Bi Won

We had wanted to try this place since first walking past 2 years ago. After getting our appetites whetted at the Korean food fair for the Thames Festival, we decided to finally take the plunge.

Food

The menu is your typical Korean menu, with quite a lot of choices. For lunch though, they have a few sets that represent a slight saving. We ordered a Rice Punch (£2.50) to start, and saw them open up a can and pour the contents straight into a glass and serve…oh well, it tasted like it came from a can too. I had one of my favourite Korean meals Bibimbap with Miso Soup (£9.20). They really skimped on the meat here, I only got a few shivers of beef, but the actual dish was superb, with the sizzling stone pot, the rice crisp at the bottom, fresh vegetables, and of course the raw egg and the hot bean sauce forming a beautiful sauce for the rice. The miso soup really was an afterthought, but had enough tofu and shallots in it to liven it up. I wasn’t so impressed with the Rice Cake with Glass Noodles and Dumplings (£9.80) though, the broth didn’t have much flavour, the pastry for the dumpling was thick, and the filling was unimaginative. It was probably the wrong choice. What I was most disappointed about was probably the lack of condiments we got … only a small amount of kim chi and some bean sprouts… I was looking forward to the potatoes and the spinach.

Rating - 6.5

Atmosphere

A small cosy place, with minimal “Korean” decoration. Everything is simple and clean. The kitchen is situated downstairs, and all the food brought up by trolley. The restaurant was full on this dreary Sunday lunch time. There were quite a few single people dining, and also one big group of girls… disappointingly, no Koreans.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Very polite, as Koreans should be. They kept trying to clear our table though before we were ready.

Rating - 3

C-factor

Quite expensive for the quality and quantity, compared to what you can get around Chinatown.

Rating - 0

Brownie Points - 11

Info

24 Coptic Street
London
WC1A 1NT
Phone +44 (0) 20 7580 2660