K, K Place, I really wanted to like you but, in the end, you were just (O)K…read more
We'd read some things about how K Place was doing an AYCE Korean BBQ option. It's so rare in London that we thought we should definitely give it a try. We made a reservation for Friday night easily and they were flexible when we were running late.
When we arrived, we headed down the stairs to the basement where the restaurant was. It isn't a huge place, with seating for about 30-40. Not all of the tables have grills, but the vast majority do. We were seated near the entrance and heard another group come in for karaoke and were directed out of the restaurant, so if you're looking for dinner and karaoke all in one - K Place could be a great option!
After having a look at the menu, we decided to go with Set B Buffet, which was described as 10 course buffet with unlimited meats (£28.99). They also have a Set C with unlimited meats and seafood for £33.99. Soon after ordering, the dishes started to arrive. Banchan arrived first with 4 dishes: kimchi, radish kimchi, beansprouts, and cucumbers(?!). Odd. The cucumbers weren't the usual pickled cucumbers (oijangajji) but just some slices of raw cucumber. Maybe they had just run out of their pickles for the day? But we would have preferred them not providing this super random banchan. All the banchan were OK, but a bit bland.
Next came the egg roll, dakdoritang (chicken and potato spicy stew) and mackerel. Everything was fine, though the dakdoritang was a bit bland as was the egg roll. The mackerel was overcooked. The kimchi pancake was standard, not the best I've ever had but not the worst - pretty middle of the road. The steamed mussels was probably the highlight. Fresh and sweet, cooked well in their own juices and a sprinkling of green onion.
We then received a platter of 9 different meats - it was easy to tell that these weren't the highest quality. Yes, I know I'm at an AYCE place but I've had great quality AYCE meat at Korean BBQ places (Looking at you, LA). Spicy pork, (fatty) chicken, pork belly, rib eye, chuck, etc. all super unmemorable and pretty bland. At least the service was good and our server came over to turn over the meats and cut them for us. They gave us a small platter of some vegetables to grill as well as lettuce to wrap the meat in. There was also a huge container of ssamjang, which I always slather into my lettuce wraps so that was a plus as well. We could have ordered more meat since we weren't stuffed but found it all just mediocre and decided that we didn't want the extra calories for such blah food.
Sigh, I had high hopes but I think I'll just wait until I'm back in LA to have the real deal. Additionally, at this price point, I expected a bit more. Maybe due to it being in the City, they charge more? The hunt for good AYCE Korean BBQ in London continues.