5th September 2013

My friend E recently found herself in need of a place to stay at short notice.  As luck would have it, I was off to Cervinia at exactly the right time.

So she moved in to my house and kept A company while I was away.   Ideal.

Anyway, the point of the story is that E very kindly took A and I out to dinner to say thank you for having her.  Totally unnecessary but extremely generous.  So I can now thank her again in this post… and tell you all about it.

We had been talking about going to Shrimpy’s ever since it opened last year, and somehow never managed to make it.  This meant that it was with more than a little excitement that I approached The Filling Station at King’s Cross.

The reason it’s calling The Filling Station, is that it actually used to be a BP petrol station.  How’s that for alternative?  What’s been retained is a very cool, edgily industrial location for dinner and drinks.

You follow the signs around the back and find Shrimpy’s with a long bar under an overhang ceiling, open to the air.  There’s inside restaurant tables as well, in a quirky and welcoming space.

Think painted walls, brass pineapples and spiky cacti on the windowsill.  The tables are decorated with a mantra.

I really like the retro water glasses.

Yummy popped corn nibbly things arrived, and I ummed and ahhed over the menu like always.  Shrimpy’s serves Tex-Mexy/American/Seafood type food.  Basically, it’s hard to put it in a box.

And this is what we decided on…

Chicharon – if you like pork scratchings, you need these in your mouth.  They are a spicy, smoky, crunchy delicious treat, and the guacamole that comes with them works perfectly.

Frickles – deep fried, pickled chillies – are you a gherkin fan?  These are like the naughty version of gherkins.  So, so moreish

And now for the main parade – E and I had the soft shell crab burger and A had the cheeseburger in a bonnet.

The crab came with avocado and chilli and it more than met my expectations.  It was fab (fab crab, see) – if you go, definitely order it.

Look, burger in a bonnet – too cute.

On the side we had hot macaroni and fries.  The macaroni really rocked my world.

I thought the service at Shrimpy’s was great – the staff were all lovely, water was constantly topped up and all of my silly questions about the food were answered.

The view across the way…

Obviously, there was room for pudding.  If you go to Shrimpy’s make sure you leave room for pudding.

Banana and peanut butter sandwich

Meringue, hibiscus syrup, chantilly and pineapple

I think the photos pretty much do it justice.  I was way too full (but happy) by the time we were done.  Like this happy giraffe.

That’s pretty much all, except to say thank you E for an amazing meal!  And does anybody want to go back with me?