With all the new restaurants popping up around Kings Cross since the redevelopment, Elldrew had previously had a lovely meal at Camino Spanish restaurant, so we were looking for somewhere to dine in the area again when we came across Karpo. Actually located on Euston Road opposite the station, away from all the new restaurants, we’re not sure how old the restaurant is, but reading great reviews we simply had to try it.
A modern British menu, this funky little restaurant, which calls itself a brasserie, has a downstairs cocktail bar (which we didn’t try) and is attached to Hotel Megaro (so don’t be surprised to see guests coming and going, with luggage…a little off-putting but not something to get hung up about). We were greeted and seated by our very friendly waiter who happily answered our requests for what were the best things on the menu. The rib of beef for two, we were told, was the most popular dish on the menu, and as we were sitting near the kitchen we can confirm that 90% of all mains leaving were in fact the large chopping board hosting the chunky beef slices and thick hand cut chips. We decided to try more of the dishes on the menu so we passed on this, possibly a mistake, we are not entirely sure.
A nice mixed menu with something for everyone, we started with hand dived scallop ceviche and a crispy veal shin. We just couldn’t get our heads around eating a small veal croquette served with smoked anchovy and a dollop of tartare sauce, in all honestly the flavour combination was just odd. The scallops however, served in a sauce of jasmine tea, white soy and black radish, was the dish of the evening.
For mains we stuck with red meat, choosing the slow cooked pork belly and veal T-bone. Our waiter had advised that whilst nice, the pork belly was a bit fatty, and he was right. Not only was the dish deconstructed and re-arranged in an 80’s nouveau cuisine plating, it did leave us with a fatty palate that just didn’t hit the mark. The T-bone was however large and cooked perfectly with the lemon, parsley and garlic dressing (thankfully on the side) creating a simple, yet tasteful, main meal. Our side of purple sprouting broccoli with balsamic and parmesan helped cut through the meat feast.
Deciding to share a dessert we opted for the chocolate, caramel popcorn, peanut and sea salt dish which tasted as good as it looked!
Overall verdict? We are glad we tried it, the scallop dish looked and tasted amazing, but with a £110 price tag for two (the wine was around £30 a bottle) there are so many other restaurants we would prefer to try before rushing back. They do have a floor upstairs that has seating for larger groups, so we would happily return for a friends birthday invite, but overall we were not wowed, and for that price, we would rather have returned to Berner’s Tavern at the London Edition hotel; where you are pretty much guaranteed perfection at every stage (our thoughts on that coming soon).