Talk about being hidden away. Not only are Seoul Bakery based in a pocket of real estate behind The Centrepoint, which so few venture to, that going there is like remembering to clean behind your ears (unless if you happened to take a wrong turn, from the buzz of picking up your next Les Paul in Denmark St); This Korean cucina goes out of its way to mask the fact that they serve actual hot, savoury delicious and completely edible food. As if it weren’t enough, they appear to occupy half a shop connected to a hair salon (Azito). They also are not a bona fide bakery, as the name might suggest.
Isn’t that just the coolest? And doncha just love it when you stumble across the weirdly, uniquely and dangerously indie-like caffes? It reminds me of the kind of hole in the wall cafe which I frequented during my time in Sydney. And while the indie-feel cafe movement is really only just starting up in London (hard to believe, we still ain’t over the non-committal pop-up phase yet), it is something which I think, we Londoners are beginning to totally crave now.
Remember Rochelle Canteen? God I sure hope we did all we could to keep that little gem of a food haven open. We’ll hear soon in April.
The space is minute, a rich tapestry consisting of apparently genuine writings on the walls, each uniquely scratched in by visitors over the duration of its existence. From the sheer variety of the messages – most of which appears to be written in Korean, as I can’t make out most of it – it does seem like Seoul Kitchen has been going for a while, and those who go there, appear to have established a deeper connection to it. It’s real, it’s human and the sociable aspect wasn’t lost on me, on this visit.
It appears to only be manned by two people, who take turn in taking orders while managing the kitchen in between to churn out the goods.
Bulgogi Beef Roll.
The ‘fire meat’ roll for a more literal translation (so says wiki), was a pleasant, homely start to the evening. Beef could have probably done with a little more wetness, but hey, this was not place to be an elitist food snob. I loved it, and it was fine.
Kimchi pancake.
Astute Korean cuisine lovers will remind me of the kimchee pancake good work being carried out in Koba, and while this won’t win any gongs, we enjoyed it just the same, if not better, for the sheer honesty in the cooking. It’s homely babes, and it was (also) fine.
Bibimbap.
Egg, bulgogi, rice, cucumber, sliced carrots, beansprouts and what appears to be rocket leaves. Easy food for the easy rider.
I can’t remember how much we paid. Probably £15 plus bottled aloe vera juice, and a can of grape juice. If you happen to be floating about St Giles, I suggest skipping the views at Paramount, bring your iPad with you, some post-it notes, and leave a little sentiment behind at Seoul Bakery.
The Gist of It
Seoul Bakery
Korean, £12pp
55 St. Giles High Street WC2H 8
Tube: Tottenham Court Road
For reference: Kimchi Soul
Did you enjoy reading this? You can subscribe to the Newsletter. Alternatively, you cansubscribe to the RSS feed.
Tags: Charing Cross Road, Korean, leicester square, london, seoul bakery
Oh my! I’ve passed this everytime I have to go around the mess that is charing cross road! How have I never seen this place? Will be checking this out ASAP!
=)
Looks like a fun find Kang – I agree London needs more independent, quirky little places.
I just ate Korean last night in New Malden and this looks every bit as good. That gochujang chili paste is addictive. Must pop in and see!
I’ve passed this place so many times and never noticed it, I even went to Po Jang MaCha which looks like it is next door for Korean a few nights ago and had one of the best value and tastiest meals I’ve had in central London in a long time.
omg I love you! I passed it a few times from the other side of road, but never paid attention after a quick look at the shop sign. Now I see that I’ve misread the sign. I thought it was “Soul Bakery”. Never even noticed the ‘e’. My bad. I’m so going there after this!
Wow – this place looks positively delish! I will definitely go check it out. Thank you for the tip!
Thomas from Denmark
Hi Kang,
I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of anywhere decent that does Korean Fried Chicken in London(of the kind that has been popularised stateside)? Thanks,
Matt
We will not go there again. Waited 15 minutes for a table. We were only just seated when the waitress wanted us to move to a more cramped table, so that they could seat some other people who had just arrived. It was insulting. We left and won’t be back again.
Thanks for the fab pics. Been meaning to check this out for a while, going to go today – your pics are inspiring to help me decide what to eat
[...] I have been looking for a Japanese or Korean hair salon (again!) and found Soho Azito. They used to have a web site just a month ago but this seems no longer functional – not a good sign They are on Facebook however. Reviews are mixed, the haircut is only £30 and they have any time slot available on Saturday (which is just not possible in London) but I will go and check it out for myself. I probably should post a before and after photo afterwards They have a Korean cafe (canteen?) adjacent to the salon which for me is a massive selling point – I love Korean food. And it’s in Charing Cross which means lots of things to do around. Well, sounds like an experience to me! I’ll keep you posted… http://londoneater.com/2011/03/31/seoul-bakery-azito-hair-salon-post-it-bulgogi/ [...]
I’m with Matt on the KFC.
It’s the best in the world.
[...] Website: http://londoneater.com/2011/03/31/seoul-bakery-azito-hair-salon-post-it-bulgogi/ [...]