Little Seoul, Cambridge

Saturday evening in the lab... Bibimbap anyone?

As far as I know, Little Seoul is the only Korean restaurant in Cambridge - a far cry from the endless supply of Korean places in Sydney's Chinatown. It's already 7:30 pm when our group's token computational guy YST and I head out for dinner. Luckily the restaurant is just around the corner.

(Edit: I've recently been told about another place on Mill Rd called Bibimbap House... read the review here)

It all feels a little strange. The restaurant is situated underground, so you have to walk down a flight of stairs to get in. The inside itself is rather bare, with no-frills plain beige walls. However, the most bizarre part is the layout, with far too many walls segmenting the building into several mid-sized rooms. Reminds me of dodgy karaoke places in Chinatown... except without the smoke-filled aroma, severe lack of ventilation and generally low visibility level. OK perhaps that isn't a fair comparison.

Anyway forget the decor, we're here to eat.

Dolsot bibimbap (£8.50)

We have bibimbap on the brain, so YST opts for the hot stonebowl dolsot bibimbap version whilst I go for the regular which is cheaper by £1. Oh yes. My ingenious money saving scheme is unfortunately more than offset by my inability to resist Korean seafood pancake.

Seafood pancake (£5.70 I think?)

I'm slightly disappointed that my beloved banchan or unlimited-free-refill-side-dishes aren't on offer here, as they are one of the best things about going to Korean restaurants! There is the option to purchase sides like kimchi and namul however.

The pancake is a little softer than I'd hoped and lacking seafood despite its name, but I still scoff it down in a hurry. The dipping sauce does seem a little strong on the soy hence slightly too salty.

As for the bibimbaps... well honestly you can't really go wrong with a mishmash of rice and random ingredients smushed together with dollops of chilli sauce. Yum. Or maybe I've watched Full House too many times (not the US sitcom).

Verdict? Hard to say having only really eaten a couple of things, although the menu choice is not so large. I get the feeling it's pretty solid Korean for what they do offer, minus the free side dishes, but wait... did I hear lunch special?

They do a main and a free side-dish at lunch for cheaper, so I'm pretty sure I'll be back sometime soon!

Little Seoul
108 Regent St, Cambridge, CB2 1DP
Tel: +44 (0) 12233 308681
http://www.littleseoul.co.uk/ 


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