Just a few years ago, Kings Cross was still somewhere you wouldn’t take your out-of-town friends; a grotty, grimy enclave of boarded-up shops, faded billboards and shady after-dark dealbrokering. As is the way of things in our ever-changing capital, though, it’s fast becoming the place to be, with cool clubs, chic shops and now an outpost from the hip Cantaloupe Group empire.

The Venue
The first restaurant to open in Varnishers Yard, a tiny square in the new Regent Quarter in Kings Cross, Camino’s rough wooden floor, ironwork and photo-montage style decor tread the line between cool ex-warehouse space and modern Spanish eaterie with ease. There are a few outside tables set in the shady yard where huge, iron-hooped hogsheads add to the authentic Spanish atmosphere.

The signage is discreet, perhaps too much so, and it’s a shame the first door you'll come to when approaching from Pentonville Road isn’t in use – it should never be hard for a customer to find their way in. Despite this, the bar and restaurant spaces each work well, with the restaurant, in particular, benefiting from a large, bright cupola overhead; it’s just a shame punters can’t walk directly from one to the other.

The Atmosphere
Its Kings Cross location ensures that Camino will attract a somewhat different crowd on weeknights and weekends. During the week it plays host to after-work drinkers, groups on business lunches and locals out for dinner. At one time a Spanish restaurant and bar in Kings Cross might have been dead at weekends; however, given the stellar rise of the York Way clubbing locus (The Key, Canvas, The Cross and Egg), not to mention the likes of Scala and Big Chill House, it should pick up a healthy pre-club crowd.

The Food
Both tapas and raciones (a larger serving) are available at the bar, while in the restaurant what is in fact a simple menu is set out imaginatively, as a path from Empty to Full, meandering from starters, to free-range meat from the huge charcoal grill, to seasonal vegetables and on to desserts, with wines suggested along the way. Vegetarians won’t starve, though in common with its country of origin itself, Camino (which means path) is a firmly carnivorous enterprise.

Meat-lovers will find much to admire, for instance the rib-eye Charolais steak, hung for 25-30 days and served on the bone, or the Jamon Iberico, from acorn-fed, free range pigs. The meat is cooked perfectly to your specific requirements and beautifully presented although the lamb shoulder was slightly marred by too much oil. The line-caught fish is delivered daily from Cornwall, and all the chicken and eggs are free-range.

The Drink
This is no two cocktails for a fiver drinking den. In addition to authentic margaritas, mojitos and caipirinhas there are good Spanish wines on offer, traditional sidra (cider, poured from a height), sherries and regional beers to savour.

The Last Word
Whilst it’s great that places like Camino are opening in Kings Cross and bringing with them a new, buzzy atmosphere to an area that’s been long overdue a makeover, hopefully Kings Cross can avoid the kind of over-gentrification that would leave it sterile and characterless. Camino bodes well – it’s not a franchise, it’s got plenty of character, and as the area’s popularity builds, it should be a licence to print money. It certainly deserves to do well.

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