I’ve never been to Korea, but I’ve attended quite a few dinner parties. Maybe they do things differently there, or maybe it’s just a somehow ironic name, but this Soho venue seems more about being part of the zeitgeist than doing anything genuinely novel.
Korean Dinner Party apparently pays homage to LA’s Koreatown while embracing influences from Japan and Mexico as well as the US and Korea. The top floor location in Kingly Court has a predictably stripped back interior and a soundtrack that’s also on-trend (Korean hip hop apparently features). The menu is pleasingly brief with no shortage of vegan options. Everything that came out of the kitchen is, unsurpsingly, Insta-friendly.
The good news was that substance did support style. My comrade and I shared two starters, two mains and two sides, allowing us to sample over a third of the menu’s options. To the extent anything reminded either of us of Korean food we had encountered previously (my comrade grew up close to New Malden, and so was well-equipped to comment), then it was the semi-ubiquitous presence of gochujang. For those unfamiliar, it’s a red chilli paste that incorporates elements of savoury, sweet, spicy and umami. It’s not only versatile, but also delicious. Korean Dinner Party used it with aplomb in its stuffed peppers, which were grilled, filled with cheese and then topped with the said paste. Our other starter of bacon mochi – supposedly the venue’s most popular – fell somewhat wide of the mark. There was little taste of bacon, while the rice cakes felt unpleasantly glutinous. Our mains were dubbed as ‘Korean tacos’, although the only thing Asian about them were the accompanying sauces, one of which was the obligatory gochujang. If the pork was solid, then the fried cauliflower was outstanding. The accompanying slaw was also above average, an achievement given that this salad variant is often a fail in restaurants.
Service, however, was below average. None of our servers seemed in any sense enthused or passionate. Here, it was more about getting the job done, asking the obligatory questions (“how’s your food?”) and turning the tables as quickly as possible. Sure, when you’re paying c£30/head, you don’t expect too much, but Korean Dinner Party could raise its game here. For now, it’s a fun venue, perhaps best for bigger groups with low expectations. Let’s see whether the zeitgeist is still with KDP next year.