LDNReview
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
You Me Korean Restaurant
Included In
We wouldn’t recommend a restaurant solely on friendly servers. But if we did, we’d recommend this little Korean spot in New Malden to everyone we meet. There are plenty of restaurants trying to emulate that whole ‘cool friend who hosts casual dinner parties in their Notting Hill apartment’ atmosphere. But You Me Korean has got the—arguably more charming—‘great aunt whose love language is overfeeding you’ thing going on. Oh, and the Korean food is some of the best you’ll find in the city.
This cosy neighbourhood spot has BBQ grills on each of the four-person tables, so come in a group any larger than that and there will need to be some rearranging of the furniture. It's a compact dining room, with touches like framed selfies of the proud owner's daughter with famous footballers on the walls (they’ll explain if you ask). It doesn’t seem like much thought has gone into keeping the decor modern, but that’s not necessary when every other aspect of a meal here is so special. The generosity of the servers—who come handing out banchan and smiles, and freebies in the form of fresh fruit or mochi at the end of your meal—is what makes us leave feeling like we’ve just spent an hour and a half at therapy.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
When you flick through the picture menu, don’t be overwhelmed by all the different options. Instead, immediately order crispy and generously filled squid and spring onion pajeon, the jajangmyeon (that we’ve craved at least once a week since first trying), and the fiery, garlicky fried prawns. The great thing about You Me Korean is that they serve excellent traditional Korean dishes you won’t find everywhere, like dak galbi. We overheard other tables claim the hour-long journey was worth it for this spicy stir-fried chicken dish. If you live nearby, you’re a lucky person, and if you don’t, make the trip.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Jajangmyeon
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Pajeon
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Fried Garlic Prawn
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch