Restaurant Tour #5: Jin Restaurant

Having spent the afternoon of the 20th of January 2009 in Regent Street and Oxford Street in the West End of London I was looking forward to meeting a friend for dinner and relaxing.

The meal was at the JIN BARBEQUE RESTAURANT in Soho: 16 Bateman Street, London, W1D 3AH
Telephone number: 020 7734 0908

Opening times: (Monday to Saturday: 1200 hours to 1500 hours, 1800 hours to 2300 hours)

The Manager of the restaurant is Gu-Hee REE. The Chef-Chong Sung CHOI-has previously worked for multinational hotels in the USA and in Korea. He has also been responsible for preparing meals for Korean Airlines.

It is about a five minute walk from three tube stations. Turn left out of exit number 2 of Leicester Square station ( Northern and Piccadilly lines) along Charing Cross Road, left into Shaftesbury Avenue, right into Dean Street and Bateman Street is the third on the right.From Tottenham Court Road station ( Central and Northern lines) walk along Oxford Street towards Oxford Circus, turn left into Dean Street and Bateman Street is the second on the left.
From Piccadilly Circus station ( Piccadilly and Bakerloo lines) walk along Shaftesbury Avenue, left into Dean Street and Bateman Street is the third on the right.

The façade of the restaurant is white and quite striking. Upon entering there is a small and adequate bar on the left. The décor is stylish with black and silver chairs, ten tables with marble tops incorporating facilities for barbecues and bright lighting above each of these tables. There is room for up to forty diners.

The majority of patrons at this restaurant are from countries around the world. Many Korean people also dine here. A man and a woman-at a nearby table- said they have been here on a number of occasions over the last seven years, enjoyed the food and recommend it to their friends. The menu could be described as “Fusian” incorporating dishes from China, Japan and Korea. There are four different “Lunch Box” meals-chicken, beef, pork and fish-all at £10.00 each.

Five “Lunch Specials” each one consisting of three courses and costing £8.50:
* Steamed rice with seasoned vegetables
* Rice with stir fried squid marinated in chilli sauce
* A pork cutlet served with rice and salad* Fried noodles with mixed vegetables
* Fried rice with mixed food

Three set Korean BBQ meals are also available each consisting of four courses and costing £30.00, £35.00 and £40.00 respectively. Two set dinner menus at £35.00 and £40.00 with eight courses and ten courses respectively are also shown.

Our meal was chosen from the main menu:
* Pancake with seafood (Japanese style) with additional wafer thin ribbons of fish on the top- this was accompanied by Washibi sauce. I enjoyed this dish a great deal.

* Prawn Tempura Udon-battered and fried prawn and other vegetables accompanied by a soup containing thick noodles-another one of my favourites.

* Vegetable, beef and vegetable and prawn and vegetable rolls encased in rice pancakes-Vietnamese style-quite a bland taste compared to the other dishes.

* Assorted seafood and vegetables with mustard sauce-a well presented dish with the seafood in the centre of a round plate surrounded like the spokes of a wheel by assorted vegetables cut in thin slices.

* Stir fried seafood Udon- thick noodles fried together with the seafood. I am rather partial to thick noodles.

* Three types of Kimchi-Korean pickles-Chinese leaf, diced radish and stuffed cucumber accompanied the dishes. The tastes were excellent.

* Assorted fruit

* Caramelized sweet potato with Japanese Green Tea ice cream

This restaurant is an oasis of calm in the midst of the bustling area that Soho is with its theatres, clubs, public houses and an assortment of shops. China Town is nearby. It appeals to diners who expect efficient service, a pleasant atmosphere and meals of a good standard at reasonable prices.