The Prince and The Hawker

When I first moved to London, a friend brought me to Assa in Soho. It has since become my go-to for Korean food in London. I’ve been to Assa five or six times in the past year and it has proved extremely consistent.

Unlike my other restaurant reviews, this will be an amalgamation of multiple visits. This way, I can showcase my favourite dishes from multiple visits.

Whenever you approach Assa remotely near a meal time, you’ll see a healthy queue outside. But this only speaks to the restaurant’s popularity. The queue moves fast! I’ve never had to wait for longer than 10-15 minutes, and it’s usually much shorter than that. A staff member dilligently keeps the queue organised. I’m always impressed by the host’s memory – they remember the order and size of each party so tables are filled chronologically without having to keep a physical list.

There are a surprisingly large number of tables split over two floors, but it doesn’t feel too crowded. Once seated, the servers bring menus and water promptly. Service is very friendly, yet incredibly efficient too. It always seems that servers are on hand if you need something without being overbearing or pushy.

The menu at Assa is extensive, as you can see from the images below. It can be a bit overwhelming at first, but it is organised well. There is also an extensive drink list at the end, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. As one who seldom drinks, I particularly enjoy their shikhye (Korean rice drink) and their assortment of milkus (Korean cream soda) drinks.

Time to Eat at Assa

Once you order, the servers will bring an assortment of side dishes (banchan), which is customary at Korean restaurants. This is the only part I find lacking at Assa. My experience at other Korean restaurants include four or five dishes. At Assa, I only remember ever getting two: a creamy cabbage dish and a marinated bean sprout dish. They are tasty though and I believe you can ask for refills. No matter, the menu items more than make up for this.

When you look around the restaurant, you’ll usually see about half the tables with portable gas stoves heating up large flat pots of assorted items. While I usually prefer to order an assortment of cooked dishes rather than a large hotpot with my friends, I did try the Retro Bu Dae Jji Gae (Korean Hot Pot) the last time I visited. I have to say, the East Asian in me does have an affinity for hotpot.

The assortment of items in the hotpot included a variety of chicken and pork sausages, courgettes, mushrooms, kimchi, and my favourite: instant noodles with cheese. There was oddly also some beans in the middle, but it actually tasted good with everything else. I found the soup very flavourful without being too spicy for me. However, some times I bit into a piece of meat that had a heavy dusting of chilli powder that took me by surprise.

As mentioned, I usually enjoy sharing a few dishes with friends at Assa so we can try more variety. One of my staples is the dak gang jung (deep fried chicken with sweet spicy sauce). I’ve always thought Korean and Taiwanese cuisines do fried chicken the most justice, so I’m always enticed to order this. The fried chicken is always perfectly crispy, even when smothered in the sticky sweet and spicy sauce. The pieces of toppoki (rice cake) added in give a texture contrast too.

Another of my favourite sections of the menu is the jeon, or Korean pancakes. They’re thick and springy, with assorted fillings to choose from. I prefer the seafood pa jeon. However, some of my friends don’t love seafood as much as me, so we often order the kimchi jeon to satisfy everyone at the table. It’s tasty, spicy, and quintissentially Korean.

Another perennial Korean cuisine favourite has to be bibimbap. My first choice is the Beef Bulgogi Bibimbap, but the photo below is from when I went with my partner, who is pescatarian, so we ordered a Tofu Dolsot Bibimbap. No matter which one you choose, they come with a delectable mix of vegetables and your protein choice on a bed of cooked rice in a sizzling stone bowl. You get the bibimbap sauce on the side so you mix in as much as you want according to your flavour and spice preferences. Then you vigorously mix the entire dish. The only thing I wished for at Assa was the stone bowl to be more hot, because I like when some of the rice sizzles to a crusty texture.

On a recent visit, my partner ordered the Spicy Seafood Fried Noodle. I thought it would be quite a boring dish, but it actually surprised me. The udon noodles were perfectly tossed with the right amount of spicy sauce to not be too spicy. And the dish had a surprising amount of seafood items, including squid, shrimps, and mussels. It was worth every pence.

Sometimes, you just need one more small dish as a filler to make sure everybody has enough food. That’s usually where dumplings come in for me. Who doesn’t love dumplings?`I’ve tried most of the ones on the menu at Assa and they’re all honestly great. Yes, they’re deep-fried for that extra crispiness. Yes, they are an indulgence. Yes, that is ok.

Final Thoughts

I really value having a few restaurants in my back pocket that are both incredibly consistent and located in a convenient location. Assa is really one of these restaurants for me. Every time I’ve gone there with friends, the whole table is always satisfied. The menu has such a huge variety that there are more than enough options for most dietary restrictions.

There is always a queue outside the restaurant, but it moves very quickly and the staff keep it organised and low-stress. Once inside, the staff are high-energy, friendly, and incredibly efficient. I always leave Assa full and find I only spend around £30. I think this is great value, especially considering the central London location.