Ssam

Such a disappointing visit to Ran which is called Ssam now. The new decor was not welcoming, you couldn't feel the familiarity that Ran use to have when it wasn't so dim, had more tables and had more buzz.

The service was slow and the waiting staff's preparation area is exposed now.

The ladies toilets were disgusting. The strip light needed changing because it was flashing constantly, there was no door for the first cubicle and the toilet roll was on the floor in the second.

Not my favourite recommended Korean restaurant anymore.
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4 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, February 01, 2012

Still a favorite of mine after five years. The decor has been improved since my wife and I first started eating here and the food is as good as ever. Higly recommend spicy chicken, cucumber kimchi and Ran Gyoza.
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Glenn - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, January 17, 2012

I used to go to this place regularly, about twice a year or so, and enjoy the brilliant food, service and atmosphere. It was also the sort of place I brought people to to impress. After spending an entire summer in Korea I really wanted somewhere where I could go and eat good Korean food, which this place was.

But after not visiting for a year, I was shocked to come back this week and find that it has been very poorly refurbished, with bland walls and dark furniture which has no atmosphere at all, and the lights were extremely dim, not 'romantic dim' but 'we don't want to spend money on electricty' dim.

I also noticed how the prices had gone up on food, the selection of wine has weakened, and the service was very, very poor. I had booked and not been warned of a turn around for the table. Once the place got busy, we were brought our bill without asking, and we hadn't even had dessert yet! Fine, the place was busy, but we hadn't even been at our table for 2 hours yet (the usual turn around time for a dinner table at any restaurant), and we were clearly being kicked out before having had desert or finished our (very mediocre) bottle of wine.

The bill came to £100 for a very mediocre experience - wish I had spent that at Jamie Oliver's 15 restaurant or somewhere else where it would have been more memorable.

A regular of mine and one of my favourites, turned into an absolute 'no go'.
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anon
4 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Friday, July 29, 2011

The restaurant food is good but they should better provide better service.

The waitress disappear during they serving the meats and not came back again.

Well all meat got burned.. if they can change their service style. I will back there with my friends again for the Korean foods there !
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2 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Sunday, June 19, 2011

This is by far one of my favourite London restaurants. I was introduced to korean food through Ran and have definitely become a massive fan. From the glass noodles, to the sashimi, to the bulgogi, everything was bursting with flavour.

Being a meat eater myself, I tend to be timid when trying out new types of food, but this was one venture that paid off. I've been to Ran at least 10 times in the past 6 months and will continue to eat there frequently.

While the staff are fast and polite, what shines most about this place is the outstanding quality of cuisine, and based solely on the food, I would recommend Ran to anyone.
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JD
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, June 14, 2011

I was lucky to eat at Ran with a Korean friend so I suspect we got better service, and perhaps larger servings, judging by the other reviews on here.

My friend ordered for us - delicate Korean marinated vegetables and salads to start, including kimchi which was palate-cleansing and delicious, some beef and glass noodles which was OK, and then the barbecue. The barbecue was fantastic, with lots of different marinated meats. You wrap the meats in a lettuce leaf with soya bean paste and chilli and chew it all together - the flavours were excellent.

I had never eaten Korean food before and thought this restaurant was a great introduction. Our bill came to £25 per head which I thought was extremely reasonable given we had wine, two courses, and several different meats for the barbecue.

I will definitely go back, and recommend it to others.
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crutherford
7 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, February 09, 2010

I've eaten here a few times in the last two years. It's central, always serves nice food, has fast service (especially given the number of customers), polite staff and it's reasonably priced... I can't think of any bad points & have recommended it to several people.
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9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Friday, August 14, 2009

I used to love this place... I haven't been to many Korean restaurants, and certain dishes such as beef sashimi, dolsot bibimbaps, kimchi, bulgogi were mind-blowingly delicious new flavours. The food hasn't changed, it's still great, but a major change is the new refurbishment which has completely killed the experience for me... before it was a buzzing thriving informal restaurant, but now they have half the number of tables and it feels dead. It may look elegant now, but for me it's lost its character and for that reason I won't be rushing back
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Dimitri
5 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, April 07, 2009

It was certainly not a cheap restaurant for the quality of the food we had there. Not so much seafood in any seafood based dish or meat in meat based dish but instead full of other cheap ingredients. 4 of us spending over £100 (I can't remember the exact figure) with some beer and a few pieces of meat for each person, the food didn't feel worth the money (main ingredient being flour, water, some unglamorous vegetables like onions, beansprout). Service was pleasant enough, but the general atmosphere is scruffy and food is just average. It's not a place you get much value out.
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Nick
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Friday, March 27, 2009

Cramped, stuffy, not well ventilated. BBQ burn easy and food just so so.

Lots of students, not somewhere to impress.
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2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Thursday, March 19, 2009