The main dining room - yes it looks like pretty much everyone has ordered the steam box.
What do we need to know about Chungdam?
This Korean BBQ restaurant is the latest London opening from restaurateur Jay Choi, who's also behind two other nearby restaurants Shibuya Soho and Hongdae Pocha. He's already got a track record in opening restaurants that Londoners want to eat at and it looks like this new Soho spot with its not-often-seen in London Pyeonbaek steam boxes and state-of-the-art BBQs looks set to follow that trend.
Where is it?
You'll find it on the corner of Greek Street and Romilly Street. Your nearest tubes are either Piccadilly Circus or Leicester Square.
Where's a good place to meet for a drink first?
The nearest bet is classic boozer Norman's Coach and Horses which is right opposite. Alternatively, if it's a decent negroni or something similar that you're after, head to Bar Termini around the corner on Old Compton Street.
So what kind of food is on the menu?
There are two key draws here - Korean barbecue and the Pyeonbaek steam box (more on the latter in a minute). Each of the tables here features their own state-of-the-art BBQ which you can cook on yourself or have staff do it for you. The other USP is the quality of the meats on offer - so think wagyu, filet mignon and Iberico pork rib.
But first things first - starters and sides. You couldn't do better than ordering both the Chungdam pickles and the Kimchi Namul to get things going. The pickles (£6) see the team here taking what's in season here and applying Korean pickling techniques to them - we had asparagus, spinach, tomatoes and watercress.
The kimchi namul (£7.50) also comes with a range of veggies, including radishes and beansprouts.
Beef tartare (£14.50) - recommended by our waiter, this starter was a hit with sticks of pear and a sesame dressing to cut through the rich beef.
Next you move on the barbecue section of the menu which ranges in price from £12.50 for salted chicken thigh to £65 for wagyu steak. The barbecue element of the table is fired up for you and, because we're deeply lazy, we got our waiter to grill our steak for us which he did perfectly before slicing it up and arranging it around the edges of the grill.
The fillet mignon (£24.50) before and after
Getting the steak grilled for us by our waiter
This was all we tried on the barbecue section, having been warned how big the Pyeonbaek box (£85) was. The box itself is made from hinoki wood (a Cypress tree native to Japan). It's a three-tiered affair with stock at the bottom which is used to steam the top two boxes containing mixed seafood and beef brisket. The cooking takes just under 15 minutes after which the seafood and beef boxes are revealed to you.
Left to right - the mixed seafood box which contained scallop, prawns, mussels and vegetables and the beef box, which was a mix of thinly sliced brisket and ribeye with bamboo, mushrooms and aubergine slices. Dipping sauces included an amazing sesame sauce and their own sweet chilli sauce.
Finally, you're on to the soup/hotpot section of the steam box part of the meal. At this point, a whole load of vegetables are added to the pot of stock that's been simmering along at the bottom, together with some Korean wheat noodles and your choice of spicy mala or mild soy shabu shabu seasoning for the broth.
The soup bubbling away
The whole process takes around five minutes at which point bowls of steaming noodle soup are served out for you. The box is supposed to serve two, but it could easily do three if you were also having starters and sides too.
The soup was a great end to the whole meal - although it would have been even better to have been able to take some home with us, as there was a lot left over.
What about drink?
There's a short wine list with entry-level wine at £28.50 for an Argentinean Malbec rising to £150 for a Puligny Montrachet. They also do a very decent own-label draft beer (£6.80) and six varieties of soju.
We also kicked the whole evening off with Chungdam's Korean soju cocktail (£10) - a mix of rice wine and soju.
Overall thoughts:
It's hard to think who wouldn't enjoy an evening out at Chungdam, whether you're belting out K-Pop hits in the basement private karaoke room or getting a group of friends together over some DIY barbecue. Service is super-friendly and we're still thinking about how great the dipping sauces for the BBQ were. An easy recommendation - it's clearly going to be a big hit for Soho.
More about Chungdam
Where is it? 35-36 Greek St, London W1D 5DL
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @chungdam.london.
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Chungdam. Prices correct at time of publication.
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