44 | squaremeal.co.uk
THE LAST WORD Jinjuu's deliciously punchy take on Korean
cuisine suits Soho down to a T. We'll be back for seconds very soon
THE LAST WORD East Asian may be the cuisine of the
moment but the cooking at this latecomer needs more kick
Bó Drake
6 Greek Street, W1D 4DE
No telephone Price £40
Now, this is a time-capsule restaurant for
2015 if ever there was one: an on-trend
Korean-Mexican mash-up, with the emphasis
on slow cooking and smoky barbecue
avours, co-owned by a chef who studied at
Glasgow School of Art, performed in a band
called Shitdisco and is inspired by the streetfood
trucks of Los Angeles.
Naturally, Bó Drake is a no-reservations
eatery in Soho, with seating in the narrow
dining room divided between proper tables
for four and high stools at a communal
counter. And eating together is the way to
go here, not only because of the shareable
nature of dishes, which arrive virtually at the
same time, but because sparky company
might divert your attention from muted
cooking that doesn't live up to its rough-andready
promise. Our food needed much more
oomph to make Bó Drake a serious contender
in a crowded east Asian marketplace.
new openings
Not that we didn't enjoy what we ate.
Quesadillas were layered with kimchi for
added bite and served with a mild- avoured
dipping sauce made from poblano chillis.
There was a similar textural contrast in the
smoked beef brisket served in a soft bun
alongside cucumber and fried lotus root.
Elsewhere, smoked pork ribs were
lacquered in a sweet sauce, poussin came
with Thousand Island dressing spiked with
kimchi, and (best of all) lamb cutlets arrived
scattered with sesame seeds and sliced green
chillis embedded in a sticky sauce.
What does make Bó Drake stand out
from the crowd is its sta , who have all
Jinjuu
15 Kingly Street, W1B 5PS
020 3463 9589 Price £40
Korean food has been a trend-in-waiting for years,
but this westernised interpretation from KoreanAmerican
chef Judy Joo has what it takes to make
the cuisine mainstream. While some of the
ingredients may be obscure, Jinjuu promises a
familiar Asian mix of punchy avours, creamy
dipping sauces, artful presentation and funky
surrounds - and none the worse for that.
A street-level bar touts small dishes and
snacks; crunchy fried chicken thigh, smeared
with mayo and wedged between glossy buns;
prettily crafted, ginger-accented beef and pork
dumplings with a vinegar dipping sauce; pork
belly tacos with a bracing lling of fresh apple
and Asian slaw - we loved the lot.
A fuller menu downstairs o ers
delicious steak tartare with homemade
prawn crackers for scooping, and larger
plates of twice-cooked pork belly
and marinated prawns - both piled
into lettuce leaves and laced with the
deeply savoury avour of gochuchang
(a salty chilli paste). For bigger groups,
the house special of a whole fried
chicken entombed in crunchy batter
makes for a nger-lickin' centrepiece.
the character
that the pleasant
but forgettable
cooking lacks.
The restaurant's
opening was
delayed by six
months, and timing
is everything; while
more exciting venues have launched in the
meantime, Bó Drake feels late to the party.
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Korea's best-known dishes fare well, too: a side order of kimchi
is pungently diverting, while bibimbap (a sizzling granite pot
lled with rice, fried egg, veg and more gochuchang sauce) adds
homely ballast to all the protein. Puddings such as salted caramel
and peanut doughnut are enjoyable, though a very sweet tooth
is required. Service, meanwhile, ranges from
professional to amateurishly over-attentive.
Some have carped that the cooking isn't
a patch on the authentic Korean food served
in enclaves such as New Malden, but that
misses the point. Judged against other modern
Asian joints in prime central London locations,
we give Jinjuu a big thumbs-up.
44 | squaremeal.co.uk
in a crowded east Asian marketplace.
Jinjuu
15 Kingly Street, W1B 5PS
020 3463 9589 Price £40
Korean food has been a trend-in-waiting for years,
but this westernised interpretation from KoreanAmerican
chef Judy Joo has what it takes to make
the cuisine mainstream. While some of the
ingredients may be obscure, Jinjuu promises a
familiar Asian mix of punchy avours, creamy
dipping sauces, artful presentation and funky
surrounds - and none the worse for that.
A street-level bar touts small dishes and
snacks; crunchy fried chicken thigh, smeared
with mayo and wedged between glossy buns;
prettily crafted, ginger-accented beef and pork
dumplings with a vinegar dipping sauce; pork
belly tacos with a bracing lling of fresh apple
and Asian slaw - we loved the lot.
A fuller menu downstairs o ers
delicious steak tartare with homemade
prawn crackers for scooping, and larger
plates of twice-cooked pork belly
and marinated prawns - both piled
into lettuce leaves and laced with the
deeply savoury avour of gochuchang
(a salty chilli paste). For bigger groups,
the house special of a whole fried
chicken entombed in crunchy batter
makes for a nger-lickin' centrepiece.
WINE LIST
Alongside well crafted Asian cocktails and
a soju selection, Jinjuu's drinks list features
an eclectic mix of global wines. Interesting
varieties and blends have been chosen to
complement the complex cuisine, with
helpful tasting notes for each wine. BEST
BUY Just Molamatta 2013, Marco Felluga,
Collio, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, £32.50.
Chelsea mid� elder
Willian at Jinjuu