Review of 'On the Bab'

Another restaurant I have heard a lot of “On the Bab” serves “Korean Street Food” in their expanding empire of four stores now. I was finally able to try this branch in Covent Garden the other day and was very impressed.

The unassuming location on the busy Wellington Street was unique in that there was already a queue at 6 in the evening waiting to get in. Thankfully the queue went quickly - This is not a place that you linger over your dinner. The crowded ground floor has bar-style seating at the front window and a number of small tables but we were shown to a much quieter seating area in the basement.

The menu is quite small with only three sections: “Small Dishes” (£3.50 to £4.90), “On the…” (£7.50 to £8.50 - for example, on the…“rice”, “[bibim]bab”, “buns, “roll” and “soup noodle”), “Traditional” (£7.00 to £11.90) and “On The Side (£2 - for example, “kimchee”). We decided to start with a side order of “kimchee” (£2). Though small it was very tasty with small pieces of cabbage in a tasty and slightly zingy sauce - Better than many kimchee I have had in the past.

For mains we started by splitting an order of “On the Bibinbab” with beef (£7.50 + £2.00 for the beef) - “rice, various vegetables, and a fried egg, mixed with gochujang, served warm in a metal bowl” which was absolutely delicious. The vegetables were wonderfully fresh and the meat was full of flavour.

We also had 12 pieces (medium size) of their famous “Yangyum Chicken” (£11.90; other sizes are available) - “Korean style fried chicken, coated in crispy batter w/crushed peanuts” - Chicken nuggets they are not. Coming in four different flavours we tried both “Soy Ginger” and “Garlic Mayo”. The crispy deep-fried chicken pieces are perfect for snacking and served in a big basket with a mound of a coleslaw salad and delicious dressing. The “Soy Ginger” was our favourite flavour of the two. The “Garlic Mayo” did not really have a lot of taste but good nonetheless. The chicken was moist on the inside and crunchy on the outside with the delicious topping…We could easily have demolished the “x-large” 28 pieces between the two of us…Wow.

It was good to see on the drinks menu that there were non-alcoholic options (I don't drink) including “slushies”, the normal softs and an assortment of fruit juices/mocktails. I had the “OMG” (£4) - ”(Oh My Ginger) preserved ginger with honey & lemonade” - Which was quite spicy but very tasty.

The total bill was £32.90 which included a 10% service charge - Quite reasonable for the area and what we were given. The service was friendly and quite efficient, even in the basement. The decor was pretty basic with bottles in shelves along the walls.

We will be back to enjoy again, that is for sure!

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2016-12-07

Cuisine: Korean

Address: 36 Wellington Street WC2E 7BD ENGLAND

Public Transport: Covent Garden

Location: London (England) - Covent Garden

Map:

Telephone: +44 (0) 207 240 5568

URL: http://onthebab.co.uk/