Even with first day nerves and good quality food, the Camden Food Company unfortunately struggles to match the stunning St Pancras station in which it’s housed.

The Venue
Set within the jaw-dropping beauty of St Pancras station, this branch of the Camden Food Company is in keeping with other locations, boasting inoffensive colours of deep red, lime greens and beige, as well as comfortable leather seating that make the close arrangements bearable. Large open bay doors look out onto the Eurostar as it waits to depart and hint at the majesty of what is a very impressive renovation of St Pancras, but unfortunately the pleasant fixtures and the ideal setting suffer from a real abundance of messy tables that aren’t cleared quickly enough. However, hopefully this is just a teething problem that continued business will sort out.

The Atmosphere
As you would expect from its location, the venue is full of people eagerly waiting to be transported somewhere else so they aren’t there to soak up the atmosphere or indeed to stay for very long. It’s a place for coffees and quick bites so expect a vibrant and bustling atmosphere with a constant influx and exit of travellers who use the cafe to pass time or to refuel, as opposed to something they’ll particularly like. As with the rest of the station, it’s slightly chilly in winter, so think before you take off your jacket.

The Food
This chain do offer some good quality sandwiches, and this location is no different. Expect well made examples that employ good ingredients, such as a delicious chicken and chorizo on white bread and a decent bacon, lettuce and tomato offering on granary. Morning sees porridge offered on its own or with honey or fresh fruit and the quality isn’t too bad, though the honey is unfortunately quite runny so it tends to collect at the bottom – the breakfast equivalent of failing to stir your coffee. It’s also served, bizarrely, in a takeaway cup which makes tucking in feel a little odd. There’s also a selection of breakfast rolls available but these can sometimes suffer from the inefficient service. A tasty looking bacon and omelette seeded bap is a bit too cold for comfort, and organic chocolate and hazelnut biscotti is tasty, if a little tough and light on hazelnuts.

The Drink
Good quality, strong coffees are probably your best bet here, though a weak looking yet tasty hot chocolate is almost as good. There are a number of cold drinks available too so those of you looking for something that isn’t hot will be well catered for, with fruit juices and bottled soft drinks certainly adequate. Again, service with drinks leaves something to be desired, with coffees being served only in cardboard takeaway cups, and confusion coming from staff attempting to deal with more than one customer at once. However, these kind of things are expected from somewhere that’s recently opened so hopefully it won’t be an ongoing theme.

The Last Word
A vibrant and busy cafe that does pretty much what you’d expect from such a place, the Camden Food Company does its job while you wait for your journey to begin. Let’s just hope they iron out those faults before they derail it completely.

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