When in London, go get ... German food?
Uh, yeah.
This was mostly a meal out of convenience, when we tried to go to Dishoom for an easy meal because it was close by, and the wait was substantial (don't worry, I went another time, see my review). It was cold, raining, and we just didn't have it in us to venture far.
I had read good reviews of German Gymnasium, a fairly new establishment in Kings Cross, just a block away. It is open for breakfast (and weekend brunch), lunch, and dinner daily. Our visit was for dinner, 6pm, no reservation.
I had a light meal, shared with my companion, but we did get a nice sampling of a salad, a hot dog (of course), dessert, and a cocktail.
It was all actually decent, and service was quick and efficient. I wouldn't seek it out, but, if I needed a convenient bite near the office, I'd go back.
We wanted quick and easy, so opting for the casual ground floor restaurant, the Grande Cafe.
This area had a bar, and seating all around.
I could see the fancier restaurant on the floor above, but didn't venture up there to see more (which I don't think would have been welcome anyway).
"Nomad whisky, sherry liqueur and bitters stirred. Topped with orange and cinnamon foam and grated orange."
My cocktail selection came from the "Short & Seductive" category. It took longer to arrive than my food, which was a bit disappointing, as I wanted to sip on it before my meal, and with it.
It was good though. It said "topped with ... foam" but I never expected such generous foam! Look at that gap! I really liked the froth, but didn't quite taste the orange and cinnamon that were supposed to be there. Nor did I find grated orange.
Still, a nice cocktail, and I enjoyed it.
The dinner menu at Grande Cafe has ... well, everything. It was overwhelming, actually. A full page, tiny print, many sections.
"Apple, walnut, goat cheese, red wine vinegar dressing."
Last minute, we went for chestnut salad instead, still being offered as the chestnuts had been roasted already. I would have *never* ordered this if I had read the ingredients, as it had goat cheese and beets. I dislike beets and a loath goat cheese. And it had apple, which I don’t really care for. But … I ordered it when the server mentioned that the salad had chestnuts as a last minute replacement for my roasted chestnuts. And I liked it.
Well, mostly.
The greens were great, a mix of bitter greens like radicchio, and common “mixed greens” like baby spinach and the like. Everything seemed quite fresh. The apple was thin strips and added a welcome juiciness and crisp bites. As did the similarly thin slices of what I think was raw beets (it might have been fancy radish though).
I avoided the large chunks of roasted beets. The walnuts seemed lightly toasted, added more crunch, and I somehow liked those too.
The chestnuts, the ingredient I was after were … fine. Kinda hard, not very flavorful. The weakest ingredient. I avoided the goat cheese, but it somehow didn’t ruin everything. I was pretty surprised how much I liked the salad, and ended up taking more and more of it. It was lightly dressed, fresh, full of good textures and flavors, and, well, I guess my body was craving this.
This was available as a starter or main, and we got the starter, which was more than enough for two to share.
"Marjoram spiced pork sausage, coleslaw, house sauce, crisp onions, brioche roll."
For a main ... we went for the hot dog. Yup, the hot dog. The menu had this "GG" hot dog and a curry dog, in addition to more traditional german sausages (currywurst, weistwrust, etc).
But I'm a hot dog girl, and couldn't really get past "hot dog", particularly when it came with coleslaw and crispy onions, and was served in a brioche roll. All things I quite like.
Now ... it was a sight for sure. Not what we know as hot dog. It didn’t really fit in the bun, rather, came perched on top, a bit hard to eat, overflowing with garnishes.
The hotdog was very juicy. I didn’t care for the house sauce, and found myself really wanting ketchup. Who was I? I love creamy house sauces!
I did like the slaw, and the crispy onions, as expected. The brioche bun was soft and fine.
My dining companion really liked it, I think I just wasn’t quite in the mood for it, and was strangely just too excited by the salad.
"Blackberry vanilla mousse, blackberry compote, chestnut cream."
For dessert we again had many, many options. I was tempted by some of the actual German offerings, like warm apple strudel with vanilla sauce, and I did want a warm dessert so the fruit crumble (apricot) was also appealing, but, the mont blanc called me in.
Why? Because I kinda got hooked on mont blanc in Tokyo. Also: more chestnut!
The Moun Blanc was … meh.
The hard tart shell was chocolate, and it came dusted in cocoa powder, which I wasn’t expecting, as I avoid caffeine at night. I'm not sure I would have ordered it if I knew there would be chocolate components.
I liked the sweet white chocolate decoration on top, smooth, sweet, creamy.
Here you can see the cross section, with the many layers inside.
The layer above the tart shell was some kind of blackberry compote, with tons of seeds. I hate seedy berries. Oops. The menu did warn me about the blackberry, I just somehow missed it.
So, two big strikes right away: I don't like tart shells, I don’t like seedy berries.
Above that layer was a cream dome, with a berry cream in the center, and then chestnut paste along the outside. The cream was fluffy but pretty boring. The center was blackberry vanilla mousse, or so the menu said, but it too wasn't very flavorful.
Since this was a play on mont blanc, there was no chestnut in the center, which is really what I wanted! It did have the iconic chestnut paste wrapping though, thick and more flavorful than the other components, but still fairly lackluster.
But overall? Meh to this, the only item I wasn't really satisfied with.
Uh, yeah.
This was mostly a meal out of convenience, when we tried to go to Dishoom for an easy meal because it was close by, and the wait was substantial (don't worry, I went another time, see my review). It was cold, raining, and we just didn't have it in us to venture far.
I had read good reviews of German Gymnasium, a fairly new establishment in Kings Cross, just a block away. It is open for breakfast (and weekend brunch), lunch, and dinner daily. Our visit was for dinner, 6pm, no reservation.
 |
| My Feast. |
It was all actually decent, and service was quick and efficient. I wouldn't seek it out, but, if I needed a convenient bite near the office, I'd go back.
Setting
The German Gymnasium is huge, located inside, well, a converted gymnasium (built in 1865 for the German gymnastics, and even hosted the Olympics in 1866!). Really, a fascinating space.
The establishment is made up of multiple spaces: a higher end restaurant on the first floor (not ground floor!), a more casual all day Grand Café on the ground floor, two bars, and an outdoor terrace. The menus (and price points!) are dramatically different between the spaces.
The establishment is made up of multiple spaces: a higher end restaurant on the first floor (not ground floor!), a more casual all day Grand Café on the ground floor, two bars, and an outdoor terrace. The menus (and price points!) are dramatically different between the spaces.
 |
| Main Floor Bar & Seating. |
This area had a bar, and seating all around.
I could see the fancier restaurant on the floor above, but didn't venture up there to see more (which I don't think would have been welcome anyway).
Food and Drinks
 |
| Red Del Fashioned. £10.50. |
My cocktail selection came from the "Short & Seductive" category. It took longer to arrive than my food, which was a bit disappointing, as I wanted to sip on it before my meal, and with it.
It was good though. It said "topped with ... foam" but I never expected such generous foam! Look at that gap! I really liked the froth, but didn't quite taste the orange and cinnamon that were supposed to be there. Nor did I find grated orange.
Still, a nice cocktail, and I enjoyed it.
 |
| Menu. |
The menu options ranged from oysters & caviar, to crowd pleasing burgers, hot dogs, and steaks, to lighter seafood dishes, and of course, more traditional dishes like sausages and schnitzels.
There was also an entire section devoted to autumn specials, which caught my eye, lots of fun ingredients. I tried to order the roast chestnuts from this section, but was told the chef pulled them from the menu because they were small and bitter. I appreciated the quality control, but, alas, I wanted chestnuts!
Narrowing down our order was really rough, but in the end, we went for a autumn salad, a hot dog, and a dessert. There were many other items I would have happily ordered however.
 |
| Autumn Special: Chestnut & beetroot salad £8,50 (starter size). |
Last minute, we went for chestnut salad instead, still being offered as the chestnuts had been roasted already. I would have *never* ordered this if I had read the ingredients, as it had goat cheese and beets. I dislike beets and a loath goat cheese. And it had apple, which I don’t really care for. But … I ordered it when the server mentioned that the salad had chestnuts as a last minute replacement for my roasted chestnuts. And I liked it.
Well, mostly.
The greens were great, a mix of bitter greens like radicchio, and common “mixed greens” like baby spinach and the like. Everything seemed quite fresh. The apple was thin strips and added a welcome juiciness and crisp bites. As did the similarly thin slices of what I think was raw beets (it might have been fancy radish though).
I avoided the large chunks of roasted beets. The walnuts seemed lightly toasted, added more crunch, and I somehow liked those too.
The chestnuts, the ingredient I was after were … fine. Kinda hard, not very flavorful. The weakest ingredient. I avoided the goat cheese, but it somehow didn’t ruin everything. I was pretty surprised how much I liked the salad, and ended up taking more and more of it. It was lightly dressed, fresh, full of good textures and flavors, and, well, I guess my body was craving this.
This was available as a starter or main, and we got the starter, which was more than enough for two to share.
 |
| GG Hot Dog. £9,80. |
For a main ... we went for the hot dog. Yup, the hot dog. The menu had this "GG" hot dog and a curry dog, in addition to more traditional german sausages (currywurst, weistwrust, etc).
But I'm a hot dog girl, and couldn't really get past "hot dog", particularly when it came with coleslaw and crispy onions, and was served in a brioche roll. All things I quite like.
Now ... it was a sight for sure. Not what we know as hot dog. It didn’t really fit in the bun, rather, came perched on top, a bit hard to eat, overflowing with garnishes.
The hotdog was very juicy. I didn’t care for the house sauce, and found myself really wanting ketchup. Who was I? I love creamy house sauces!
I did like the slaw, and the crispy onions, as expected. The brioche bun was soft and fine.
My dining companion really liked it, I think I just wasn’t quite in the mood for it, and was strangely just too excited by the salad.
 |
| Mont blanc. £7,00. |
For dessert we again had many, many options. I was tempted by some of the actual German offerings, like warm apple strudel with vanilla sauce, and I did want a warm dessert so the fruit crumble (apricot) was also appealing, but, the mont blanc called me in.
Why? Because I kinda got hooked on mont blanc in Tokyo. Also: more chestnut!
The Moun Blanc was … meh.
The hard tart shell was chocolate, and it came dusted in cocoa powder, which I wasn’t expecting, as I avoid caffeine at night. I'm not sure I would have ordered it if I knew there would be chocolate components.
I liked the sweet white chocolate decoration on top, smooth, sweet, creamy.
 |
| Mont blanc: Inside. |
The layer above the tart shell was some kind of blackberry compote, with tons of seeds. I hate seedy berries. Oops. The menu did warn me about the blackberry, I just somehow missed it.
So, two big strikes right away: I don't like tart shells, I don’t like seedy berries.
Above that layer was a cream dome, with a berry cream in the center, and then chestnut paste along the outside. The cream was fluffy but pretty boring. The center was blackberry vanilla mousse, or so the menu said, but it too wasn't very flavorful.
Since this was a play on mont blanc, there was no chestnut in the center, which is really what I wanted! It did have the iconic chestnut paste wrapping though, thick and more flavorful than the other components, but still fairly lackluster.
But overall? Meh to this, the only item I wasn't really satisfied with.
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