Last Updated on April 29, 2026
Celebrating Asparagus at the German Gymnasium, Kings Cross
4.0 out of 5.0 starsIn addition to the current White Asparagus festival menu which runs till the middle of June, on May 19, dog-friendly German Gymnasium in the new complex at King’s Cross is holding a one-off celebratory white asparagus dinner at their Chef’s Table. Executive Chef Alex Thiel will guide diners through each of the four courses paired with Austrian and German wines.
I was invited to sample the menu for the one-off celebration of seasonal white asparagus, enhanced with cocktails made with Monkey 47, a German gin from the Black Country. Mine, a spargelgeist (asparagus) spritz made with gin, honey, absinthe, soda, and pickled white asparagus, looked exotic and, given its contents, didn’t taste as alcoholic as it looked!
The Chef’s table, holding up to eighteen people, is on the second floor of the German Gymnasium, formally home of the first London Olympic Games gymnasium, an airy space with high vaulted ceilings. Sitting with strangers is a great way to make new friends, as they are likely to have the same culinary interests. Chef Alex flitted in and out between courses to describe the dishes he was preparing and to explain why white asparagus, which are thicker and tastier than their green equivalent, are so special. Mainly because they have been picked immediately they pop their heads out of the ground, which, if left to see the light, will turn green.
Although I associated German cooking with rather heavy food, this menu was anything but. We started with braised white and green asparagus served on a bed of hummus, accompanied by a glass of 2024 Dragonstone Riesling. This was followed by a velvety asparagus soup, in which there was a sliver of cured salmon and thin slices of radish. Not a combination I would have thought went together but, on the contrary, was delicious. The main course of thick white asparagus and rare beef fillet was served with a delicate garlic and morel sauce, accompanied by a glass of 2022 Haus Klosterberg Pinot Noir. Not a red wine drinker, I continued with the Riesling.
Providing the restaurant is told in advance, the menu can be adjusted for dietary considerations as with the lady sitting opposite me who didn’t eat red meat. Instead, she was served breast of chicken cooked with white asparagus.
To finish, dessert was a very rich dark chocolate and whipped cream mousse embedded with chopped fresh strawberries, served with a strip of crunchy nut brittle. A glass of 2023 Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Spätlese finished off the gastronomic feast. Altogether a memorable evening with fine food and new friends.
A selection of small and large plates incorporating white asparagus, but not those on the Chef’s tasting menu, are also available on the restaurant’s main menu. Promoted as a German Grand Café, it’s worth visiting not only for the food but also the architecture. A big plus for me was that Poppy, my dog could come too as the German Gymnasium is dog-friendly!
The German Gymnasium is part of the Evolv Collection founded by Sir Terence Conran which includes restaurants that were formerly part of the D&D London and Conran Group, all of which are dog-friendly.
German Gymnasium
1 King’s Boulevard, Kings Cross, London N1C 4BU.
020 7287 8000
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