Restaurant review: Shrimpy's, the Filling Station, King's Cross

Another week, another pop-up restaurant. They are all over London at the moment, which is really no bad thing. Who is going to complain about fantastic new restaurants appearing left, right and centre? 


Well, me, but only about the ones that have a no-booking policy, which never fails to annoy me. Thankfully at Shrimpy's (our lunch destination on Friday) you not only can book, but really have to -  it's a very small dining room and is very popular just now. 


The setting is key for your average pop-up: whilst Pitt Cue went for an Airstream Caravan on Southbank, Shrimpy's have installed themselves in a former petrol station (now the "Filling Station") just north of King's Cross station (on the corner of Goods Way and York Way). The transformation is impressive: it's a great dining space, cleverly hidden away from the traffic behind fancy screening, with a forecourt that will be a fantastic spot for canal-side drinks throughout the summer. 


The menu, as the name suggests, is dominated by fish (though there are meat options which did look tempting). The wine list is full of new world stuff, which gets a tick in my book. 


My starter was calamari (very tasty) followed by the soft shell crab burger (as pictured) for my main. The burger looked great, and tasted fine - though it was quite hard to notice any distinctive crab flavour. There was a subtle taste, but it seemed to be dominated by the bun and the dressing. As I say, it was fine, but it isn't a dish that I immediately rang home about. My colleagues who had the chicken dish enjoyed their meals. 


The service, and coffees were all good, and the bill came in at £180 for four (one bottle of wine, starters, mains and coffees) which puts it into the category of places to only go to when someone else is paying.


I'll happily return to Shrimpy's - the food is good, it's a very useful addition to the restaurants in/around King's Cross, and the setting is an excellent conversation starter - but given the size of the bill, I wasn't as blown away by the food as I was hoping to be.


DM out.