Please note, this branch of The Flour Station has closed. Time Out Food Editors, December 2018.
Set within Camden’s Stables Market, The Flour Station is just the kind of nice, sensible lunch spot you’re craving after a day hemmed in by bootlegged Nirvana T-shirts. All clean wooden flooring and unthreateningly trendy exposed brick, this is the first permanent spot from the pastry traders, and it makes for the perfect place to grab a comforting cup of tea and a sarnie before heading back out to the stalls.
Flour may be the speciality here, but the best thing I sampled was the vegetable soup. Rich with rough leafy kale and nutty black barley, it had an oniony, almost wine-like tartness – the perfect foil to a mild creamy mozzarella and tomato toastie. There was also a good quality (if slightly overpriced) charcuterie board for £15 starring some beautiful thick-cut bresaola. Another must-try was the spicy jalapeño cornbread.
The pastries, though, were hugely disappointing. Chelsea buns were doughy without being properly sticky, and an almond croissant was actually stale. So go, but avoid the sweet stuff. A bit like being the diabetic kid in the sweet shop, really – but at least that soup makes up for everything.