Style Points: 4/5
Price: ££
Overall: 4/5

Located in one of the most exciting quarters in London, The Grain Store certainly is an exciting restaurant.

As diners walk through The Grain Store they are met with a vast dining space seems to go on for miles. This enormous space, once a warehouse, is now composed of white-painted wood, whitewashed brick walls quirky furnishings. This makes it brightly light and lightly coloured and despite it being a cavernous space, there is an artful and creative mood to it too.

These impressive interiors are created by the acclaimed Russell Sage who also worked on Bread Street Kitchen. Yet at The Grain Store the design is based around the idea of the ‘exploded kitchen’. This is an extension of the more standard open kitchen into a flexible space that blurs the lines between kitchen, dining room and onto the table. In fact the entire kitchen is located along one long wall and isn't closed off, instead diners who are sat close to this can observe the intricacies of the cooking process, almost as if they were sat within the kitchen itself.

This innovative construction is the newest addition to Chef Bruno Loubet and The Zetter Group's Michael Benyan and Mark Sainsbury. Loubet originally made his mark on London’s dining scene with Bistrot Bruno in Soho and then more recently Bistrot Bruno Loubet in Clerkenwell and this new venture is following in the same successful steps.

Vast interior of the restaurant

Would I Want Seconds?

The menu Bruno Loubet is serving here is innovative and has been described as the culmination of his travels and the years dedicated to his beloved vegetable patch. As a result the menu has a distinct vegetarian focus and even the dishes that feature meat do make place emphasis on it as an ingredient. Aside from these there are no geographical boundaries to the food which results in an eclectic and unique menu.

We dined from the ‘lunch and dinner menu’ and ordered wild mushroom croquettes seasoned with pine needle salt to start. This arrived beautifully presented on a bed a fresh pine needles on a plate on a bark display plate, which certainly added some context to the dish. There were a good number to croquettes which made it an excellent sharing dish between two people.

For my main course I ordered the preserved piquillo pepper, artichoke and vegetable chorizo paella. This again arrived in a large portion with sufficient helpings of pepper and vegetable chorizo to add a depth of flavour to the paella base. My dining companion tried the lightly lemon pickled cucumber, baked onions, seaweed, oyster leaves, confit lamb shank which again arrived in a well presented large portion size, with a healthy laden of vegetables tying into the main theme of the restaurant.

Some of the dishes on the menu at The Grain Store have a drink matched with it and so diners can order their drinks to match the flavours in their food. Additionally the menu has the vegan and vegetarian dishes clearly marked out and easily identifiable.

Wild mushroom croquettes seasoned with pine needle salt

Lightly lemon pickled cucumber, baked onions, seaweed, oyster leaves, confit lamb shank

Preserved piquillo pepper, artichoke and vegetable chorizo paella

Could I Afford Seconds?

The menu at The Grain Store is competitively priced, with starters ranging from £4 to £6 and main courses at approximately £14. Additionally there is also an all-day menu with a series of snack size and sharing plates such as focaccia with dukkah & olive oil dip, which would work well to order from if grazing in the beautiful bar area.

There is also a weekend brunch menu which features some enticing dishes such as potato pancake, sour cream leeks, poached duck egg, Tobiko wasabi caviar and Cuban vegetable empanada, rum-pickled cucumber and onion. This range of menus means that The Grain Store is well suited for a meal at any time of day and is not simple a dinner venue.

Overall: 

The Grain Store is a self-consciously innovative restaurant, which sometimes means some of the dishes on the menu require unravelling to understand what will be served on the plate. However it is as a result of this unique menu that The Grain Store has developed high standing in the dining world.

This makes The Grain Store an almost ‘concept’ restaurant which is worth at least one try.

Website: grainstore.com

Address: Granary Square, 1-3 Stable Street, London, N1C 4AB

Closest Tube Station: King's Cross