Rotunda in King’s Cross: Hearty farm-to-table British dishes with a panoramic view

It’s now been a month since Rotunda threw open their doors following a major refurbishment which brought around a whole host of exciting new changes. The most notable transformation lies in their decision to bring the kitchen, which was previously downstairs, up into the main restaurant area, creating an open-plan experience for their diners. However, the restaurant and bar have still managed to hold onto some of their more notable features such as their stunning terrace offering panoramic views over Regent’s Canal.

The menus offer lots of choice and are split into à la carte, a weekend menu, a pre-concert menu (due to the restaurant’s location in Kings Place) and a menu geared for private dining. The wine list is pretty extensive and has an impressive number of labels, mainly sold by the bottle. The à la carte selection is packed full of hearty British classics with a heavy focus on meats from their grill. However, I was also surprised to see a variety of well thought out pescatarian, vegetarian and vegan dishes.

If you did come for the meat, though, you’re certainly in the right place (the hanging meat display as you walk in kind of gives it away). All of the produce comes from their farm in Northumberland which is then delivered to the restaurant and cured in a hanging room downstairs – a true farm-to-table concept.  

Now onto the food. To start I had the salt-smoked heritage beetroot and torched goat’s cheese served with pomegranate, balsamic, molasses and hazelnuts. This dish made use of seasonal ingredients which didn’t go unnoticed as the earthy sweet tones were perfectly complemented with the smoky notes from the goat’s cheese. An additional tartness coming through from the pomegranate helped to really bring all the flavours together, making this a light and tasty starter.

For the main I had Texel lamb served with black cabbage, shallots and an anchovy dressing. The generously portioned lamb was perfectly pink and succulent, while producing a fragrant subtle flavour that was in no way overpowering. The anchovy dressing was a nice touch and brought a salty yet sour note to the mix. I also ordered truffle fries, making this a comforting and hearty British filler – be sure to come hungry.

Finally, it was onto dessert and I went for the Triple Toffee Apple Trifle which was topped off with a toffee-dipped cherry. The trifle managed to be light and airy, but I would have liked to have to have seen more toffee and apple flavours coming through.   

Rotunda certainly delivers on hearty British dishes, served up in an atmospheric and relaxed setting, with the open kitchen providing a little live theatre for their diners. It offers more than your average grill restaurant and I was really impressed with their approach to sourcing, storing and serving their meat, making sure they use everything from nose to tail and facilitating a more ethical way to eat.

★★★★★

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Alex Woods

To book a table at Rotunda, Kings Place 90 York Way Kings Cross London N1 9AG, call 020 7014 2840 or visit their website here.