Kings Stores (no apostrophe, which bothers the grammar nerd in me) is a ‘proper pub’ in London’s Spitalfields. It features dark wood; serves craft beers and has a pub-grub style menu. At the same time it has a dining room on the first floor though I’ve always sat downstairs when we’ve been for drinks after work.
This time we had lunch in honour of two colleagues visiting from other locations. Incidentally, my Scottish colleague has just discovered Honest Burger, which is only in London, and says it’s the best burger he’s ever tasted. He had one in Kings Stores and said it was very good – but not quite the same.
I’d gone along thinking I would have a starter of grilled sardines with a side order of fries, but by the time we got there it was later than I usually have lunch and I was ravenous – it was lucky I had a big meal in the end as I ended up working late and not having dinner until 9pm.
My eye was caught by the burger: Angus beef, topped with Cajun pulled pork, barbecue sauce and cheddar cheese (£14). It was a tower of dripping deliciousness- literally dripping, as the burger was so juicy it dripped every time I lifted a bite to my mouth. It had some kind of tomato salsa on top (unless it was the barbecue sauce, but I wouldn’t have expected to see pieces of tomato in it) which was a shame as I would have ordered it without if I’d known. It was also quite expensive for burger and chips, all things considered.
The chips were good – not too thin, as I’m not really a fan of ‘fries’ – and came in a cute little tub with the burger itself on a wooden board. That seems to be how burgers and chips are served these days – can anyone remember the last time they had one in a pub or restaurant that came on a plate?
The food was very filling and tasty; the barbecue sauce wasn’t as zingy as some but I remember having a pulled pork burger at Blacks where I ended up having to take the pulled pork out as the slightly tart flavour was too much! Service was also fast – we were a large group but still managed to order, eat and be back in the office within an hour. So I recommend the pub if you are near Liverpool Street Station and want a filling lunch.
