The restaurant sits on the top floor of Kingly Court
What do we need to know about Korean Dinner Party?
This new addition to London's dining scene aims to bring a bit of the buzz of LA's Koreatown and transplant it into central London. The guys behind it are the folk responsible for Senor Ceviche - while the menu has been through the more than capable hands of the TĀTĀ Eatery crew.
Where is it?
They've taken over the old Dirty Bones site at the top of Kingly Court in Carnaby. The nearest tube is Oxford Circus.
Where's a good place to sit?
We tipped up on a Thursday night to find the place absolutely heaving in only their second week open. So you're probably going to take what you're given. If you do have a choice, there's a lovely corner table for two just inside the door that lets you both look into the dining room.
Week two and the place was already doing great business.
What is there to drink?
With top mixologist Cyan Wong responsible for the cocktail list, you're definitely going to want to start with one of those. We saw a lot of folk ordering the Yakult Royale, made with champagne and yoghurt soju which had a Yakult foam poured on top at the table.
Our favourite, of the ones we tried, was the Banana Milk Rum Punch served with torched marshmallow and nutmeg (£9.50). In the background is the Osmanthus Crystal Margarita with osmanthus flower (£10).
What's on the menu?
The menu's split into small eats, tacos, sides and a single dessert. It's good for vegetarians too - more than half of the small eats and sides are either veggie or vegan and - as you'll see, both of our mains were vegetarian.
Here's a taster of what's on:
KDP Corn Dog (£4 each) - they had to get a corn dog in there, and this is an excellent version.
Bacon mochi - even if you're not a fan of dessert mochi you'll want to order these caramelized bacon-wrapped rice cakes glazed with gochujang caramel (£8).
Kimchi pancake (£4.50) - the oyster mayo which goes with the kimchi pancakes is sensational, but you can swap it out for vegan mustard mayo to make this a fully vegan dish.
Chikin (£6.50) - fried chicken nuggets and chewy rice sticks in a pool of garlic cream and a cloud of Parmesan.
KFC tacos (£12) - Korean Fried Cauliflower with cheese ranch, chili relish, asian slaw and homemade wheat wrappers. Genuinely life-changingly good veggie tacos.
Kimchi stone pot (£11) - there's a lovely kick of heat in this dish which arrives sizzling at your table (and continues to do so for several minutes) before an egg yolk is slid in to cook.
Room for dessert?
We may have ever so slightly over-ordered, so we ended up sharing the single dessert on offer:
Dessert is a fro-yo soft serve (£5) that changes its flavour and topping every week. This was milk ice cream, with strawberry and strawberry gel, pearl barley, caramelised cornflakes and sea salt.
Summing up:
This new Carnaby addition looks like a hit from day one. It's buzzy, fun, the staff are universally lovely and the food and cocktails are totally what London is looking for right now. Go - if you can get a table.
More about Korean Dinner Party
Where is it? Top Floor Kingly Court, Carnaby St, London W1B 5PW
How to book: book online
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @koreandinnerparty
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