London’s most dynamic neighbourhood – just got a new star destination, Tom Dixon's the Coal Office Restaurant. Overlooking Granary Square it's the latest piece of his new The Coal Office at Kings Cross HQ puzzle to be revealed, but there's undoubtedly more to come as Dixon treats his new home as an ever-evolving space for events and experimentation.
Dining area on the ground floor of the Coal Office Restaurant
The restaurant is a creative partnership between Dixon and Israeli restaurateur Assaf Granit, chef-patron of a growing international empire with restaurants in Jerusalem and also the award-winning The Palomar and The Barbary in London. Revitalised by DRS Architects and David Morley Architects, many of the building’s original features were retained following Dixon’s acquisition – including the industrial Victorian brickwork and windows – with the designer taking care of the long, slender interior.
Dixon employs his signature industrial stamp throughout from the ground floor dining room up to the rooftop bar and al fresco space – there are also plans for a chef’s table in the vaulted basement. If you're looking to invest in some Tom Dixon lighting you'll find plenty of examples to choose from here. His popular ‘Melt’ pendant lamps instantly greet guests in the first dining area, hovering above pre-release ‘Fat’ bar stools which line the bar and high tables (see above), elsewhere his Top, Mirror Ball and Curve Ball all make an appearance.
In the second room the seating is set at a lower dining level, creating a more relaxed feel. Meandering through the curving space, marble tabletops in a variety of shades present Dixon-designed tableware, which currently includes rough hewn silver cutlery that is being tested on diners’ pre-production.
The first floor space of the Coal Office Restaurant features a granite counter by Testi
Granit’s menu of Mediterranean-style sharing plates is served from an open kitchen. The chef's native Jerusalem is at its heart, but it also draws upon many traditional Mediterranean flavours and textures that stretch from North Africa to The Levant. Starter highlights include Grandma Lea’s Chiga, bringing together bulgar, pomegranate and bell pepper caramel, as well as surefire hit Machneyuda Polenta, which has transferred straight from Granit’s Jerusalem restaurant of the same name, and is served in a small copper pan and supplemented by asparagus, mushrooms, parmesan and grated black truffle.
For mains the Seafood Chraime, served in tomatoes and pepper stew and accompanied by Yemen pancakes, is well complimented by the organic Spanish house white Castaño Organic Macabeo. Finish off with the tantalising rice pudding, colourful Malibu panna cotta, or fig leaf and fig leaf’s oil ice cream, then head upstairs to take full advantage of the outdoor terrace, which provides an outstanding view of the developing Kings Cross neighbourhood from Wilkinson Eyre’s Gasholders to Heatherwick Studio's Coal Drops Yard.
Melt pendant lighting illuminates ‘Fat’ seating in the ground floor dining space
Chunky charcoal-like timber panelling is reminiscent of the material from which the restaurant takes its name
The chef's table is in the vaulted basement
The terrace looks onto Granary Square
The rooftop terrace of the Coal Office Restaurant
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
2 Bagley Walk
-
Welcome to io: OpenAI acquires Jony Ive’s secret startup to shape the form of future AIJony Ive’s LoveFrom has spent two years assembling io, a crack team of specialists to visualise the physical form of Artificial Intelligence. Newly acquired by Sam Altman at ChatGPT, this tech supergroup hopes to re-shape the landscape of Silicon Valley and our relationship with tech
-
Chelsea Flower Show unfurled: a year of pause, thought and promiseThis week’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show – now in its 112th year – has begun to reveal its defining spirit. This year is one of tentative readjustment: a reassuring exploration of the ‘future garden’, and the ways in which landscape design might tackle climate and conservation challenges
-
Milan exhibition celebrates 20 years of Armani Privé: ‘Haute couture is fashion when it becomes art’Hosted at the Tadao Ando-designed Armani/Silos, ‘Giorgio Armani Privé 2005-2025, Twenty Years of Haute Couture’ displays an expansive collection of the Italian designer’s showstopping haute couture creations
-
Late-night spring shopping comes to London’s Chiltern StreetOn Thursday 22 May, those in London can enjoy the Chiltern Street Spring Shopping Evening, including a programme of in-store drinks, offers and workshops
-
Fin-to-gill sophistication awaits at Tom Brown at The CapitalExpect ambitious cooking from the country’s most creative seafood chef
-
A first look inside Josephine Marylebone, a bistro-licious French restaurantFollowing the success of Claude and Lucy Bosi’s first restaurant, in Chelsea, Josephine Marylebone is the second outpost, fitted with an oyster bar and a focus on classic French cuisine
-
The Kerfield Arms is south-east London’s hot new gastropubIn Camberwell, this stripped-back haunt comes courtesy of the team behind The Baring in Hoxton
-
Premium patisserie Naya is Mayfair’s latest sweet spotHeritage meets opulence at Naya bakery in Mayfair, London. With interiors by India Hicks and Anna Goulandris, the patisserie looks good enough to eat
-
One Club Row is London’s answer to the Lower East SideLocated at the site of the former hotspot Les Trois Garçons, One Club Row brings back noughties glamour with 19th-century interiors, gourmet bites, and jazz nights
-
Marylebone restaurant Nina turns up the volume on Italian diningAt Nina, don’t expect a view of the Amalfi Coast. Do expect pasta, leopard print and industrial chic
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Treehouse Hotel Manchester: you may not want to leafTreehouse Hotel Manchester offers a nature-infused biophilic sanctuary amidst the city’s ever-growing architectural canopy
