Top 7 New Korean Spots Opening in London (2025 Edition)
You can find the map on the bottom of the page. Here is the list!
1. Kiwa
Real Pocha Flavours on Portobello Road
đź“Ť Portobello Road
London loves the word pocha, but Kiwa serves the real thing.
On a tourist-heavy street where many people still don’t know what tteokbokki or odeng are, Kiwa does not adjust its menu or flavours to explain itself.
What makes Kiwa special
This is proper street food, the kind you eat standing up late at night in Seoul.
Chewy rice cakes in a real gochujang sauce, soy-brushed fish cake skewers, twigim sold by weight, street toast wrapped to go, and bungeoppang filled with red bean or custard.
Nothing is softened for visitors, and that honesty is exactly why it works.
Perfect for: anyone who misses real pocha food, or wants to know what it actually tastes like.
Rollin Lee
2. Dopi
A Pocha That Feels Like a Shelter From London
đź“Ť Shoreditch
DOPI spent years completely off the radar.
No influencer push, no ads. Just Korean models, creatives, and locals who wanted something calmer than Soho.
Why it feels like a refuge
The name comes from daepiso, meaning shelter, and the logo mirrors Korean emergency signs.
Inside, retro TVs, plastic chairs, and 90s style posters make it feel like a place you end up when you need to slow down.
What to order
The Obong set, fried chicken with genuinely good sauces, and a slow braised kimchi jjim that tastes like time and care.
Perfect for: ending a loud week somewhere dim, warm, and steady.
Rollin Lee
3. Yugu Café
Mugwort Lattes, Ochazuke, and a Neighbourhood Feel
đź“Ť London fields
Yugu looks like a minimalist Korean café, but the menu tells a much bigger story.
This is not just coffee and cake.
What you will find on the menu
Mugwort lattes, black sesame tiramisu, croffles, kimchi cheese and sweet potato toasties, apple and perilla mayo sandwiches, and a gently warming mackerel ochazuke made for cold days.
More than a café
Downstairs, there is a Korean designer select shop.
At night, the space turns into a natural wine bar. You can even leave your stamp card behind the counter, like in a real Seoul neighbourhood café.
Perfect for: people who want one place to work, hide, and drink wine.
Rollin Lee
4. Tenmaru
Ramen, Soondubu, and a Zainichi Story in One Kitchen
đź“Ť Soho
At first glance, Tenmaru looks like a straightforward ramen shop.
Then you notice soondubu, kimchi fried rice, and odeng sitting next to chicken paitan.
The story behind the menu
The broth simmers for eight hours, but the deeper story comes from the owner’s Zainichi Korean roots and Chosun school upbringing.
Food here is not just technique. It is memory.
What to order
Paitan ramen, soondubu jjigae, odeng soup, and menchi katsu, each carrying that layered history quietly.
Perfect for: people who want ramen with depth, not just in flavour but in story.
Rollin Lee
5. Katsuro
Tonkatsu With Imported Wet Panko
đź“Ť Battersea
Katsuro may be serving the best katsu in London right now.
The chef spent nearly a year figuring out how to import wet panko from Japan because nothing in the UK had the texture he wanted.
Why it matters
That single decision changes everything.
The crust is light and shatters when you bite, while the inside stays moist and tender.
What to order
Cheese katsu with a perfect cheese pull, king prawn ebi katsu, menchi katsu, and classic tonkatsu served with rice, miso, cabbage, pickles, and wasabi.
Even the seating is imported from Korea, making it feel closer to a Seoul tonkatsu house than a Japanese inspired spot.
Perfect for: people who judge katsu by the sound of the first bite.
Rollin Lee
6. Angel Dabang
Retro Korean Tearoom, Rebuilt in London
đź“Ť Angel
Angel Dabang feels less like a concept and more like a memory rebuilt.
It is inspired by old Korean dabangs, where people sat for hours over sweet instant coffee.
What nostalgia tastes like
Salad sandwiches, bulgogi and egg mayo sandwiches, Oreo kkwabaegi, kimbap, tteokbokki, and twisted sugar doughnuts that taste like after school snacks from the 80s.
Nothing here feels ironic. It feels sincere.
Perfect for: people who like their coffee nostalgic and their sandwiches sentimental.
Rollin Lee
7. Tokkia
A Korean Matcha House That Slows Covent Garden Down
đź“Ť Covent Garden
Covent Garden is built on movement. Tokkia quietly resists that.
This is a Korean matcha house, still rare in London, and the difference shows immediately.
Korean matcha, a different approach
Tokkia works with Korean matcha, often called malcha.
It is softer and more rounded than many Japanese styles, designed for everyday drinking.
A place that lets you stay
No coffee, no long menu, no rush.
Matcha is whisked to order and paired with Korean salt bread that makes sense with tea.
Tokkia does not try to convince you. It simply offers another way matcha can exist.
Perfect for: anyone who wants a calm pause in Covent Garden, or is curious about matcha beyond the usual narrative.
Rollin Lee
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