{"id":5166,"date":"2018-04-11T12:05:26","date_gmt":"2018-04-11T12:05:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aussiepizzas.com\/PIZZADELIVERY\/at-temple-of-camden-canal-side-comfort-food-and-speciality-coffee\/"},"modified":"2018-04-11T12:05:26","modified_gmt":"2018-04-11T12:05:26","slug":"at-temple-of-camden-canal-side-comfort-food-and-speciality-coffee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.aussiepizzas.com\/PIZZADELIVERY\/at-temple-of-camden-canal-side-comfort-food-and-speciality-coffee\/","title":{"rendered":"At Temple of Camden, Canal-Side Comfort Food and Speciality Coffee"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the eight years since I started working in King’s Cross, the neighbourhood has changed considerably, with new shops and eateries opening almost every month. I’m particularly looking forward to the long-awaited opening of Coal Drops Yard<\/a>, along the canal near Granary Square, in the autumn. Sadly, the rate of new openings has been inversely proportional with my ability to take a lunch break anywhere further away than the adjacent Pret. When I can get away from my desk, I usually prioritise a lunchtime run, and it was on one of these workouts that I came across Temple of Camden<\/a> \u2014 lured in my the smell of fried chicken.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
Despite its name, the eatery is as close to King’s Cross as Camden, a mere ten-minute stroll along the canal from the former, past the ongoing Coal Drops Yard construction site. It has a sister \u2014 Temple of Hackney \u2014 and both also go by the name Temple of Seitan<\/a>. Temple of Camden is, you see, serves vegan fast food. After enjoying a really good vegan ‘bacon cheeseburger’ in Austin recently<\/a>, I was keen to sample some more tasty meat-free fast food. I was a vegetarian for a decade and although I rarely eat meat at home, I am rather partial to a good steak or burger when I eat out. But I like to explore the alternatives too.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
<\/a>
I finally got the chance to eat at Temple of Camden on Friday, a windy but very sunny day. The restaurant was packed and although there were no free tables inside, there are a few seats in the courtyard, just off the canal towpath. I didn’t have to wait long to order and then it was only another 10 minutes or so before my food arrived \u2014 the staff clearly had a very efficient process down.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
<\/a>
At Temple of Camden, they serve both fried ‘chik’n’ and ‘hamburgers’, all made from seitan. Figuring the chicken burger would probably be more ‘meaty’, I ordered the Temple Burger \u2014 a chicken fillet with rancho mayo, bacon, cheese, lettuce and pickle (\u00a37). I also went for a small portion of fries (\u00a32) with chicken salt (presumably chik’n salt!).<\/p>\n

<\/a>
I took my food out to eat in the sunshine, although the strong wind did mean I had to hold on to my chips. The chicken burger was flavoursome and juicy \u2014 a worthy substitute for its meaty equivalent \u2014 and although the cheese might have been better if it had been melted, it was still good. When I was a vegetarian, bacon was the food I missed most because the substitutes fell so short \u2014 and I think they still have a long way to go, unfortunately, but the bac’n here was tasty. The fries were perfectly crisp and the chicken salt was a nice addition.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
<\/a>
<\/a>
In the mornings, they serve bagels and there is coffee available all day from Hackney-based Dark Arts Coffee<\/a>. I had a cortado (\u00a32.20) and it was only afterwards that I realised I had, of course, inadvertently sampled my first Oatly-based espresso drink. The coffee was very well made and the fact that I couldn’t tell that it was dairy-free speaks volumes. They have Bonsoy available too.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
<\/a>
I’m sure I’ll back to Temple of Camden before long \u2014 either with colleagues, or perhaps as a treat on the way back from a run. It’s so close to King’s Cross and yet the quiet canal-side location feels like it’s a world away. And if you haven’t tried vegetarian fast food before, or for a while, I’d suggest paying Temple of Seitan a visit \u2014 it might surprise you.<\/p>\n

Temple of Camden<\/b>. 103a Camley Street, London, N1C 4PF (Tube: King’s Cross, Mornington Crescent or Camden Town). Website<\/a>. Twitter<\/a>. Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the eight years since I started working in King’s Cross, the neighbourhood has changed considerably, with new shops and eateries opening almost every month. I’m particularly looking forward to the long-awaited opening of Coal Drops Yard, along the canal … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pizza"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aussiepizzas.com\/PIZZADELIVERY\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aussiepizzas.com\/PIZZADELIVERY\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aussiepizzas.com\/PIZZADELIVERY\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aussiepizzas.com\/PIZZADELIVERY\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.aussiepizzas.com\/PIZZADELIVERY\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5166\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aussiepizzas.com\/PIZZADELIVERY\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aussiepizzas.com\/PIZZADELIVERY\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aussiepizzas.com\/PIZZADELIVERY\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}