EAT STREET @ THE WEEKEND

A "Bhangra Burger" wrap

At first, Eat Street might feel a tad ersatz in its new, squeaky clean setting in the shadow of King's Cross Station and the St Pancras Hotel.  It's all a bit manicured, lacking that rough-and-ready, against-all-the-odds feel of street food in many parts of the world. All that disappears once you get up close, picking up wafting smells and murmurs of anticipation from the queues that stretch from each stall.

Two years on and it's the Eat Street collective's first weekend opening, timed to coincide with the Guardian's Open Weekend at nearby Kings Place.  There's a real weekend vibe too, happy eaters turning to face the sun as they chew and slurp through their Eat Street offerings.

Of the seven stalls booked in, one hasn't made it and a second (Yum Bun steamed Chinese buns) runs out the instant we arrive.  We go instead for Indian wraps (see lead picture) from Bhangra Burger: dense meaty burgers accompanied by various masalas and fresh, lime chutney together with lettuce and a yoghurt sauce - dribbly to eat and delicious.  

This is followed by Tom Yum noodle soup and blackbean beef skewers from the Hardcore Prawn: fresh, zesty flavours with quite a kick - just as dribbly and good, but in a different way. 

More mouth-manageable are the authentic, thin-crust Homeslice Pizzas, burning hot (be warned) from their ingenious mobile pizza oven.

That does for us, but still leaves plenty untasted and tempting, including cassoulet from The Red Herring Smokery, or  rolls filled with slow-cooked ox cheek or tongue from Tongue 'n Cheek.

Cassoulet from the Red Herring Smokery