By Kate Gaskill, First Year, BA Modern Languages (German and Ab Initio Italian)
Setting off on a miserable Thursday evening, I bump into my flatmate laden with goodies from Bunsik. This is a good omen, as it's the very restaurant I was on my way to review. In fact, since the London-born Korean street-food chain opened in the city in September last year, the gaudy yellow-and-blue packaging can be seen all over the place. It’s not unusual to see people huddled in the street, hunched over their oozing corndogs.
Arriving in Cabot Circus, my friend and I basked for a moment in the yellow neon glow of Bunsik’s shopfront. Literally ‘food made from flour’, bunsik are inexpensive dishes available at bunsikjeom or bunsikjip snack restaurants in Korea. Their migration here rides the wave of K-mania that first broke on these shores a few years back, from the hip-hop dance-pop stylings of BTS and Blackpink to Squid Game and premium skincare.
Founded in Soho, Bunsik is the brainchild of restaurateur Jae Cho. It was inspired by nostalgic childhood memories of tteokbokki, a kind of rice cake simmered in a spicy sauce, and Korean corndogs. Cho claims they sell one of these every twenty seconds during busy periods in their London locations. He describes the food as ‘playful’ – and, well, at seven p.m. the place was positively heaving with students, school kids, and adults alike, ready to join in the fun.
The menu is compact but varied, offering anything from the aforementioned fare to burgers and kimbap (seaweed rice roll), with succulent fried chicken thrown in for good measure. You order on a screen lit up with adverts for the newest menu items. On the recommendation of the charming staff, we kicked off with the traditional Korean soda Milkis, which is not only fizzy and sweet but also milky. This combination was refreshing, if perplexing.
"[The] buzz pretty much sees off any semblance of ambience, but that’s not what Bunsik is trying to do here... You don’t so much visit as join in"
Bunsik leans heavily on the ‘fast’ in fast food, evidenced by the constant in-house traffic of delivery drivers and fidgety teens clutching receipts. That buzz pretty much sees off any semblance of ambience, but that’s not what Bunsik is trying to do here. The bright blue banquettes are comfortable and somehow add to a communal atmosphere that’s in keeping with the chain's roots in unfussy, down-and-dirty street food. You don’t so much visit as join in.
I'd never eaten a corndog before, nor indeed most of the items on the menu. However, I was not disappointed by the golden zeppelin that arrived artfully streaked with our requested ketchup and buldak mayo. With no other means of attack, I gripped the wooden stick, did my best to dislocate my jaw, and hoped for the best. I was rewarded with the soft crunch of a robust batter, followed by a steaming seam of mozzarella cheese and juicy chicken sausage.
The chicken katsu bap is of the Itsu or Wagamama Ilk: a rich curry sauce, strands of toothsome chicken, and a generous mound of sticky rice decorated with fresh edamame and carrot. At nine pounds this is on the pricier side, but the portion was substantial and as fresh as it was moreish. Pausing from our feast, we started discussing the news, until I realised that my friend had disengaged to stare at the next table's dinner. There, in all its glory, lay Bunsik's burger, a fried chicken sandwich presented in a lightly toasted, golden bun and drippingly anointed with
relevant sauce. We couldn’t manage one ourselves, but I can report that our neighbour exclaimed ‘oh my god’ several times as he ate, so maybe just take it from him and his apparent religious experience.
I confess that the tteokbokki was not for me, but experts will doubtless demur and decry my ignorance. It just didn’t seem spicy enough to offset the tooth-tingling sweetness of the sauce. The fried chicken was crispy and well-seasoned, though nothing out of the ordinary. But the kimmari – deep-fried glass noodles and seaweed – was soullessly bland, with none of the bite or flavour offered by the traditional punchy accompaniments of spring onion or garlic.
The kimbap was tasty (if not prepared à la minute) displaying neat sections of tuna, crunchy Japanese pickle, and lettuce encased in rice and nori. Big tick but no gold star. It needed a sauce and perhaps a little less mayo, and yet for six quid I'd be more than happy to have it for a midweek lunch.
Grace Golby
We had a great time, and a long time too: the hour we spent at our table was about three times what seemed typical. It’s not a place meant for lingering. For grabbing a quick evening meal or a snack on the go, Bunsik is highly recommended. For a more refined experience involving linen napkins, subdued lighting and light jazz, by all means head to one of Bristol's other restaurants. But ask yourself first: might you be just as happy with a corndog, and maybe a milky soda?
Featured image: Epigram / Harry Davies
Will you visit Bunsik Bristol?
