of well sourced options, and for starter (ranging from £8-12) we had a crab salad and scallops with chorizo and cauliflower. Both portions were on the (very) small side which was disappointing, and the delicate flavour of the crab was overpowered by the marie rose sauce.
However, our mains, when they arrived, were very generously portioned, rich and very filling. Roast duck breast had perfectly pink flesh and crispy skin with the fat nicely rendered, and was served with a potato cake mixed with confit duck leg. The generous amount of sauce on the plate was sticky and rich, and the fig chutney added a nicely balanced sweetness, although there was more of it on the plate than necessary and I had to leave some.
The special of brill with mussels and gnocchi was also served with a rich sauce. The mussels were well cooked and the large pieces of homemade gnocchi were substantial. The fish was a touch overcooked and dry, but overall it was still a good dish.
We also ordered a side of broccoli with chilli and anchovy, and the fishy flavour was a touch too strong for our tastes.
Puddings are listed on the menu with accompanying dessert wines, and these are very well matched and fairly priced. We chose a lemon posset with raspberries and shortbread crumbled on top; and a chocolate torte with praline and malt delice. This turned out to be a rich creamy torte with unidentifiable crumbs on top (beautiful presentation). The crumbs turned out to include popping candy which was a lovely surprise.
This and the lemon posset were once again very rich and we were unable to finish.
Overall Karpo is a nice place and well priced for the location, although the starter portions are not particularly generous, you are unlikely to leave hungry!
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Located in a colourfully painted building, opposite Kings Cross station Karpo describes itself as a neighbourhood, all-day, modern brasserie-style-restaurant-type-thing. It is the all-day part that interests me the most as this means breakfast!I sat down on a concrete bench and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was heated.
They have an extensive breakfast menu, with the cooked breakfast at the bottom of the page. And that, along with a flat white coffee is what I ordered.At £10, it is at the higher end of the fry-up market. For your money you get: 2 eggs, Cumberland sausage, streaky bacon, portobella mushroom, fried potatoes & toast.
The ingredients were high quality; the sausage was big and plump with a great meaty flavour. The eggs (I chose poached) where Clarence court which provide a fantastic yellow/orange yolk. But the star of the plate was probably the fried potatoes.As I have mentioned previously, I'm not very comfortable with chips on a fry-up. Hash browns are acceptable, but this was neither of those things. 5 or 6 thumb sizing, whole potatoes, fried and very lightly spiced had a great flavour and texture. The two eggs were very well cooked, providing two runny yolks, adding moisture to the plate. Beans or a tomato, I think would have balanced this out further in my opinion, but it wasn't dry as I had feared.
Also worth a mention is the toast, not for it’s taste, but just its sheer size. As you can see from the photo, it really must have been an enormous loaf! That paired with the potatoes made this a really filling breakfast; it kept me going right through until tea time.
Gourmet food for kebab prices.
Don't be fooled, this place does not serve kebab.
I was so surprised, we missed brunch and thought it was the end of the world, as they are renowned for their epic brunches.
But thankfully, we did not have to fear.
What a wonderful selection of beautiful dishes. The decor is simple, from the table you can see the cooks preparing the dishes with such precision. A really superb place for a date.
The crab bisque was creamy, sublime.
The salmon, melt in mouth.
Very well worth the visit, brunch, lunch or dinner.
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