Restaurants

Kaya is like a Soho Korean restaurant upgraded for a Mayfair clientele. Waitresses wear graceful embroidered gowns and even the cheapest house white wine is served from an ice bucket. The sleek dining room is a mock-up of a Korean gung(palace), with bottle-green roof tiles, painted beams and a wall of framed Korean objets d’art, including a gorgeous print of a deranged tiger. For an elegant dining experience, book the paper-screen banquet room at the back of the restaurant. The menu has plenty of barbecue and hotpot dishes, but we ordered the bossam – steamed pork, wrapped in cabbage leaves with sweet pickles, raw garlic, chilli and a pungent seafood sauce. It was an interesting combination of flavours but bettered by a dish of sweet-marinated beef ribs barbecued and wrapped in lettuce leaf parcels with ssam jang (fermented bean paste) and tangy shredded spring onion. A 15% service charge is included on the bill, but the attentive staff deserve every penny.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2009