Ask two chefs to split a menu and most people expect a diplomatic settlement. Brad Carter and Tom Brown decided on a mash-up instead. Oysters come with a lamb doner sausage. Tartare sits under an oyster emulsion. Chips arrive dusted in mussel salt or beef salt, so you can pick a side of the plate. Island's surf-and-turf philosophy is loud, silly and extremely well fed.
Two cooks, two sides of the plate
Carter made his name at Carters of Moseley in Birmingham, a Michelin-starred nose-to-tail restaurant. Brown is a Cornishman who came up through Nathan Outlaw's kitchens, ran Outlaw's at The Capital, won a star at Cornerstone in Hackney Wick and now cooks under his own name at The Capital. They are friends, and Carter says the name honours the islands they have cooked on together. Brown runs the fish from small, direct day-boat suppliers. Carter handles the meat, including beef from retired dairy cows that is dry-aged. The restaurant began in summer 2025 on the upper deck of Mare Street Market in King's Cross, backed by Barworks. It reopened here on 16 September 2026.
Two Michelin-starred cooks, one for the sea and one for the land, upstairs at one of the pubs that started the gastropub.
The room
The King's Cross original was chandeliers and plants, maximalist and loud. The new room above The George & Dragon is calmer in atmosphere: wooden floors, white tablecloths and a candle on every table, upstairs from a Grade II-listed pub built in 1889. The restored mosaic floor shows St George and the dragon, with a shattered patch of Blitz damage left unrepaired. This is a room for a group that wants to share, not a quiet two-top.
What to order
Start with the oysters, the dish to order first. At King's Cross they came with a sumac mignonette and crispy fried onions; a Jungle Mignonette of jalapeño, coriander, pineapple and shallot is the punchy, bright alternative. Then the beef tartare with oyster emulsion where the yolk should be, served with prawn crackers dusted in prawn-cocktail powder. It is a standout, though the powder goes on a little thickly.
Lamb belly and clam skewers are worth ordering, as are the surf-and-turf mash-ups such as piri-piri chicken with crab sauce. The centrepiece is the mixed grill for two: scallops in the half-shell, lamb chops, steak, spiced chicken wings stuffed with prawn mousse, and squid filled with sobrasada. The scallops are the standout and the wings are the more divisive plate. New here are a steak and lobster pie, a Chop Board of steak, chops and fish to share, and a blackboard of meat and fish sold by weight, with suppliers such as Paddock Farm, Txuleta and Flying Fish.
Pudding is a retreat to childhood. A Malibu and pineapple soft serve tastes of rum and raisin, and the chocolate fudge cake is big enough for two, in the spirit of the cake Bruce Bogtrotter faces in Matilda. Share it.
The hedge: it is brash, and a run of big flavours can start to wear on you. The grill is an onslaught, and the stuffed squid has less flavour than its description promises. Vegetarians have little to eat beyond a beetroot dish.
Drinks and after
Downstairs, the pub pours pints and has its own snacks, among them shawarma-glazed lamb doner sausages and oysters in butter with bacon crumb. The wine list is varied and the cocktails are creative. For an evening that has gone well, finish with a pint in the pub below.
London likes its serious cooking best when it turns up somewhere informal, and a gastropub landmark with mosaics and a mixed grill is about as London as dinner gets.
- The vibe
- Candlelit upstairs room over a Grade II-listed pub; mosaic floor.
- The food
- Oysters, tartare with prawn crackers, mixed grill for two, shareable chocolate cake.
- The drink
- Pints from the pub downstairs; wine and cocktails upstairs.
- A tip
- Bring a group to share the mixed grill; vegetarians should check first.
