Fitzrovia’s Koba brings Korean dining to the centre of London, specializing in cooked-at-the-table Korean barbecues.

The Venue
Koba sits quietly on Rathbone Street, a stone’s throw away from the countless eateries on the renowned Fitzrovia restaurant streets that are Charlotte and Goodge. The entrance is small and dark and despite (and partly due to) the large red neon name-board there really is nothing immediate to draw you in. A glance in the window at the often heaving bar area at the front of the restaurant could sway you either way depending what you’re looking for, but the large numbers of Korean diners you’re likely to see can come only as a high recommendation of a London-based Korean restaurant.

The Atmosphere
On entering Koba, the first impression is simply darkness. Once your eyes have adjusted, the lengths that the restaurant has gone to in order to create an authentic Korean atmosphere can be better appreciated. Gilded wall hangings, a traditional long bar and waitresses in Korean dress all contribute, but nothing can compete with the hand-towel routine which kicks the meal off. Upon seating, a waitress will bring a saucer to the table with a tablet for each diner, who will then watch amazed and amused (unless they are Korean, they’re used to it) as she pours over hot water from a teapot and the tablets swell vertically, forming tightly rolled but full-size hand towels.

The Food
Though the hand towel tablet trick means the serving of the actual food has a lot to live up to, if anything can manage it, it has to be the Korean barbecue in which Koba specializes. With specially built hot plates in the middle of each table, these barbecue meals consist of freshly sliced and marinated meat, fish and vegetables to cook at the table. These come with optional (but recommended) sides of salad and pickles whilst rice and noodle accompaniments are also available.

The barbecue menu is beef heavy with spare rib, sirloin, marinated beef and ox tongue all available in multiple guises, but pork, chicken, prawn, squid and octopus also feature along with some token vegetables. It isn’t clear exactly how many each selection serves, but as a guide the single selections would serve one, whilst the varied mixes would serve two to three as long as there were a few side dishes.

The Koba modeum gooi (£23.90) is highly recommended on the menu and features beef sirloin, marinated beef, a beef spare rib, thinly sliced pork belly, sweet and spicy chicken, two large king prawns and a baby octopus along with a few mushrooms and some onion. These are brought to the table in phases and placed on the grill to cook. Waiters will return to turn them over and even put them onto plates once they are cooked, so although it’s at the table it isn’t really DIY. The assembling of the wraps to eat the meats, however, is DIY but the waiters are happy to demonstrate. After you’ve taken the meat from the barbecue you’re meant to first dip it in soy sauce, then into some seasoning which seems to consist mainly of white pepper and salt, then onto a baby gem lettuce leaf to be topped with a dollop of pungent, deliciously savoury fermented soybean paste and finally some spring onions, which come thinly sliced in a chilli-vinegar dressing. Wrap up, eat and enjoy the balance between sweet, sour, salty, spicy and umami flavours which are so central to Korean cuisine. This selection of sides including the lettuce, spring onions, seasonings and soybean paste, pamoochim and sangchoo, has to be ordered separately for £3.50.

Kimchi, the renowned Korean pickle, is another good addition. The spicy pickled cabbage which is best known is a reliable favourite adding crunch and a spicy tingle to anything it’s paired with, but the harder to find pickled radish and cucumber are equally worth a try. A selection, medeum kimchi, is available for £5.20 and there’s plenty to share.

The Drink
Koba’s drinks list is extensive but it’s the Korean options which are the most appealing. There is rice wine (from £4.30 a glass and £15.90 a bottle), a few Korean beers (£3.50 per bottle, all lagers) and a whole range of teas. The ginseng tea is sweet and honeyed, and makes an ideal digestif following the meal. It comes traditionally served with three pine nuts floating on top.

The Last Word
Koba offers good food, good value and, thanks to their hot plates, a completely different dining experience. A fun and friendly place to visit - and much cheaper than a trip to Korea.

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