Just over a year ago Bó Drake, the East Asian BBQ joint, opened its doors in Soho and we finally got a chance to see what all the fuss is about! Let’s just say good things happen to those who wait.
Run by Jan Lee, ex-Roka chef (and Founder of the band Shitdisco), expectations were high and we weren’t disappointed. There’s a chilled vibe with good music playing to get you in the zone but low enough that you can still hear your dinner date speak!
The décor is modern industrial with exposed brick walls and metallic pipes and a long bar where you can eat or just grab a drink with tasty bar snacks.
We kicked things off with their signature cocktails, choosing the Black Book with rum, fresh apples and egg white and the Starman, a fresh tipple with vodka, soju, strawberries and basil which were both delicious! Not too sugary, the perfect balance between sweet and slightly tart, just the way we like our cocktails! Other cocktails featured experimental ingredients such as absinthe, plum wine, dill and sage, jalapeño and ginger syrup among other interesting concoctions, so we’ll need to come back to check those out for sure!
Our lovely waiter recommended we have 5-6 dishes to share between the two of us and a good 20 minutes later (we wanted the WHOLE menu!) we managed to decide on which plates to get.
The first dish to arrive was the KFC, these mouth-watering fried chicken wings marinated in a soy and garlic sauce, topped with grapes and rosemary which was a really interesting twist on the usual Korean fried chicken we’ve had elsewhere.
Then came the crispy Kimbab, six pieces of crunchy salmon sushi topped with a sticky soy and a spicy mayo sauce which was seriously delicious. After just one bite of the Bao buns we couldn’t stop talking about how good they were! The fluffy little buns of love were filled with confit pork belly with a crisp outside, topped with pickled cucumber with soy glazed cashews, we were definitely in bun heaven.
The epic smoked ribs stack, was incredibly tender and meaty, covered in Asian BBQ sauce and spring onions, we couldn’t stop licking our fingers! Let’s not forget the sides, a mountain of crispy sweet potato fries with creamy kimchi dressing were very moreish and the kimchi pancake with unexpected mozzarella melted all over, worked really well!
We hear the roasted monkfish is back on the menu after popular demand so we’ll have to make another trip to test that one out! But if this little lot was anything to go by, we’re sure it will be just as banging as the plates we were served.
Service was quick and efficient without bringing everything all at once or making you feel like you need to get the hell out of there as they need to cram in more customers!
More good news is the fact that they take bookings! Hurrah! We suggest you do that right NOW.
