Restaurants

Yami is a casual, welcoming little place with enough style to put it in a class above canteen. The interior is decorated in a mixture of woods including pretty table inlays; partitions create intimate nooks. It’s an authentic spot, with a partly untranslated menu, a young Korean clientele and some fiery cooking – especially in the good-value lunch hotpots. ‘Yami’ translates as ‘wild taste’, but waiters will obligingly point diners with dainty palates towards the tamer offerings: kimchi pancake, for instance, a generous appetiser and better, we thought, than the bland pan-fried dumplings. Soups are listed at the back with drinks. Don’t miss the fun of table-barbecued meats, especially beef. Ox tongue comes with a delicate pepper sesame oil dip. Alternatively, try pyun galbi: sweet (perhaps too sweet) marinated rib of beef with a miso-chilli dip. Three types of very moreish kimchi accompany main dishes, and a little fruit tray comes at the end. Drink beer or barley tea. And don’t push the bicycle bell-shaped device by your table unless you need a waiter.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009