Jinjuu | Korean in Carnaby Street

Jinjuu | Korean in Carnaby Street

• April 14, 2015

 
Want lip-smacking, tasty Korean food in London? Look no further than Jinjuu on Carnaby Street.  

Jinjuu had been on my radar to visit even before it was opened thanks to Burger Law, who is always on social media hunting down the latest pop up of restaurants (she is my foodie news broadcaster!).


I met up with Mandy and Winnie, who were both in town for the day and hit Jinjuu for a late lunch. 

Jinjuu is opened by celebrity chef Judy Joo and incorporates modern style Korean, with some Mexican influences. The result is an explosion of flavours, and one of the most exciting places I've eaten at in recent months. 

Jinjuu means 'Pearl' and they offer 2 types of dining choices. On the ground floor where we were sat, small dishes for sharing, and on the lower ground floor, a full dining experience complete with Korean BBQ.

Between the 3 of us, we eventually settled on 8 of the dishes. We wanted to order everything!

Most of you guys know by now how I love a good rustic/industrial decor. Jinjuu is rocking it!

 

 Omijacha. Honey, 5 flavour berry tea. Tasted much like a tangy hot ribena!

One of the signature dishes are the sae-woo pops. Any food on a stick is a yes in my book and these were delicious. Crispy and crunchy on the outside, moist and flavourful on the inside. The gouchujang mayo on the side was highly addictive too. I will be making this dip at home!

The tuna tartar was a great pick by Mandy. Usually raw tuna doesn't excite me, but this was awesome! We could taste the jalapeno and shallot salsa underneath the tuna, along with sesame oil, ginger and soya. The lotus roots and micro herbs created wonderful contrast of textures with the tuna. 

I reckon the sour cream would have been even better with garlic aioli in place, but that's just my preference. 

The serving spoons were just so cute with the mandoo (Korean for dumpling) sitting inside. Juicy, plump, and gently flavoured with a great dipping sauce. 

Then came our tacos. We couldn't quite split them between the 3 of us, so we just took 1 each of either flavour. I had the bulgogi taco and loved how the beef was not overly sweet - this is almost unheard of! Together with the spicy mayo Asian slaw, the jalapeno and kimchee, the flavours were just incredible. Just looking at the photo is making me salivate!

Mandy and Winne both thought the pork belly were delicious - I will have to come back for this one.

The Carnitas fries along with the tacos were my favourite of the lot. Pulled pork, kimchee, salsa on top of these fries just had me digging and digging. Boy, they were good!

The Jin Chick - Korean fried chicken & the kimchee fried rice were the last to arrive. Both are traditional Korean dishes but presented the Jinjuu way. Pancetta instead of the usual bacon, and wings with the dipping sauce on the side instead of being fully coated. 

I have to say both these dishes were sadly underwhelming, and I have had better elsewhere. This was mentioned to the manager who was very gracious and accepting of our feedback. However, all the other dishes and the overall dining experience was so enjoyable, I will be going back again. There's still a few items on the menu I want to work through!

Our meal worked out to be £27 each, which is a great price considering the amount of food we ate. We were stuffed.

Address:
15 Kingly Street
London
W1B 5PS 

Have you been to Jinjuu yet?