London Food & Culture

Review: The Driver, King’s Cross

It’s a useful backstreet boozer – over a whopping five floors, no less

Scallops at The Driver
Attractive plate of colour: scallops at The Driver. Photo: SE
The Driver is proof that ravers often ‘grow up’ into foodies. Did you know, for example, that Layo (of Layo and Bushwacka fame) is behind the smash hit Jewish dining room Palomar in Soho? And just down the road, DJ Martin Morales quit a successful career in dance music to launch the acclaimed Ceviche.

The Driver, a handsome corner site adorned with living wall, underlines this trend, being the baby of Billy Reilly, the bloke behind Pacha, and legendary King’s Cross clubs like The Cross.

When it opened in 2007, the pub was Reilly’s first attempt at combining a party space – spread over an impressive five floors – with decent food, gastropub-stylee. (A few years later he tried out a second location, the Meribel Brasserie on Camden Road, a solid French restaurant that sadly didn’t persuade the locals of its worth).

Handsome: exterior, The Driver
Handsome: exterior, The Driver
But has the Driver stood the test of time? As former regulars, we admit we hadn’t returned for a while – especially since the options in this part of town have multiplied.


LOCAL ADVERTISING

So, on a Friday lunchtime, it was nice to see business as usual, with gaggles of office workers gossiping over fish and chips. The decor hasn’t really changed: there’s a bit of taxidermy (a deer, since you ask), plenty of uniform tables and chairs, and an abundance of light streaming through slatted blinds.

The lunchtime menu is aimed firmly at the daytime white-collar crowd: where newer arrivals like Grain Store, Vinoteca and the Greek Larder do innovative, it plays safe. Which is fine: decent-sounding burgers jostle with simple steaks, salads, fishcakes and hot sandwiches.

We rooted out a few of the more interesting dishes from the “chef’s specials” section. A starter of seared queen scallops delivered an attractive splash of colour; but, paired with black pudding, pesto, spinach and a cake of tomato salsa, it proved too salty to dazzle. Better was a simpler combination of chorizo, halloumi and avocado – smoky, crispy and creamy by turns. And it was the ideal match for a dry Cotes De Provence: we were, of course, milking the last of the late summer (OK, autumn).

Ground Floor dining room. Photo: PR
Ground Floor dining room. Photo: PR
The mains differed similarly. The star of the show should have been a classic combo of baby monkfish wrapped in parma ham. Yet it arrived a tad overcooked – the white flesh dry rather than just opaque – and was not quite saved by samphire and a tangy stew of Mediterranean veg.

However, we loved the duck confit. Roasted for three hours, it perched on Swiss chard and crispy leeks, with blackened discs of sweet potato, and a rich port sauce.

Afterwards we walked it off right up to the roof terrace, where you can hang out, admire the city view and smoke till 3am at weekends. On the way up we passed three floors which are hired variously for wedding receptions, filming and big birthday bashes. It’s a useful kinda place.

The Driver’s niche is as a proper pub, with decent grub, an antidote to the legions of aspirational new openings in the area. Enjoy its unpretentiousness – and flashes of persuasive cooking.

Starters from £4.50, mains about £10-£20. The Driver, 2-4 Wharfdale Rd, London N 1

Leave a Comment

Leave a Comment