Koba

Korean BBQ

seafood for the BBQ

Koba has long been a household name for any Londoners who are into Korean food, it was shut down earlier this year for refurbishment and relaunched in March. It is my first ever time visiting Koba so I couldn't compare. But on arrival, I was impressed with the decor and layout out, it had a slick bar counter sitting at the front while the back had a more traditional feel to it. The in-trend fried chicken dish was a major let down, the batter was far too thick and the spicy dressing was not a great deal of difference to the instant version you would find in a supermarket. We opted for a range of BBQ meat that is more rare to find in usual Korean restaurants. The thinly sliced ox tongue was underwhelming, lacked flavour and richness as you would expect from such a fine cut of meat. 

prawn dumpling

kfc

rib eye and ox tongue

rib eye

pork belly

seafood

The tender rib eye was slightly better, it was very pleasant when it was wrapped in lettuce with miso. It offered a great balance between richness and freshness. What was even better was the seafood items, the salmon was sweet and fresh, still tasted moist once cooked, the prawn was also wonderful with just a small sparkle of sesame salt sauce. The food at Koba was a mixed bag, some good and some bad. It is not the cheapest Korean BBQ restaurant in town and the dish portions are more of less tapas sized. One thing that really impressed me was the special extractor hoods above each table, those hoods done a great job in vacuuming all the smoke, as I left without smelling a trace of grease for the first time, after walking out from a Korean restaurant.

Food 2.5/5

What I paid: 
£25 per head 

Average cost without drinks and services:
£25

11 Rathbone St, London W1T 1NA

http://www.kobalondon.com/