Spicy Grill Korean BBQ — Restaurant in London

I recently dined at Spicy Grill London, a Korean restaurant conveniently located near Golders Green station in Zone 3 of North London. The restaurant's proximity to the station makes it easily accessible by public transport. However, if you're driving, parking can be a bit of a challenge. Street parking is available but quite expensive at £6.30 for two hours.

We visited on a weekday during lunch, so there were plenty of empty tables. Our group ordered the Sundubu Jjigae, Jjambban Chajang (for 2-3 people), LA Galbi, and Galbijjim. Overall, the food was quite sweet. The Jjambban Chajang had a generous amount of seafood and a large portion size, but the sweetness was overwhelming. The LA Galbi also suffered from being overly sweet and the meat was quite tough. To our surprise, the Galbijjim was more like a Galbitang (short rib soup), but upon confirming, we were told it was indeed the Galbijjim. Unfortunately, it was also very sweet.

While the dishes that used soy sauce-based marinades were excessively sweet, the dining experience was somewhat salvaged by the friendly staff. However, the restaurant appeared understaffed, with one employee handling both table service and food deliveries. This resulted in a slow pace of service, with a notable gap of about 15 minutes between the first and last dishes arriving at our table.

Despite these issues, the friendliness of the staff and the convenient location made for a pleasant dining experience. If you enjoy sweeter Korean dishes, you might find Spicy Grill London to your liking. However, be prepared for slower service...

I wish I could give zero stars due to the food safety issue.

They have a complete ‘don’t give a shit’ attitude, even when they make mistakes. I ordered a takeaway and picked it up from the store: Beef Bibimbap with a well-done egg (for kids), spicy rice cake with cheese, and a half portion of wings.

I didn’t check the food in front of the staff. When I got home and served the bibimbap to my kids, I found a big piece of beef that was raw in the middle. This is infuriating because cooking food properly is the most basic requirement for any restaurant. I called them immediately, but the Korean waiter had the same ‘don’t give a shit’ attitude. The chef also refused to admit any fault.

Seriously, how could I fake this, especially after I took a picture and sent it to them? I asked for a refund, but they refused, and to this day, they still haven’t issued one.

I’ve had this restaurant on my go-to list for over six years, but something has definitely changed—maybe new ownership or something else—because the taste is very different and much worse than before. The rice cake texture was clearly a cheap substitute and not chewy at all. The egg on the bibimbap was not well-done, still a bit raw inside the yolk. This is definitely the last time I’ll be ordering from this restaurant.

If you want to experience bad attitudes and food that doesn’t meet safety standards, give them a try. Will report to the Barnet food...

The lady manager really ruined our experience. She was very cold with her responses and wasn’t personable at all. They forgot to bring many things and as we were already halfway through the BBQ (which was quite chewy) I politely asked when we would get the rice and lettuce that comes with the BBQ set. The meat was burning and already half cooked and we were waiting for the sides to eat it with and she bluntly told me to wait and that things are coming out one by one. I’ve never been to a restaurant that serves the rice and lettuce after the meat is nearly finished. I had to ask two times for the sauce for the bibimbap and when we asked her the second time she just aggressively put the sauce on the table without even apologising or making eye contact and walked away. When she asked how our food was after we told her we had better food here in the past and that the food and service was not good she replied smiling saying “good good good” like she didn’t hear us or want to acknowledge what we said. I used to come here all the time in the past and thought to try it again but that lady really ruined my experience with her unfriendly service. Apart from the service, the food was okay but nothing impressive. The ribeye was very chewy...