@littlefoodiethoughts's review of Bari Bari Whitechapel on Instagram

Bari Bari

Wonderful, authentic delicious Korean food at very reasonable prices. Top quality and generous portions too. Had fish stew, which I loved. Friendly welcoming staff and vibrant atmosphere. Recommended!

Reserved a table for a large group and I was grateful that the restaurant was patient with us when a few of us arrived late. We ended up all ordering at about 3:50 and one of the later guests ordered at 4pm. Within 30 mins, 7/9 of us had received our dishes. After 50 mins of ordering, the 8th person had received their food.  The person who ordered at 4pm didn’t receive her food till 5:12 which was shocking for a vegetarian bibimbap, considering one of the people to first receive their food ordered beef bibimbap, so you’d think the vegetarian one would arrive faster. We asked waiters about 3 times and none of them had a concrete answer. They were also not very kind, had frowns on their face the whole time and didn’t even try to be polite with us. We’d prefer if they would’ve told us that dish would come so late so that person could’ve ordered something else as by the time their food had arrived, we had all eaten. To compensate, we asked to get the service charge removed to which the server looked confused but we were luckily able to to take that off as other reviews said otherwise.

On the positive side, my spicy beef stew photographed was lovely tasting and fairly priced. It wasn’t filling on its own though so needed to order steamed rice on the side. The ambience was lovely as well with nice lighting and decorations.

Food was nice but service would have to improve for me to return.

⭐ Constructive Review for Bari Bari Restaurant

I’ve visited Bari Bari a few times now because it’s close by and I often crave (rice) Asian food, Unfortunately, the waiting times have been consistently disappointing.

On my recent visit, I waited 47 minutes for a simple set lunch — even though the restaurant was only half full. I noticed several tables were also waiting, and no one acknowledged the long delay.

This wasn’t the first time I encountered this issue. On a previous visit with my husband, his sweet & sour chicken arrived after about 25 minutes, but my meal took almost an hour(Galbitang). He finished eating and had to leave for work while my dish still hadn’t been served, aside from a bowl of rice left getting cold on the table. That experience was already upsetting, but I wanted to give the restaurant the benefit of the doubt.

Today, however, I noticed a group of three guests — who seemed to know the owner — being served quickly despite arriving after several other customers, myself included. This added to the frustration and made the wait feel even more unfair. They left the restaurant while I’m still waiting for my food.

For a casual restaurant offering simple dishes, a 10–20 minute wait is reasonable. 30 minutes starts to feel excessive, and 47 minutes without any communication or apology is quite disrespectful to customers’ time.

The food itself is fairly basic and not particularly authentic, so waiting this long makes the overall experience feel even less worthwhile. I hope the restaurant improves its service flow and consistency, because at the moment, the delays overshadow everything else.

I went to eat with my boyfriend for the first time.

❶ Sizzling Bulgogi Set  10.8

Special lunch set before 3pm on working days

This is very suitable for office workers. There are many office buildings nearby.

When I went there, there was a table with Korean men in suits for dinner.

One set for each person

❷Galbitang (short rib stew) Beef Rib Soup 12.5

It's most comfortable to have some warm soup in winter.

The rice written in the menu is not included

I don't know if I ordered the wrong set meal that day.

Or because I actually gave side and rice at noon.

❸cold noodle cold noodles 14.5

In fact, this is more than enough for two people.

But I really wanted to eat cold noodles that day.

Add white vinegar and cold noodles and dip a little hot sauce. It's so delicious.

The second time was on Christmas Day. Their house was still open.

I called an hour in advance to reserve a seat.

This time it's with a little sister. She is very knowledgable about Korean food. Take her to have a taste.

❹ kimchi pancake kimchi pancake 10.5

This is the starter, but it's the last one. It's very slow.

It feels like it's done now.

But my friend certified it was delicious! She has eaten it all. Highly recommended.

❺Galbi jjim (braised beef ribs) braised beef ribs 18.9

The beef ribs are still soft and delicious.

I highly recommend it to friends who like to eat meat.

❻Spicy Kimchi stew Spicy Cabbage Soup 10.8

My friend likes to eat kimchi very much.

So there are both kimchi cakes and kimchi soup.

According to the comments provided by her, the pickles in this house are light.

It should be to reconcile the regional taste.

It can't be said that it's not authentic, but it's really less delicious.

The shop is full of brown-black waiters with no Asian faces.

But I specially watched the kitchen, haha

As long as the chef is from Korea~

A small cookie was also given on Christmas Day.

So heartfelt

Bari Bari

Business hours 11:30-23:00 (closed on Sundays

📍24 White Church Ln, London E1 7QR

#British International Students #London Korean Food #London Korean Food #London Life #London Food #London Store Visit #London #London Koreatown #East London #White Church

Nice food, but quite a small restaurant!

Not really buggy friendly but still doable.

Language was a barrier. As a novice to this cuisine, we were trying to ask about the menu options and we got the completely wrong things as they did not explain it properly. Considering the clientele they must deal with not sure why they are not better equipped to help out diners.
We also got a huge volume of food ordered because of this!

Really expensive for what it is.
Serves halal food.

We serve Halal, ask a member of staff for details. Pork and Alcohol are also served.

Halal Status for Bari Bari Whitechapel