Brad and I were on our way back from another trip to the Royal Institute for their AI Series and decided we needed some food. Thankfully we were walking past Naru and having had a good experience before decided to get a bite to eat. Naru now enters hallowed halls of restaurants I’ve reviewed more than once. 

I was always quite worried that Naru wouldn’t survive where it was, as it seemed emptywhenever I walked past it. Thankfully there was plenty of diners when we ventured in so hopefully it’s reputation has overcome its awkward location.

Service was relatively prompt and drinks were delivered quickly. We plumped for two starters to share and a main each. I had a green tea, whilst Brad opted for a Korean beer. 

We started with Pa Jeon (£5.50) - a traditional pancake, filled with seafood and served with a soy dipping sauce. The pancake itself felt very fresh, with a light crispy crunch but overall I felt it lacked a little seasoning. I would have preferred a heavier sauce with more kick to it. 

The next up was Salt & Chilli Squid Rings (£6 from memory, it’s not listed on the online menu). These were crunchy and fresh but they failed to deliver on the salt and chilli factor. Thankfully they had the syrupy sweet chilli sauce to dip them into but on their own they were a bit bland. 

My main of Smoked Duck, Doenjang served with Bun and Salad (£12.50 IIRC, it’s not listed on online menu) was a result of me wanting to push the boat out a bit. The Smoked Duck itself was excellent and it was presented beautifully but the dressing on the salad was sharp and it made both the roll and duck a little soggy. The Doenjang — or fermented bean paste — was unfortunately overpowering for me but Brad absolutely loved it. It’s clearly Marmite taste! I loved the bun and wished they had included more of them. Unfortunately I can’t find out what they are actually called, so if you know please add a comment. 

Brad picked the dish of the day, a Dolsot Bibim Bap (£9) from the traditional section of the menu. This translates to steamed rice and mixed vegetable, beef with special chili sauce served in stone bowl and soup. The generously sized Bibim Bap came ready to mix up and you could see how fresh everything was. The flavours were strong but perfectly balanced and the accompanying sauces helped you to balance it to your taste.

Overall, it came to around £40 for two of us, including drinks and service. Not perfect but still a very nice dinner indeed. 

There were differences between the online and paper menu, so the prices quoted may not be accurate.

Naru Restaurant
230 Shaftesbury Avenue
London WC2H 8EG
Phone: +44(0)2073797962
http://www.narurestaurant.com/