The clever Harts Brothers have taken on quite the challenge, opening a host of restaurants in the new Coal Drops Yard development in Kings Cross. There’s Plaza Pastor and Casa Pastor, serving tacos and rotisserie chicken, a new Barrafina and a wine bar-cum-restaurant called The Drop.

Inside is a cosy spot; all exposed brick in low-ceiling arches. At one end there’s a counter to perch at; the other end, an open kitchen. The menu is the sort that makes you want to order the lot.

We start with the two greats of the world; pork pie (£9) and chicken liver pâté (£7). Both are classics. Both are perfect here. The pie is jam packed full of chunky pig. The pate is rich and thick with depth of flavour.

Marinated Black Angus (£15) sees thick slices of this raw beef all soft and dainty. The flavour is mellow but delicious. Far bolder is the drop rarebit (£8.50). It has the crispy chewy bits that make cheese on toast so bloomin’ good.

Best of all is the pie (£16.50). A bowl full of soft, buttery guinea fowl, with girolles and leeks, in a creamy sauce crowned with a pastry lid. That pastry is something else. Just look at the lamination. It’s a masterpiece.

For pud, treacle tart (£7) is a giant slice with an almost flapjack centre. It could only be bettered if it were warm. Still, it’s a seriously indulgent treat.

I’m not drinking alcohol at the moment (I know, I know) but I can think of nowhere better to sit down with a glass of 7 Fuentes (that’s a light red from Tenerife), while tucking into that grub. It’s simple but solid. Lovely stuff.

Would we go back? Yes

Thedropwinebar.co.uk
We dined as guests of the restaurant