Half Cut Market at 396 York Way

YOU will be familiar with Coal Drops Yard. But how about the York Way Riviera™?

This tongue-in-cheek description is from the owners of Half Cut Market, a wine bar at the top end of York Way – the long road that winds down into King’s Cross.

This wine bar and bottle shop now feels more like a restaurant ever since the arrival of chef Aidan Richardson three months ago. “It’s taken off big time,” confirms the manager – a brilliant chap who zips round the tables with dazzling charm and efficiency.

Make no mistake – Half Cut Market is profoundly cool and on trend. It’s one small white room, set over two levels, with pendant globe lights and a single, gigantic Miles Davis poster on one wall.

Their website, halfcut.world, promises a menu with “grilled proteins and other delicious stuff we like to eat”. Merchandise includes £30 caps emblazoned with their address at 396 York Way.

One Instagram post even shows a Lime bike, the front basket stuffed with ice to chill down low-intervention white wines for a “wine car boot sale” in Coal Drops Yard.

This could all be highly irritating if the place fell flat and was more style than substance. But I absolutely loved the food and wine at Half Cut Market – plus the friendly and clued-up service.

Take one dish, which sounds vaguely unpromising. The menu describes it as “pointed cabbage and comte custard 16”.

What you get is a visual marvel. The pale inner ribs of a cabbage are lightly cooked then spread out in a fan across the plate. These are bathed in a heavenly cheese sauce, flavoured with Comté cheese, then sprinkled with fried breadcrumbs to add texture and crunch. It is a masterclass in vegetarian cooking and worth the £16.

I had a skewer of pork, beetroot and plum, carefully garnished with chopped herbs then served on a simple metal platter (£9). This trio of ingredients worked surprisingly well together, with a sweet and sour vibe.

The menu changes regularly. There was smoked ricotta and courgette on toast (£4), a grilled pea, walnut and Ragstone cheese salad (£11) and fried quail with green goddess and hot sauce (£15).

For dessert, I tried their toffee apple éclair – delicious although a touch dry and overbaked.

Given its roots as a wine bar and bottle shop, the drinks menu is intriguing. For beer lovers, they rotate specials from the best indy breweries.

Groups of friends can try large sharing beers such as Birdlip Hill – described as a mixed fermentation ale with cherries. They pour eight wines by the glass and mix a mean cocktail, too, such as a pineapple picante.

A few words of warning. Half Cut Market is a seriously fun place to visit with a bubbly young crowd. But if you don’t book ahead you may wait for a table. Portions are also on the small side. But Half Cut Market is nailing it right now.

Half Cut Market
396 York Way, N7
www.halfcut.world
yorkway@halfcut.world
@halfcutmarket