01/04/26

Review: Korean BBQ and Bold Flavours Take Centre Stage at SOOM

SOOM, the latest restaurant from the team behind 3KOBROS in Canary Wharf, offers a refined take on Korean BBQ with a menu that focuses on quality ingredients, balanced flavours and the sociable ritual of cooking at the table.

The meal began with a thoughtful gesture from the kitchen, a small serving of pumpkin soup sent out as a welcome from the chef. Light, warming and gently sweet, it was a comforting way to open the appetite before the starters arrived.

Among the first dishes to land on the table was Yukjeon, a Korean beef pancake made from lightly battered, pan fried slices of beef. The texture was delicate and crisp around the edges while remaining tender inside. Paired with a bright sweet and spicy shredded spring onion salad, the dish delivered a pleasing contrast between richness and freshness.

Another standout starter was the Ojingeo Dari Twigim, a generous portion of crispy squid tentacles deep fried until golden and served with fried basil. The light soy dipping sauce added just enough saltiness without overpowering the natural sweetness of the seafood.

From the chef’s specials, the Yukhoe offered a beautifully balanced take on beef tartare. Freshly hand cut beef was finely seasoned and topped with Korean pear, egg yolk and a subtle drizzle of sesame oil. The pear added a delicate sweetness that lifted the dish, while the egg yolk brought a silky richness.

The highlight of the meal came with the assorted beef BBQ platter, featuring premium ribeye, fillet and boneless short rib. Served alongside seasoned spring onion salad, crisp lettuce and three varieties of Korean pickles, the platter encouraged diners to build their own bites. Each cut cooked quickly on the grill, revealing tender meat with deep flavour, enhanced by a trio of Korean sauces that ranged from savoury to gently spicy.

To accompany the meal, the Dal Hang-ari cocktail offered a playful twist on traditional flavours, combining chestnut makgeolli with cream for a smooth, slightly nutty drink. With its focus firmly on quality meats, balanced starters and thoughtful flavour pairings, SOOM delivers a satisfying Korean BBQ experience where the food remains the clear highlight.

Address: 99 St Martin's Ln, London WC2N 4AZ

For more info. and to book, click here. https://soomkorean.com

Written by Enytha Peer

Photography courtesy of SOOM

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Review of the city's Bar Douro

Oct 28, 2024
2 min read

I have something vaguely in common with Bar Douro owner Max, a love of Portugal, its culture, people and cuisine. Max’s passion however, runs far deeper than an occasional visit to Lisbon for an authentic pastel de nata fix.

Having spent his childhood in this great nation, and a family background of producing wine in the Douro valley, Max wanted to fix the gaping hole of Portuguese representation in the UK’s restaurant scene and Bar Douro sets out to achieve just that. Open since 2016 in London Bridge, we headed to the City restaurant, located in one of London’s newest - and still being developed - areas, Broadgate’s Finsbury Avenue Square.

The restaurant’s interior is unmistakably Portuguese, with white and blue tiled murals, and crockery to match. You’d be forgiven for forgetting the Autumn London drizzle, sipping on a Moscatel, imagining sunnier times. As it happens, today’s forecast is bright, so we sit outside and eat al-fresco, imaginations still running wild.

The menu celebrates flavours and dishes from various regions across Portugal, from octopus salads to various incarnations of Bacalhau (cod). Dishes are sized to order 2-3 per person and we’d recommend getting stuck in together and sharing as there are flavours not to be missed.

We get stuck into the smoked Portuguese sausage croquetes which are crisp, savoury and dreamy, with a lemony mayonnaise, accompanied by the infamous Pataniscas de bacalhau (salt cod fritters). Each delicious bite has us grinning from ear to ear, each mouthful placing us onto the cobbled streets of Porto.

We follow with an attractive and colourful plate of tender seared tuna on a bed of crisped vegetables, drizzled with a tangy Vilão sauce. The onglet steak is beautifully pink, with perhaps a bit more of a bite than we’d have imagined, but it’s the quintessentially Portuguese mustard sauce that shines in this dish.

Dessert is a laid back affair of almond tart and pastel de nata (any opportunity), respectively accompanied with milk and cinnamon ice cream and both have us nodding at each other with appreciation.

It's worth mentioning that Bar Douro has an extensive list of Portuguese wines that you’ll be hard pressed to find anywhere else in London. We of course accompanied our lunch with a red douro and Vinho Verde.

Bar Douro’s city location is positioned perfectly for the city lunchtime crowd to be in and out within the hour and sample some of Portugal's classic and must-try flavours. Our verdict, they are pretty damn good at it.

Book a table now at www.bardouro.co.uk

Address: Finsbury Av. Square, Unit 3, 1 Finsbury Avenue, London, EC2M 2PF

Written by Rick Hartley

Photography by Nyla Sammons