Koba, London W1: ‘I admire their chutzpah’ – restaurant review

2026-02-15 - 06:15

Ripping up your own rulebook after 20-odd years is brave, but Koba 2.0 is somehow still kicking it Sometimes, my memories of a restaurant begin at the end, and at Koba in Fitzrovia, central London, the enduring image is the warm, fresh, sugary, bean paste doughnut served with a pot of buckwheat tea. It was an utter delight, but then, Korean sweet bean paste, which is made with adzuki beans, is so very satisfying: pleasantly claggy, almost nutty, and a little decadent, while at the same time still convincing you that it might count as one of your five a day, were it not stuffed inside a hot fresh doughnut with a whopping great dollop of whipped cream. It was a cold winter’s day – the sort where, by lunchtime, my own umbrella had blown inside-out twice and everyone else’s seemed determined to poke my eye out. Against that backdrop, this doughnut was a moment of pure bliss. Koba, a Korean restaurant by Linda Lee, has been providing moments of such joy for 20 solid years, not least with its traditional tabletop barbecue hot plates on which guests could grill their own dinner. Or, in many cases, have their dinner grilled for them by a kindly server, because nothing says: “Lord God, what time does my shift finish?” more than the face of a tired Korean server watching a gang of tipsy non-Koreans trying to work a tabletop hot plate. After you’ve dropped that first plate of onions into your handbag, you’re often more than grateful for the help. To celebrate reaching 20 years, however, and after an elegant revamp, Lee has now ditched those hotplates altogether. Koba 2.0 has also slung out the black tables, the dangling extraction vents and much of the dark wood, and replaced it with a wabi sabi colour palette that’s pale, dreamy and, in places, even twinkly. Continue reading...