German Gymnasium, the real deal amongst some utter dross

So it’s the last Friday night of summer and Big Matt suggest we catch up and try somewhere new. He’s read about Coal Drop Yard which looks too cool for school so we decide it will be a laugh to try it out. I’ve been up to the new Kings Cross a few times now for Street Feast markets and by and large think they have done a decent job of regenerating what was in my formative days a no go area. I’m particularly taken with their Waitrose that has it’s own tapas bar. I’d heard good things about the German Gymnasium from one of the school dad’s who spent a very pleasant evening there waiting hopelessly for a train up to the North East. Big Matt and I decided to meet there for a drink ahead of the main part of the evening at Coal Drop Yard. Handily the German Gymnasium is situated in an old victorian gymnasium directly outside Kings Cross station. Anyone who knows London or indeed the UK knows that drinking and dining establishments adjacent to our rail stations are generally pretty awful. it’s not like Paris where once you dodge all the nefarious characters around Gare Du Nord you can eat an amazing meal at Terminus Nord. in this respect however German Gymnasium proved to be an outlier and hopefully a game changer.

From the outside it looks extremely impressive, the owners D&D have spent a lot of money making this large restaurant look as good as the rest of the revamped Kings Cross. There is ample seating outside and they even have a street bar for those wanting to take a pils and the air in the nearby square. it has a very friendly vibe which continues once you enter the restaurant proper. Too often the front of house desk staff can be snooty and stand offish but here I’m warmly welcomed and they happily let me wonder upstairs to find Big Matt. Inside is a seriously impressive space and on this Friday night it is packed giving off a great buzz. Downstairs is the restaurant proper and I pass tables laden with some serious looking schnitzel and other goodies.Upstairs are more tables but also a smart bar. I find Big Matt and we settle in for a fantastic couple of hours drinking cold Steins of Weiss beer. We also sample some excellent bits from the bar menu. A lovely punch curry wurst , some unctuous cheese balls and a great bacon flambe tart (german pizza). Service is excellent, our drinks coming quickly despite a full Stein being quite a job to carry. it’s not cheap but then again it feels upscale and classy in here. I don’t begrudge the cost and I feel a million miles away from a grotty station. it could quite easily be fur coat and no knickers in here but they get it right. Friendly & efficient staff, great food and drink and a clientele who are really enjoying their Friday night out.

Sadly we make the terrible decision to revert to our original plan and go to Coal Drop Yard which is up the hill from the German Gymnasium. If ever a cynical development deserves to die on it’s arse it’s this. We try 3 different bars and in each it appears the party has preceded us. It’s 10PM and in every place we are made to feel like they want to shut up shop. in the abysmal Morty & Bob’s we order an non alcoholic beer by accident and are served by staff in between their important gossip session. In Vermuteria which appears to be Italian they only serve belgian beer, it’s nice but the guys behind the bar have a welcoming thousand yard stare. In Casa & Plaza Pastor, the at first stand offish head bar man only wants to serve us one drink as it it’s 10:45! he later relents to a second and shares some dad jokes with us. None of this is cheap and it lacks the warmth and hospitality of the German Gymnasium. I was hoping for the easy charm of Brixton market but these places are just upscale ripoff joints. They all declare their indie credentials but you could easily swap around their names and no one would notice or care. so it’s a hard no from me for Coal Drop Yard but please do yourself a massive favour and try The German Gymnasium it’s all sorts of awesome.