8.4
Great
Restaurants

Korean Dinner Party

There’s a Korean Dinner Party in Soho.

And you’re all invited.

You see, rather than being a Korean household’s private dinner, it’s a lively restaurant at the top of Kingly Court run by the people who also own Señor Ceviche on the ground floor, with a menu from Ana Gonçalves and Zijun Meng (who are the duo that do all the brilliant food at Mr Ji). Influenced by the scene in LA’s Koreatown, they’ve tried to bring some of that 24-hour energy over here (though it closes at 11pm on weekends), and while they can’t literally do that, they’ve gone to great lengths to channel the energy part. Music and atmosphere are key to this and throughout the night you’ll hear records blasting anything from Southeast Asian folk music to Korean hip-hop, while the interior’s been stripped back, trendily so (exposed concrete, metal beams, the usual hipness), and fitted with triptych artwork (from Korean artist Kwang Kwang), neon signage, ruby-shaded seating and an open kitchen.

korean dinner party interiors

Just as Gonçalves and Meng offer at Mr Ji, the food at Korean Dinner Party isn’t exclusive to a single country. As Koreatown is home to various ethnicities – not just Korean, but Mexican and American too – you’ll notice some of that cultural melange on the menu; from the corn dogs slathered in mustard & ketchup and stuffed with stretchy mozzarella cheese, to bacon mochi (aka rice cakes wrapped in bacon and glistening with sweet gochujang caramel), kimchi pancakes served with a mustard mayo, and Korean tacos (al pastor, cauliflower and 48-hour beef short rib that you build yourself), which, on Tuesdays, are all-you-can-eat for £20. For dessert, they’ve made life easy for you – it’s just the one, a soft serve (cone or a cup) with a changing ice cream flavour (potentially milk or matcha green tea), but it’s always adorned with caramelised cornflakes and a pocky stick.

Korean Dinner Party

The real after-meal treat lies in Korean Dinner Party’s creative dessert cocktails. Those take the shape of a Banana Milk Rum Punch topped with torched marshmallow, a Burnt Rice Old Fashioned topped with homemade rice cracker, and a Yakult Royale that combines soju and champagne with the Japanese probiotic drink (no confirmation that this is good for your gut, though). If you’re so inclined, they also the offer the clear (and deceptively dangerous) national spirits of Japan and South Korea – sake and soju – the sake from Bermondsey’s Kanpai Brewery (which you can order as a flight, for you know, testing purposes…) and the soju from Jinro. At the end of the day…

they know how to soju a good time.

 

NOTE: Korean Dinner Party is open daily for lunch and dinner. You can book on their website, right here.

Korean Dinner Party | Top Floor Kingly Court, Carnaby St, W1B 5PW


Like the vibe of this place? Here are the best Korean restaurants in London


Korean Dinner Party


Top Floor, Kingly Court, Soho, W1B 5PW

020 4580 1197

8.4 | Great