Address
227 High Holborn,
WC1V 7DA
Phone
020 7430 9006
Type of Place:
The Holborn branch of Asadal (there's one in New Malden too) is situated right on the Westminster/City boundary, in an area rich in business hotels and poor in regular ordinary residents. That tends to give most of the institutions in the area an international feel and Asadal is no exception -- you'd go here for dinner during a business trip or lunch during a family holiday but you wouldn't really go on a date here.
Atmosphere:
The place is smart, in the way that the restaurant of a large international chain hotel is smart. There's a general impression of right angles. Lighting is bright. The effect tends toward the reassuring but unromantic, which exactly suits the business model.
Service:
Now, here there have been some issuse. Asadal has a huge staff but in all the times I've eaten there I've never had the impression that they quite know what to do. They're Korean, they're nice, they wear hanbok and are generally pretty good on an individual basis, but this whole restaurant seems to be haunted by an intermittent group incompetence whereby food just sometimes doesn't arrive. This doesn't really bother me since I tend to use Asadal as a quiet spot to relax -- I imagine if you had a large group on a busy day, it could become an issue.
jj