A tale of two cities: the restaurant where Jerusalem meets Victorian London

By Katie Baxter

The year is 1852. Coal Drops Yard is a grimy hub of Victorian industrial production behind North London’s Kings Cross station. In Charles Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend, the narrator described this harsh landscape as a ‘suburban Sahara’. Fast forward a century and the scene is no less bleak. In the 1980s, this area was desolate, with the exception of those who fancied going to a rave at Bagley’s, an underground nightclub that formed in an abandoned storage warehouse. But now in 2021, on the aptly-named Bagley Walk, I find myself walking through a very different Coal Drops Yard. Buildings that were once caked in inch-thick soot and streets that were frequented by shady characters and pickpockets fit for a Dickensian tale are today home to a vast array of sleek and stylish businesses. From buzzing bars to fair trade fashion stores, the new indies popping up in the smoky shadows of the old coal yard are a much needed breath of fresh air.

Having grown up just a two-minute walk away, this space has particular sentimental value for me. My childhood memories of the area recall a dilapidated and non-descript ghost town. My mum would warn me to take ‘the long way’ back home from school in a bid to avoid the area, which loomed menacingly behind Kings Cross Station.

Walking around now, today’s Coal Drops Yard feels like a parallel universe. The viaduct ruins and empty gas holders, once shadowy and dust-ridden, are now brimming with life, vibrantly transformed. Workmen, students, and families alike fill the once empty streets. Like a phoenix, Coal Drops Yard has emerged from the ashes of an industrial wasteland into a space reborn.

One place in particular stands out to me among a sea of other shops. The work of Jerusalem-born chef Assaf Granit, Coal Office is a table service restaurant and lively deli in one, serving Middle Eastern cuisine with a twist.

Granit learnt much about cooking from his grandmother who was brought up in Poland but came into contact with other culinary traditions and practices upon relocating to Jerusalem. Rooted in tradition but being playful with experimentation, Granit has forged a cuisine based on multicultural fusion, which is showcased in the menu at Coal Office today.

Entering the downstairs deli, I’m struck by the vast array of rich and vibrantly coloured food. Against the exposed brick walls of the original arches, the hanging plants dotted around and the sleek décor scream contemporary luxury. I take a sweeping glance at the displays around me. A selection of wines produced in Jerusalem, jars of chocolate tahini spread, hummus galore. Fresh pastries and sandwiches to-go, all produced on site (in an open kitchen right behind the till, to be precise); a Middle Eastern haven in North London.

Perhaps I’m biased, having grown up in the area and having witnessed first-hand the evolution of Kings Cross, but I really do think there is something quite poignant about the way in which the cuisine of Jerusalem has found a home under the arches of Coal Drops Yard, signalling a union between London past and present.

Coal Office is in fact located in the original coal trade administrative offices, signs of which are still quite visible on the original brickwork of the building’s facade. By retaining the name, Coal Office builds upon the rich history that preceded it. Instead of stripping the building of its character and painting over any unsavoury cracks, Coal Office embraces the Dickensian heritage of the area with open arms.

Enticed by the rich smell of butter, my eyes are drawn towards the confectionary of baked goods next to the till. I ask my server to recommend something on the menu. ‘The kubalah bread and the babka’, Vivien says, no hesitation. She picks me out one of each (making sure to rifle through the pile and dig me out the best of the bunch), as well as a freshly prepared side of roasted aubergine covered in tahini and pomegranate seeds. Kubaleh is a brioche-like bread, whilst the babka resembles a cinnamon roll, with subtle hints of chocolate, sea salt and coconut.

Safe to say I wasn’t disappointed. I chose to sit down a stone’s throw away from Coal Office, in Granary Square, where an old granary shed holding 60,000 sacks of corn has been converted into a campus building of the Central Saint Martins art school. Eating my babka and watching the art and design students pour out of the building in their quirky, brightly-coloured outfits (a pastime which feels like you’re attending London Fashion Week), I really do feel like I am sat in a melting pot of history and transformation, watching the story of my childhood home unfold.

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