Seoul Soul Plus

You should try hot corn tea. It’s a real thing and it tastes just as husky and buttery as it sounds. Sweet little pitchers of the stuff are on hand to temper the spicy bulgogi burn at the newer, bigger, pinker branch of Seoul Soul. There’s a little extra space here – two long communal tables run the length of the room with little block partitions separating couples like groceries in the supermarket. Most everything else you love about Victoria Street’s friendliest Korean restaurant has made the trip on High Street Northcote.

Meal buckets are similarly named and equally impressive: large wooden vessels filled with rice, salad, thinly sliced and sizzled meats or tofu (which they grill in the kitchen – there are no table barbecues, so your clothes stay smoke-free), and plenty of pickles, as well as spring rolls. Kim chi and extra pickles are served in adorable little jars for decoration.

When you come, you can't go wrong with the bibimbap, if only because they always ask with such excitement if you've had it before. Lunch is all about delicate dumplings, while dinner is all about things off the kitchen grill, such as barbecued prawns. The fact that it's a dry house only adds to the experience.

Location: 315 High Street, Northcote Victoria 3070

Website: https://sweetandsourfork.com/seoul-soul-plus