Asadal, WC1V 7EG
- 020 7430 9005
- 227 High Holborn, WC1V 7EG (streetmap) (osm) (gmap) (bingmap) (streetview)
Korean restaurant in a basement right next to Holborn Station. Despite the address, the entrance is actually on Kingsway, next to the main station entrance.
Note: A report on Twitter states that as of November 2021 Asadal has closed down, but we haven't verified this, and it's not clear what the report is based on.
It's quite dark inside, though the tables themselves are adequately lit. Seating is provided via a mixture of booths and normal tables.
bob and Sarah visited on a Friday lunchtime in June 2013. The staff had no trouble finding us a table even though it was quite busy.
The menus we were given were clearly for lunchtime only, including a three-page bound menu photo 1, photo 2, photo 3 and a single-page specials menu.
bob had the soon dae gook (순대국; £9.80) photo. Described on the menu as "broth from pig liver & kidneys", this was a soup gook/국) containing slices of Korean blood sausage (soon dae/순대), liver, kidney photo, and what I think was pig's ear (or something else cartilaginous). It was interesting if perhaps a little challenging for someone who's not the biggest fan of liver. The kidneys and pig's ear were fine. The soon dae photo was probably my favourite part. The broth was quite nice though had a strong whiff of kidneys. There was chilli paste on the side, to be added to taste.
Sarah's kimchi chi gae (김치찌개; £9) photo was fine; served on the hotter side, which is no bad thing.
Complimentary banchan (small side dishes) arrived along with our food: beansprouts photo, kimchi, and deep-fried tofu photo. The tofu was particularly tasty.
(On a previous visit, bob had the bibimbap, which was pretty good.)
Accessibility: The restaurant is in a basement, down a flight of stairs. There is a lift, but we haven't checked whether this gives full step-free access.
See also:
- bob's photoset on Flickr
- The Independent review (Thomas Sutcliffe)
- Time Out review
- Chowhound thread
- Jan Moir's review
- Bellaphon's review
- CheChe's Blog review
- London Appetizer review
- London Tastin' review
- Passport Delicious review
- Picky Glutton review
- Susan Eats London review
- London Eating comments
- Yelp comments
- Photo of a sample menu from 2007