rglondon | Entries tagged with korean food

Hello all, rather belatedly again because I'm a bit rusty at this. Also this will have to keep us going for two weeks, so special DOUBLE EDITION.

This week, our featured article is On the Bab, EC1V 9LA, a Korean street food vendor albeit in an actual building. bob was pretty happy with the bibimbap and expect it to be busy at lunchtimes.

One new article is Brown and Green on the Triangle, an excessively-named cafe catering to all kinds of diets in the Crystal Palace metropolitan hub. Expect kids.

We have an update to Frank's Cafe, still a local caff serving breakfasts near Limehouse. Handy if you find yourself in Limehouse.

Our two reported closures are for Klein's, a haberdashers off Oxford Street, and Yak and Yeti, a Nepalese restaurant in Eltham.

rowleybirkinqc

Belle Epoque, French-themed cafe on Newington Green

Happy new year wherever you are. You are still keeping your new year's resolutions, dryanuary or tryanuary or whatever, aren't you?

This week's featured article is the Belle Epoque, a French-themed café on Newington Green for all your croissant and croque needs.

An update: the Green Dragon, CR0 1NA in High Street, Croydon have tweaked their opening hours: staying open an hour later to 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, but opening later on Sundays (now 12 noon).

Several closures have been reported. Sanxia, SE8 4PQ, a Sichuan restaurant on Deptford Broadway, closed in October and is now another Sichuan restaurant. In Norbury, Nomad Cuisine, SW16 4AN, a halal restaurant with Middle Eastern art, closed sometime last year, and the premises now hosts Heady's Diner, a café. And Draft House Old Street, EC1V 9NR has closed (were they using the American spelling of "draught", or was the bar just a draft, in preparation for BrewDog which is due to open up there?).

So, out with the old. And in with the new! A new article for a completely new bar: the Wolfpack, NW6 6RA, the tap room for the Wolfpack brewery. It's near Queens Park and is a pleasant place if you're in the area. Another new article: On The Bab, EC1V 9LA on Old Street does tasty Korean street food and good tea. It's always busy at lunchtime.

Current Mood: thirsty

katstevens

Evening RGL readers!

This week's featured article is for The Bull & Last, a popular gastropub on the Gospel Oak corner of Hampstead Heath. There's plenty of real ale and decent grub (handy for refuelling after a jaunt around Parliament Hill), and they'll even spare a marrow bone for your dog.

We have a new page for Vegan Yes, an assertively-named Italian-Korean cafe on Brick Lane that will do you a vegan kimchi lasagne without batting an eyelid. The other new glorious food combination this week is Romford Shopping Hall's #1 Filipino/jacket potato destination, Sunrise Jacket Potato and Oriental Food (baked beans and congee - together at last). Up in Cockfosters, there's a new entry for Turkish restaurant Skewd, where the seasonal vegetables seem to be on a slightly different calendar to the rest of us. Also in Cockfosters, there's an update for The Cock Inn following a visit.

There are also updates for Lutong Pinoy, a Filipino restaurant in Earl's Court, and Mohsen, an Iranian restaurant in Kensington. Which one has the better rice? You'll have to click through to find out. Finally, The George pub in Enfield Town has turned into an O'Neills.

ewan

Hello all, and apologies for the particular delay this week, caused by jet lag (on my behalf).

This week's featured article is a Korean restaurant in Earlsfield called Cah Chi, SW18 4HP. Dumplings, noodles, efficient service and K-pop are your selling points for making the southwestern trek.

There's one reported closure, of Hason Raja, a Bangladeshi restaurant in Holborn described by our reviewer as "OK".

There's an update to the reopened The Beehive gastropub in Marylebone.

Finally an art materials shop which was by Aldgate then Brick Lane, called Atlantis Art, has moved premises to Old Street.

katstevens

Evening RGL crew!

This week's featured article is for the legendary Stuffins Unlimited in Croydon. This sandwich shop is clearly inspired by the great 2 Unlimited not just in name, but in its cheerful personnel, quick-moving queue, boshing specials and hardcore rave breakfast baps (maybe). Get Bready For This!

First among a bunch of new articles on RGL this week is a new branch of the Nordic Bakery in Seven Dials. I am still recovering from the last time I had one of their extremely strong coffees at the Golden Square branch (approx 8 years ago). The coffee strength at Coffee Express in Belvedere is as yet unknown, but they'll do a weak cup of tea if you ask for one. (If you're after something stronger in DA17, the Belvedere Hotel pub has reopened.)

Elsewhere, in Brixton's Market Row there's Brazilian food at Carioca, while Earlsfield's Cah Chi will do you a decent beef japchae. Last but not least is the Running Horses pub in Erith. Where is Erith, I hear you ask? Well, I was at that pub myself just yesterday and I ate a large sausage roll, but it was dark outside and I got lost on the way, so I couldn't tell you exactly how I got there. Erith: shrouded in mystery! Or you could get the train.

ewan

Hello all

Welcome back to another week at your Randomness Guide, London edition.

The featured article this month is Po Cha, SE1 7RG, a small Korean restaurant out the back of Waterloo station, relocated from St Giles High St. If you can fit in, you'll enjoy the bibimbap.

Four additions are: Melucci's Italian sandwich shop in Bexley; Cafe Spice Nigerian restaurant in Peckham (meat and stew are your meals there); Brazil's Cafe in Chesham (attractive building, not too much meat in their salt beef sandwich, also it's in Chesham); and the Jasmine Thai Kitchen also in furthest-flung Chesham (patchy but efficient).

There's a significant update to The Gamekeepers Lodge pub in Chesham, where sleeping dogs lie.

We've heard that Chimes restaurant/bar in Pimlico has closed.

Finally, note the new address for Mamuska! Polish canteen, which is no longer in the Elephant Shopping Centre.

katstevens

Hello all! Apologies for the slight delay this week - leaves on the line, and such*.

Our featured article is for the PlumTree Cafe in Greenwich, a child-friendly spot with plenty of veggie options and most importantly, an all-day breakfast menu.

A bunch of new pages have sprung up this week! Fresh Fields Market in Croydon has a good beer selection as well as fruit and veg; the Duke's Head in Highgate is a very pleasant pub with lots of nice beer and gin cocktails, and the Wild Card Brewery Tap Bar in Walthamstow is also pretty great for beer fans, though it's a bit out of the way. I've been to the latter two establishments and I would firmly recommend both! My verdict is a bit less certain regarding the Waterloo Bar and Kitchen though - reasonable bistro food but quite pricey. Better value in Waterloo is Po Cha, a Korean restaurant recently moved from near the Centrepoint building, and the Waterloo branch of Wahaca.

There are three pub updates following visits: the Express Tavern in Brentford, the Wellington by Waterloo station, and the Albion in East Molesey. The Express looks like the pick of the bunch to me.

Elsewhere, Da Vinci's bar in Waterloo has closed, as has the Fountain Restaurant inside Fortnum & Mason's.

Finally we can give a big RGL welcome to Dartford Station, which has joined TfL Zone 8 and thus has become 12.5% more excellent!

*Okay, fine. I was buying woodland-animal-shaped biscuit cutters in Ikea.

katstevens

Evening everyone! This week's featured article is for Bubbles and Tea, a small vegan bubble tea cafe in the Stratford Centre. If you're not sure what bubble tea is, there's a helpful sign on the front of the premises!

Freshly written up on RGL are articles for the Japanese Canteen in Holborn (serviceable greasy noodles) and the newly opened Everyman Cinema in Canary Wharf. There's also an update to the page for Ravi Shankar, one of the better Indian restaurants on Euston's Drummond Street, following a recent lunch visit.

There's some to-ing and fro-ing around Tottenham Court Road and Waterloo: Book Warehouse has moved a few minutes down the road on Lower Marsh, and now occupies the top floor of Gramex Music Shop. Also on the move are Korean restaurants Woo Jung and Po Cha, both having moved from the shadow of Centrepoint due to the Crossrail works. Woo Jung is now on New Oxford Street while Po Cha find itself opposite Gramex on Lower Marsh, in the old premises of Marsh Ruby (now closed). Their former Centrepoint neighbour Assa has closed for good, however, as has the Old Justice in Bermondsey.

ewan

Hello and welcome to 2014!

This year's inaugural weekly featured article is for Palace, KT3 4BH, a Korean restaurant in exotic and far-flung New Malden. If it helps you any in getting you to travel to furthest south-west London, then why not consider the spicy crab and the chilled glass noodles? They are warmly recommended by your intrepid RGL friends.

The one new article is The Bedford pub in Balham.

Three reported closures are: Jane Gibberd Secondhand Books on Lower Marsh behind Waterloo Station; Two Jays Bookshop in Edgware; and The Windmill pub in Sydenham.

There's also one impending permanent closure: Woolfson and Tay, a bookshop near Southwark station; and one temporary one: Imperial War Museum, which is closing until July 2014.

Finally, Vitao, a vegan cafe, has moved from Wardour St to nearby Oxford St.

ewan

Jai Shri Krishna, Turnpike Lane, London N8

This week's featured article is vegetarian Indian restaurant Jai Shri Krishna, N8 0PT up by Turnpike Lane at the edge of Hornsey. It's cheap, it's friendly, it's BYO (and they didn't even charge corkage): I can recommend it.

Two new articles are The Crown and Shuttle, a nicely refurbished former strip bar which has got some nice beers and a big garden, albeit at a price, and Palace, a Korean restaurant in New Malden. Look out for some lovely crab and some surprise non-vegetarianness.

We have an update to report to previous news of the closure of Topolski Century Gallery, one of the odder little galleries in London. It's now a bar, apparently. This reminds me that I heard one of the other spaces near there was to become a Waterloo Tap (like the one at Euston), so I'm quite looking forward to that.

Reported closures are: The Union Tavern in Camberwell, which split some years ago into a bar and restaurant; and The Duke of Edinburgh in Wanstead, rather more recently.

katstevens

Afternoon RGLers! I hope your Julys are going well so far!

This week's featured article is Asadal, WC1V 7EG, an underground Korean restaurant in Holborn. When I say 'underground' I mean that it's downstairs, not a hideout for avant-garde nonconformist activity, though I suppose "broth from pig liver & kidneys" is not quite what I'd call conformist.

The latest article to be added to RGL is the Railway pub in Streatham, which has decent food and a monthly farmer's market. There's also a significant update to the page for the Diners Delight Cafe in Thornton Heath, with details of breakfasts and accessibility (two things your RGL team are very keen on).

Tapas fans in Putney may be disappointed to learn of the closure of La Mancha, but it seems though the owners plan to move over the river to Chiswick at some point in the future. Also closed is the Fresh Pizza Company in Victoria Station, which has been boarded up during the ongoing works there, though we're not sure whether this is permanent. Finally, the Bookshop On The Heath in Blackheath is being sold by the owners and has reduced opening hours (and presumably will soon be closing altogether).

ewan

This week's featured article is The Horse and Groom, SW1X 7BA, an unpretentious mews pub, albeit in a very upmarket part of town. Sadly, its great age and lesser size mean that it's not very accessible.

Our one addition is Lime Orange, a Korean restaurant with good beef but too many onions. Kake, are you learning Korean now?

One reported permanent closure is Roganic, a fine dining outpost for Simon Rogan which was only ever set to be open two years (whether this makes it a "pop-up" or not, I'm still not clear on) and has indeed closed after two years.

Moving south to Croydon, the old Fish and Grill has been renamed to Brasserie Vacherin, under the same ownership.

Finally, a closure of sorts is The Northgate, a pub in De Beauvoir Town which has now reopened as The De Beauvoir Arms. At least it's still a pub.

katstevens

Afternoon RGLers! Lots to report today:

This week's featured article is the Spotted Horse, SW15 1RG, a Young's pub on Putney High Street. It's quite food-focused and has table-service in the dining room area. There is an actual spotted horse above the door (see picture above) which makes me very pleased.

We have new articles for the Stormbird, a Camberwell drinking establishment with plenty of nice beer on the handpumps (e.g. lovely lovely Thornbridge Jaipur) and the Star of Kings (formerly the Cross Kings) on York Way, which is sadly not so great on the beer front.

The articles for the Jolly Gardeners in Putney and Asadal in Holborn have both been updated with the latest accessibility information, plus what our team of intrepid researchers ate on their recent visits -- spiced lentils, gnocchi, pig's ears and kidneys (not all at once).

The descriptively-named Sichuan Restaurant in Acton has now closed, as has the Farringdon Station branch of Yo Sushi (soon to become a Pret).

There's also a new category on the site, 'Needs Checking'. Places in this category may no longer exist - if you are likely to walk past any of them, do let us know if they are still there! Of course, if by the act of measurement the nature of their reality changes then they may well exist and not exist at the same time if the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics holds. Thankfully the practicalities of wave function collapse probably means we won't have to create a new category 'Unobservable'.

ewan

This week's featured article is Woo Jung, WC2H 8LH, a Korean restaurant near Centre Point in that tricky little area between WC1 and WC2 that I usually call St Giles, some developers call Mid Town, but for convenience we'll just call Covent Garden. There's a little stretch of Korean places along here, so you can come here if you can't get into the others.

New articles are: Cafe Kozzy, a greasy spoon in Holborn; and Tufnell Park Tavern. Sure, it's a tavern and it's in Tufnell Park, but it's more than averagely child-friendly. On the downside, it's a bit big and airy in there, and they don't know how to pull a pint, but at least they have real ale.

Reported closures are Favela Chic, a Brazilian bar in Shoreditch which turned into another Brazilian bar a year or two back; and The Oporto, a pub by Westferry station in Poplar which is now called The Westferry Arms and may be much the same, though we haven't been since the change of name.

katstevens

Hello everyone!

This week's featured article is Raizes, E2 9EG, a cosy Brazilian restaurant in Bethnal Green with a range of pork dishes, chilli sauces and cocktails. As well as the traditional Brazilian caipirinha, the drinks menu features the intriguing Capeta cocktail - a semi-alarming mix of cachaça (or vodka), condensed milk, cocoa and powdered guarana. That's the sort of drink that if you happened to consume it in an experimental radiation lab, you would probably end up with superpowers.

For those of you who have been missing your New Malden kimchi-grilling fix, Yami has reopened! This is great news for lovers of stir-fried baby octopus, but perhaps not such good news for the octopus itself.

Have you been to an awesome restaurant or pub recently? Perhaps your local has recently had a makeover and now does square pizzas or Möbius sausages? Let us know in the comments and we'll check it out!

ewan

There haven't been many changes over the last week, so I only have a very short update this week.

We have a new featured article, the name of which I have transcribed just as it is idiosyncratically shown on the restaurant itself: Bi Bim Bap SoHo, W1D 4DJ, a pleasant little Korean cafe/restaurant in Soho which focuses on the eponymous dish.

There's only one new article, which is The Forestdale Arms, a locals' pub in Forestdale, a large area of 60s-era council estates near Addington.

ewan

Sorry for the gap in service, as

kake has been rather busy. However, I'm helping out and will run through the weekly updates.

The featured article this week is The Railway Bell, TW12 2AP, a Good Beer Guide pub in Hampton.

Since the last update the following pages have been added: The Railway Tavern Ale House, a reopened pub just near Dalston Kingsland with six ales and Thai food; The Breadroom, a cafe in Brixton Market; The White Swan, a Wetherspoon's at Highbury Corner; The Kentish Canteen, a cafe in Kentish Town; Ye Olde Swan, a Greene King pub, and The Red Lion, a slightly better pub, both in Thames Ditton (technically in Surrey); Pizza Napolitana, a takeaway in Croydon; Restaurante Santafereno, a Colombian restaurant in Brixton Village; Moyo-Ma, a Nigerian restaurant in Walworth; Tap East, a microbrewery and bar in Westfield Stratford City (E20); Cook Il Kwan, a Korean restaurant in New Malden; and The Anthologist, a bar in the City. Phew!

Reported closures are: Positively 4th Street, a New York-style bar near Euston; The Queen Dowager, a Young's pub in Teddington; Somers Town Coffee House, a gastropub between the British Library and Euston; and Avella's Cafe, a sandwich shop just off the top of Regent Street.

Future updates should be a little shorter, as we'll try to keep them regular.

kake

Image © Kake

This week's featured article is Silk Road, SE5 8TR, a Chinese restaurant in Camberwell offering food from Xinjiang, a province in the far northwest of China.

One of the characteristic dishes of Xinjiang is big-plate chicken (大盤雞), a stew of chicken and potatoes in a rich, savoury gravy. Silk Road's rendition is pretty good, but huge, so take lots of friends with you!

Recent additions to RGL include Bibimbap Soho, a Korean restaurant on Greek Street; and the Hoop and Grapes, a Nicholson's pub in Aldgate.

We've also updated several older pub writeups: the Old Wheatsheaf and Moon Under Water in Enfield; the King's Head and King's Ford in Chingford, and the Green Dragon in Croydon.

One reported closure: Noodle Oodle (previously Inn Noodle) on Oxford Street. Their Queensway branch remains open.

kake

Image © Manne

This week's featured article is Angel, SE16 4NB, a Samuel Smith's pub on the river, on the border of Bermondsey/Rotherhithe.

Were it not that they don't serve real ale, this would be a fantastic pub; as it is, it is merely a very good one. The upstairs lounge has a great view over the river, and the downstairs is divided into small, characterful areas. Service has always been friendly on our visits.

Recent additions to RGL include Sorabol in New Malden and Ping Pong in St Paul's. We've also updated our writeup of the Queen's Head in King's Cross.

Reported closures are Marie Lloyd Bar in Hackney (now a cafe), Dastarkhan in Lower Holloway (now a different central Asian restaurant), East & West Chinese Supermarket in New Cross, Harem on Brick Lane (now a different Turkish restaurant), and Thai Tiger also on Brick Lane (now an Indian restaurant).

Also, several branches of Oddbins have closed, including the Bromley branch — we're not sure which others have closed and which remain open, so do let us know if you have any up-to-date information.

In more cheerful news, the Rifleman in Twickenham has reopened.

kake

This week's featured article is Taqueria, W11 2RS, a restaurant in Notting Hill/Westbourne Green serving Mexican cafe-style food.

Recent additions to RGL include Butchers in New Malden, Matsuri in St James's, Pescheria Mattiucci in Notting Hill, and Breads Etcetera in Brixton.

Reported closures are Bou Tea in Covent Garden, S & M Cafe on Portobello Road, Efe in Stoke Newington, Yami in New Malden, and the Rifleman in Twickenham.