LDNGuide

Where To Eat In New Malden

Where to eat when you’re in KT3.
Where To Eat In New Malden image

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

An area in south west London that’s been home to everyone’s favourite Spider-Man (sorry Tobey) since 1996, New Malden is a neighbourhood filled with excellent restaurants. Known for having the largest population of South Koreans living in the UK, it’s rich in specialty supermarkets and London’s best Korean spots. From a homely restaurant serving 10/10 pajeon to a KFC and beer specialist, here are our top picks in KT3. 

THE SPOTS

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

Korean

New Malden

$$$$Perfect For:LunchDrinking Good BeerCatching Up With MatesQuiet MealsWalk-InsTakeaway
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We wouldn’t recommend a place solely on friendly servers. But if we did, we’d recommend this little Korean spot in New Malden to everyone we meet. Plus it serves excellent traditional Korean dishes you won’t find everywhere else. Things like jajangmyeon—a noodle dish topped with thick black bean and onion sauce—that you’ll want once a week, or dak galbi—a spicy stir-fried chicken dish. With a compact but cosy room, it’s ideal for a small group, but if you’re hoping to get a bowl of those noodles all to yourself, it’s worth a solo trip as well.

A small family-owned Korean restaurant on New Malden High Street, Imone has a handful of tables, friendly staff, and the kind of home-style cooking that makes you feel like you’re at a friend's house. It’s not just the best Korean spot in London, but one of the city’s best restaurants full stop. From aesthetically pleasing, perfectly crispy calamari and spring onion pajeon to excellent kan pung gi chicken in an addictive smoky, spicy sauce, the menu is full of fantastic traditional dishes. Head here for a satisfying meal with a small group of friends (if it’s a big group, call ahead and ask for one of the back rooms).

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

$$$$Perfect For:Big GroupsLunch

The crunch factor on Tongdak’s fried chicken is, put simply, undeniable. It’s why this Korean fried chicken spot is such a winner. There are a bunch of different flavours like honey butter and garlic soya, but the fried original is where the extreme crunch is at. Salty, slightly spicy, and unbelievably crispy, this will soon become your new favourite fried chicken spot in London. There are only a handful of tables inside and it feels more like a takeaway spot, but don’t let that stop you from venturing away from the high street and making a trip here. 

A relaxed neighbourhood restaurant on Kingston Road, Moksha serves some top-tier Indian classics. The starters, from the refreshing citrussy paani puri to the hefty samosas, are so good that you’ll be tempted to fill up on more of the aloo papadi chaat before your mains arrive. But the meat thali requires stomach space, and the ability to share when whoever you’re with inevitably stretches their hand out for a bite of your old Delhi-style chicken curry. There are plenty of options for vegetarians and vegans, plus halal meat, and friendly service from the moment you step inside to when you ask them to pack up leftover prawn biryani.

Located slap bang in the middle of New Malden High Street, Sofreh is a buzzy neighbourhood spot serving excellent Persian classics. With the scent of freshly baked tanoor wafting throughout, plush green chairs, and excellent joojeh on the menu, it’s our favourite spot to get buttery grilled kebabs in the area. Come here with a group so you can share the generous portion of mixed mezze, and not be judged when you ask for three extra garlic tanoor bread baskets.

Our favourite thing about New Malden High Street is the high saturation of charity shops—hello turquoise jewellery, hello Marmite merch from 1996. One of our other favourite things is the crispy Korean fried chicken at Chick and Beers. A casual solo dining and dinner with mates spot, it has a short menu that consists of chicken in its various forms and Addictive Carbohydrates Covered In Nice Stuff. But don’t get too distracted by the jalapeño poppers because you’re primarily here for a tender moment with gloriously crispy chicken that makes for some truly hypnotic ASMR. 

When you get to Nori’s address, you might be confused. The entrance is in an alleyway off the high street and you’ll walk in to find an ornate bench and a staircase, but little sign of a great Japanese restaurant. But trust us, up those stairs you’ll find fantastic udon. The sushi is satisfying, if a little slap-dash, but the hot and cold noodle dishes and delicately fried tempura are the things to get. It doesn’t hurt that the intimate dining room is packed full of bamboo and has enough charm to make it perfect for date night. Planning a family meal? Reserve one of the private dining spaces behind the chic shoji partitions. 

If the weather is serving ‘put your sunnies on’, make a beeline for Cake & Bingsoo Cafe. More specifically, make a beeline for the signature shaved ice bingsoo that comes loaded with a variety of gravity-defying sweet treats and ice cream. At the bright and casual cafe on the high street, Korean desserts reign supreme and there’s a large sharing table that’s perfect for you and a few hungry friends. The best part is it’s open from 9am-9pm, perfect for post-work matcha cravings. 

New Malden High Street has several cafes but The Place is, well, the place to be. It feels like a proper local spot where everyone knows everyone, and servers brewing Monmouth coffee or whipping up bubble tea make the effort to stop to chat. It’s the kind of spot you’ll pop into throughout the day—for a morning flat white, lunchtime toastie, and slice of cake or doorstep slab of Korean honey bread among the after-school rush come afternoon. It’s a relaxed community hub with top coffee and sweet treats seven days a week. 

photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch

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Al Forno is an Italian restaurant with Big Pepper Grinder Energy. You know, the type of big-hearted place where the menu is as huge as the table, chianti bottles in straw baskets hang from the ceiling, and the air hums with conversation and clinking of glasses. The bubbly-crust pizzas and hefty pasta dishes with shell-on king prawns or minced beef ragu are decent at this New Malden spot, but you’re really here for the generous hospitality and fun atmosphere. It’s the kind of place that guarantees a memorable night.

There are plenty of great Korean restaurants in New Malden, but this one does a spicy crab dish that’s worth venturing off the high street for. Approximately 10 minutes after the doors to Jin Go Gae open, a steady stream of friends and families pour into the straightforward spot. Charcoal barbecues are fired up, the sound and smell of sizzling marinated pork hits ears and nostrils at the same time, and plates of gae jang—a refreshing, chilled, raw crab dish slathered in spicy gochujang sauce—will force you to request more napkins. 

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Suggested Reading

Imone image
8.7

Imone

Imone is a family-run Korean restaurant in New Malden serving excellent home-style cooking.

Sofreh image
7.9

A Persian restaurant on New Malden High Street serving excellent grilled meats and dips.

A range of Korean dishes including tteokbokki at Myung Ga in Soho.

When a craving for crispy KFC, chewy tteokbokki, warming jjigae, and stuffed pajeon hits, head to one of the best Korean restaurants in London.

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