Just a stones throw away from my flat, behind the monstrous development of King’s Cross/ St Pancras Station is a pop-up restaurant and events space named ‘The Filling Station’. Last night I had the pleasure of going along for drinks at this abandoned forecourt of an old petrol station beside the canal. It has been redeveloped by architects Carmody Groarke into a futuristic, transparent and curvaceous fibreglass enclosure, illuminated by retro green lettering announcing the presence of east-end hipsters migrating from Shoreditch to the ‘The Filling Station’. Inside is Shrimpy’s, a critically acclaimed diner serving up dishes styled as ‘Calexican’ (a mixture of Mexican and Californian- soft shell crab burgers, sweetcorn chowder and fried chicken), while outside there are freshly made stone-baked pizzas and Margarita slushies. The temporary structure will remain in place for approximately two years before the site is redeveloped to provide housing for the rapidly changing King’s Cross.
