Ran Restaurant

mmmmmm!!!! love love LOVE their lunch boxes! tasty bulbogi and real korean side dishes!

their service is very typical korean. fast, polite, but rarely will you get a smile or eye contact.

don't like their new decor as much, but will go back for their food anyway. i find their dinners too pricey so i like to go for the lunch specials.
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foodie - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, July 01, 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
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
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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Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Thursday, March 19, 2009

Best food ever definitely would go again enjoyable and definitely way too cheap for such great food. The service was friendly and not ignoring and the food came out amazing so so cheap go now.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Friday, February 13, 2009

I have to say the food at Ran was not very good, this being my second time, I won't go back for sure – soggy pancake, the rice cake was almost disintegrating without any texture or firmness, BBQ are very poor in value, you get a few bites for £7. The interior's so shabby, this price in such a surrounding doesn't justify. The service is alright, but not specially friendly. Overall, there are much better korean restaurants, so I don't see any reason for going back.
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Suzy Foodie
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, September 30, 2008

I started trying out various Korean restaurants around London a few years back. Been to Ran around half a dozen times, and stopped going ever since I found better ones with much better value. The food in Ran is okay, it's good if you know which dishes they do the best, but I think the atmosphere is a bit of a let down. It feels very open and not very much privacy at all.
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JL
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Saturday, August 16, 2008

There were a lot of Koreans when we dined here tonight. Service was as I observed more favourable with Korean patrons.

Alas the food or was it the cuisine that didn't quite tickle my taste buds. The mixed kimchi selection was spicy and crunchy but the Korean Flatbread was dull and pretty much tasteless. We then had the Korean BBQ of Sirloin and and Ox tongue. Both dishes were very poor value; 5x 1mm slices of the former and 6 x 1/2mm slices of the latter at £7.00 each. I'm convinced that part of the costs of these dishes goes to ceremonial grilling of the meats by the young waitress at your table. It didn't taste bad just poor value, imagine the 12oz Fillet at the Popeseye at £25.45 instantly becomes an absolute bargain. The final course of Seafood Chungol (Hotpot) was massive and mind-boggling costly at £29.00; the soup was tasty enough but let down by the lack of ingredients reflecting its worth, I mean 4 king prawns, a small dorsal fin from an unknown fish, few clams, huge amount of mussels, whelks, and beansprouts. This dish was screaming for an accompaniment of either noodles or vermicelli to soak up the soup, but no, you'll need to pay for that.

Apart from the barbie, if you're into the ''chuck 'em all in one pot and hope for the best'' cuisine and at the same don't mind mind paying over the odds then this place is for you.
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bellaphon
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Sunday, August 03, 2008

This always has been and still is one of my top choices for Korean. A little pricier than other places, but it will never let you down. The chapche and tijimi are absolutely sublime and the barbecue meat is well marinated and tasty.

The staff are usually ready on cue, although sometimes you can be waiting for a while when it gets busy...

The beauty of this place, besides the constant standard, is the function room at the back. It is perfect for groups of 10 or so, which always makes it one of my preferred choices for gatherings both in private and business.
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akichi2910 - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Sunday, June 22, 2008

Having never tried Korean cuisine before, I was excited to try something new. I wasn't disappointed.

I went with a friend who had been to Ran on many occasions who was very familiar with the food. I got introduced to dishes like kimchi pancakes and beef sashimi and loved it!

The staff were polite and friendly. They were attentive when cooking our food on the bbq grill at our table.

It's not an intimate atmosphere nor a buzzy one. "Flat" is the only way I can describe it. However, don't let that put you off because the food is delicious although a bit pricey.

Be prepared to master Korean chopsticks. Something I was a bit rubbish at, even though I've used Chinese chopsticks all my life.
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SS - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, June 03, 2008