The Polo

lenalouise

Nice but prefer Assa next door 28th March 2009

1 found this helpful

I decided to finally try a different korean restaurant other than my regular, Assa and was recommended The Polo, next door. I went with my cousin and his girlfriend when they came down to London to visit. We squeezed into some seats by the bar. As other reviewers have mentioned, it is quite dark so the picture isn't very clear, sorry!

We got barbequed pork, spicy soup, beef bibimbab, seafood pancake and a bottle of plum wine to share. The pork was tasty but slightly overcooked. The beef bibimbab was pretty delicious but not as nice as Myung Ga's one. The seafood pancake, however, was totally fantastic! It was so crisp and flavoursome. Also, the plum wine is not to be missed, fruity nectar juice mmm.

I still prefer Assa but would probably come back for the pancakes, bibimbabs and the plum wine. (It's slightly more expensive than Assa).

foodbymark

First time Korean 21st September 2008

1 found this helpful

I had never knowingly eaten Korean food before and the idea of eating here had been sprung upon me as a last minute Friday pre drinking idea by my assistant. They were not fussy but did prefer to go to The Polo and I had a read a great review of The Polo on the Londonelicious blog. Not having eaten Korean before appealed to me... it was going to be impossible to be objective about it!

There were six of us and the tiny restaurant with probably less space than for 40 covers manages to squeeze us around one of the few tables. My girlfriend and I had to sit at the end on stools. Very cosy in terms of space. In the middle of the table is a built in burner with some hidden buttons and knobs. Looking around at the other, Korean diners, it seems that they don't use and opt for the standard tabletop rectangular white burners. I saw that they used them for shared dishes and pots and perhaps in a similar way to South East Asian steamboat and communal/at the table cooking and eating.

All of us ordered various dishes based around in a searing hot stoneware bowl. I chose the seafood version and it arrived within 5 minutes with a small condiment bowl of red sauce - a sort of red soya bean and mild chilli blend. There was slices of squid, four prawns neatly arranged on top and probably some other fish/seafood but it was actually a bit too dark to see. Without any prior knowledge, and the bowl obviously superheating everything, we started to make our own fried rice at the table in our bowls. Only after eating the egg yolk in whole did I realise that perhaps I was supposed to break it like in fried rice... better luck next time hey?

The overall experience was fun and certainly a cheap eat. If you were to order this dish and a bottle of delicious plum wine, you would end up paying around £13... and for just the dish £6.50. Obviously popular with Korean couples waiting patiently in queue I am looking forward to going back some time. Fun and cheap!

MattDonegan

Great discovery! 11th February 2008

0 found this helpful

great little restaurant very near Tottenham Court Road.

MattDonegan at 25/04/08

I've been to this restaurant on numerous occasion and I love it. There's only 2 tables for 4, and then seats around the bar for about 10 (at a push). It's always packed with Koreans living in London, and many others enjoy the homey feeling and excellent food. Ask the waiters to explain the courses, but the stone bimibabs are very good. Pork or Beef. Hi beer is good. And, for those with a sweet tooth, the little coffee place next door is fantastic, and the staff are lovely.

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