BiBimBap Soho

11 Greek Street, Soho, London W1D 4DJ

Bibimbap is a Korean dish composed of rice, vegetables and/or meat. This can be (but not always) served in a hot stone pot (that resembles a mortar). With some variations the stone pot can be hot enough so that the rice sizzles, sticks and slighty burns at the bottom (the best part hehe). Before you eat, you give it a good mix, making sure to scrape off all those burnt bits, and bon' appetit!

BiBimBap SoHo - well the name says it all. A Korean restaurant in SoHo that serves bibimbap!

BiBimBap SoHo is probably more well known for their interior decor - polaroid pictures of their customers arranged in pretty patterns on their walls - I have to admit - its one of the reasons why I wanted to eat here in the first place!

 So one evening me and the boyfriend decided to pop by and try our luck for a seat! We were lucky and got a seat, on a peak time Friday evening, and almost immediately as well! Phew!

We ordered kimchi pancake as a starter, which was yummy. The pancakes came with soya sauce. This dish was nice, but quite standard.

I ordered a chilli chicken bibimbap which was sooo yummy! I'm glad I ordered it, hehe. Perfectly spiceyand enough vegetables and rice.

Chilli chicken bibimbap

The boyfriend ordered the raw fillet beef - which was again very yummy. But I personally think the Chilli chicken was tastier!

Fillet beef bibimbap

Overall this quirky affordable little place has a very nice buskling atmosphere. The waiters are nice and the service is relatively quick. The price isn't too bad ~£6-7 for a bibimbap. The food is nice - but not particularly special.

Food = 6.5/10
Atmosphere = 7/10
Service = 7/10
Recommend? Yep

Banana Tree

103 Wardour Street, Soho, W1F 0UQ

The Banana Tree specialises in food from southeast Asia, namely Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand etc. We decided to give it a go and went for dinner at their Soho branch.

Inside has exposed ceilings, stool type chairs and low hanging lights, reflecting the street-food/market style settings famed in the Indochina region which of course, wouldn't be complete without a container full of chopsticks in the middle. Overall, I liked the authenticity of it and casual atmosphere. We got there pretty early so there weren't many people, but it filled up quickly later.

  

Being a Friday night, we had to have an obligatory drik *ahem*. I went for the Dirty Thai Guy *double ahem*, one of their signature cocktails, whilst my friend had a Bellini. Both were nice, though the dirty thai guy was very strong !

Drinks: Bellini and Dirty Thai Guy

We decided to share a starter and went for some filo rolls stuffed with pork and deep fried and served with a sweet dip.

Pork filo rolls

Onto the mains, my friend ordered the chicken pho. It was ok, not the best, but definitely not the worst! I went for the mixed Laksa noodle soup. It was really good, nice and creamy from the coconut milk and a good amount of kick. The prawns too were really sweet and tender, not overdone at all. Unfortunately, near finishing, I saw what every diner dreads; a hair (not the same colour as mine). We told the waitress who looked as mortified as we, and she kindly offered another bowl of Laksa! Since it tasted so good (because of the hair or not), we gratefully accepted and ate mainly the meat and veg, but we were too stuffed to finish the noodles, even between us.

Mixed laksa noodle soup

Chicken Pho

The atmosphere was good and  service was friendly and attentive. Even when we complimented the complimentary mango flavoured gummy sweets that came with the bill, the waitress returned with more which was really lovely of her. Overall, we had a very good time and would gladly come again despite the hair (it happens!)

Food = 7/10
Service = 8/10
Atmosphere = 7.5/10
Recommend? Yes

Bodeans

10 Poland Street, W1F 8PZ

Bodeans is an American restaurant specialising in BBQ and good old southern food. When you arrive, you can opt for the diner upstairs where you order your food at the counter and collect it when your number is called or you can go for the waited service downstairs. We went downstairs where the restaurant is styled in an American sports bar style with the low lighting, wooden interior,green leather lined booths, fully stocked bar and a large TV exclusively showing sports.

Both my friend and I decided to go for a ginger beer and the combo of pulled pork and baby back ribs. It came with fries and coleslaw and I ordered some extra BBQ beans for good measure. The pulled pork was lovely, good texture and flavour. It was a little dry but nothing an extra dousing of sauce couldn't help! Luckily as, besides the usual condiments, Bodeans also gives you the option of putting extra BBQ sauce on your food - Smoked hickory or hot chipotle. Both are nice. The ribs were tender and it was easy to pull the meat from the bones. The fries were nice too, especially with the yummy BBQ sauce but I found the coleslaw a bit hard for my liking. The BBQ beans had bits of meat in it which was a nice touch.

Pulled pork and baby back ribs combo

Bodeans BBQ sauce

For dessert I decided to have Eli's original cheesecake. It was nice and creamy but extremely rich. The type of cheesecake that really sticks to the roof of your mouth! It came with a mixed berry compote and its sharpness contrasted the cheesecake well.

Eli's original cheesecake

My friend decided to have the dessert special which on that day was a double layered chocolate fudge cheesecake. This also tasted good.

Double layered chocolate fudge cheesecake

Overall, the meal came to about £40 for two people including drinks and service. I liked the atmosphere of Bodeans and getting my hands dirty (they expect this, with a roll of kitchen paper on each table). The food was good and I wouldn't mind coming back to try the rest of the menu. The portions are generous but I actually expected them to be even bigger (thus not ordering a starter)!! Or maybe I was feeling particularly hungry that day. Either way, I would happily have another plateful.

Atmosphere: 6.5/10
Service: 6.5/10
Food: 7/10
Recommend?  Probably