NOTE: Bó Drake has sadly now closed.
This is the tale of Jan Lee.
He was born. He played in Glasgow band Shitdisco. And now he’s opened Bó Drake, an East Asian BBQ and smokehouse, conveniently located on Soho’s Greek Street and – even more conveniently – open for lunch and dinner, cocktails, beer, wine, slushies and homemade ice cream.
Don’t fret, we’ll come back to the homemade ice cream bit.
To start your evening, however, you’ll probably want to eat. Perhaps at Bó Drake’s 10-metre, iroko wood bar… or in the slightly more secluded and intimate back room, where friendly staff deliver sharing plates of smoked pulled pork with kimchi, samjang and oysters; Korean lamb cutlets with nacho pear; and daily rotating house fish specials.
Ok let’s get back to the ice-cream. They have a soft serve machine, which – after weeks of beavering away with exotic ingredients in their lower ground kitchen – the chefs now use to produce ice-cream flavours like fermented rice wine, vanilla and sesame seed… among others. When combined with a few classic and signature Asian cocktails – particularly those containing Baijiu – it’s the perfect way to end a night.
Bai-what? Ah yes, a Chinese liquor that’s been being made for over 5000 years, is not widely available in London, is characterised by a ‘double semi-solid state fermentation using fungi as the main microbial starter for the saccharification’ – of course – and most importantly, doesn’t taste too great. Unless, that is, you shake it over ice and sugar, add a dash of lime juice and a hibiscus flower, call it the ‘Dragon’s Claw’ and serve it in a Boston glass with lime rind and a slice of grapefruit.
Something we can thank Jan Lee for.
As well as Shitdisco.
NOTE: Bó Drake has sadly now closed.
Bó Drake | 6 Greek St, Soho, W1D 4DE
Like dining out in Soho? Read our guide to the best restaurants in the area