Kimchee, Holborn

I'm not entirely sure where to start with Kimchee in Holborn, the experience was a real mix. Good, well cooked food and possibly the worse service I've experienced. There was a lot of hype around Kimchee when it first opened, and I suspect they have kept up pace thanks to the tasty food and affordable prices.

To start we ordered crab tuigim (soft shell crab fried in breadcrumbs with plumb dipping sauce) and Pa Jeon (Korean pancake with spring onion and seafood) both were nice, the pancake winning over the crab.

My main was great. The raw beef Bibimbap was served in a boiling hot stone dish to lightly cook the beef and raw egg when stirred. Although slightly lacking chilli the flavours were spot on. It was loaded with vegetables which always pleases me, the raw beef was fresh and the egg added a much desired richness.

The Kimchee on the side was excellent. A good portion with large pieces of cabbage layered in a neat little parcel. I wish more restaurants which are more europeanised versions of authentic Asian cuisine would follow suit and serve up hefty portions of Kimchee.

Now, the service. We arrived to an outside queue. 50 minutes after putting our name on a list with the hostess we still hadn't been seated and were moments away from frost bite. We went inside to ask of the progress to be told they had lots of empty tables and we could be seated right away. I still wonder of our outcome had we not gone inside. The lengthy queue behind us continued to wait. The food was delivered in a weird order, sides and mains and starters were all over the place. To end, we asked for our bill a good three times and then waited upward of 30 minutes for a waiter to come and take our card payment.

Go for the lovely Korean food, and with a good temper.