It’s a rare occasion when I walk in to a restaurant and have no idea what I’m ordering, but pleasantly this was the case when visiting Korean restaurant, Asadal. Conveniently situated next door to Holborn station, our group of 3 had no problems finding the place, but like any childhood fairytale, you have to want it to be able to see it.

Walking down a set of stairs we arrived at a dark basement restaurant and were pleasantly greeted by a member of the bar staff. We we asked to wait a few minutes as we didn’t have a reservation and were eventually politely asked if we minded sharing a table with another diner. We agreed and there was plenty of space for us and the business man quietly eating his evening meal for one.

I’ve never been to a Korean BBQ, so having no expertise, experience or expectations allowed me to sit back and let my two friends decide what we should order… BBQ Set I. 4 courses comprising of soup, appetizers, bbq main and desert.

I was pleasantly surprised. The Yuk Gae Jang soup was a well-balanced mix of beef and vegetables, with a level of spiciness that for me was just right (Some might disagree). The appetizers were basic but flavourful, which I had no problems with at all.

And then came the main… CLUELESS! I had absolutely no idea how to play this one, do we cook the meat ourselves? How is the meat supposed to go with the sides? Am I supposed to build some sort of Korean meat-veg-leaf sandwich?? The waiter arrived and laid out all our veg and plates. He then turned on the bbq in the centre of the table and filled the hot plate with meat, then simply walked away… What were we supposed to do?? Do we watch and cook ourselves? Or risk leaving the meat to become a smokey charred block that only true English bbq-ers can achieve. We decided on the former and my friend began individually turning each piece of meat on the plate… 2 minutes later the waiter came back and quickly mixed up the meat in, what we assume to be, the correct carefree method. Lesson learnt, let the waiters do their jobs.

We could have benefited from a little guidance on how to eat our food, but in traditional oriental fashion we went for the meat+sauce+veg+rice method. Not sure if it was right, but it was delicious nonetheless! Our mix of spicy pork and beef was tasty and succulent and the dips and veg really added an extra dimension to our palettes. It was something that I really wasn’t expecting, it was lovely.

The desserts were the basic fruits or grapes, apple, melon and orange slices, but with the addition of a cup of cold, cinnamon smelling, loose syrup. Again, do we dip our fruit in it, or do we just drink it? Imagine the embarrassment of dipping when we should be drinking or drinking instead of dipping, it would’ve surely be on par with drinking ‘lemon soup’ after a lobster course! Luckily one of our party had actually read the menu and they informed us that it was advertised as a dessert ‘drink’, crisis averted. The drink itself was nice, a strong aroma of cinnamon was countered by a sweet cold drink, not unlike a chinese Tong Sui. Those not used to sweet dessert drinks could compare it to a sort of cold mulled wine. I liked it, but it wasn’t something that I could drink all evening.

Overall I really enjoyed my meal at Asadal. It was a brand new experience and an experience I would probably do again. And now that I know what I’m eating, I can be a little bit more specific and order from the a la carte menu rather than the set menu. Price-wise, I would say it was a little on the pricey side, but with Korean BBQ being quite a niche product, I can understand why Asadal would charge a premium. It’s a nice place in a convenient location, I recommend it.