Crab toast with elderflower and shellfish sauce [Sam Harris]

WITH some restaurants, the food is almost irrelevant – it’s the eye-swivelling interiors that count. The restoration of the old Midland Grand Hotel, the Gothic landmark in King’s Cross, has been a painstaking process.

Now renamed the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, the results are glorious – a life-affirming architectural experience that every Londoner should experience when they get the chance.

The building now boasts multiple bars and restaurants. Walk through the main entrance, turn right and you will find The Booking Office 1869, the lavish reinvention of the original ticket hall.

Beneath lofty ceilings, the revamp combines the original wood panelling and ticket hall windows with a riff on a Victorian-style Winter Garden, including life-size palm trees and swathes of bold fabric prints.

To the left of the hotel is a separate entrance to the latest opening – the Gothic Bar and Midland Grand Dining Room.

You walk up steps into the bar, neck craning as you absorb the ornate painted ceilings and soaring arched windows.

The cocktail bar specialises in drinks made with eau de vie and absinthe. We tried an Eau de Martini, prepared with great ritual. The barman sprays the rim of the glass with your choice of eau de vie before skilfully pouring the chilled Scottish barley vodka from a great height.

The bar menu includes a cheeseburger and oysters. We snacked on gougères dusted with Comté cheese.

Further inside the building is the brasserie itself. Bathed in natural light, it’s a huge room framed by remarkable brass chandeliers, apparently custom made with 3,000 individual pipes of glass.

Does the food live up to its surroundings? Thankfully, yes. The menu is well designed and features mainly French dishes made with seasonal British ingredients. There’s a section of raw seafood and shellfish, such as a tuna tartare with fennel and tomato or a fruits de mer platter.

We started with skewers threaded with alternating chunks of grilled octopus, pickled chilli and large Gordal olives.

A summery starter of courgettes with Stracciatella cheese, lemon and almonds was a clever combination of textures but didn’t need the inclusion of green olives – their strong flavour overpowered the dish.

A starter of crab toast was visually stunning: the white meat dusted with circles of snipped chives and neatly placed in a rich shellfish bisque.

For a main, we shared a whole John Dory fish in a vadouvan sauce spiked with curry leaves and mussels.

We enjoyed our meal and service was fast and friendly. My main quibble was the music. We sat next to a speaker piping a banal soundtrack which undermined the class of the place.

It will be interesting to see how the clientele develops here. Given its location, there are bound to be a fair amount of tourists mixing with a London crowd. You really must experience these beautiful interiors – even if it’s just for a fancy drink.

The Midland Grand Dining Room, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel,
Euston Road, NW1
020 7341 3000
www.midlandgranddiningroom.com