Review

My friend and I had never tried Korean food before, nor even did we know of what it tastes like. So, somewhat anxiously, we settled into our table in the diminutive underground restaurant nestled down of a flight of stairs off the main street into Cambridge.

Encouraged first by the warm welcome from the restaurant owner, for whom 'Little Seoul' is a first venture, we had started to overcome our trepidation.

With a wide, very reasonably priced selection, and all dishes available in a vegetarian version, this restaurant is definitely worth further trips to explore more of what's on offer

We were helped greatly by the handwritten signs dotting the walls with informative nuggets about specialities, describing the dish and the social occasion at which each is usually enjoyed. The Korean name for the dishes with the English translation precedes an enticing description of its ingredients and preparation. By the time we opened the menu, where the blurbs are repeated, we felt more at ease and studied the menu with interest.

But we had not yet quite cracked Korean food. The extremely attentive, incredibly smiley, waitress helpfully suggested good combinations of dishes and drinks. We started with fried dumplings with pork -- crisp and succulent with a dip of soy sauce with vinegar and red pepper flakes, thinking of it as an appetiser -- only to be surprised by the arrival of our main courses when we had not quite finished the first. We soon gathered that Korean food is traditionally served as a number of small side dishes enjoyed all together.

The waitress, spotting our bemusement as she placed our main dish of 'Bibimbab' on the table, kindly offered to prepare it for us. Bibimbab, meaning 'mixed up rice', consists of marinated and stir-fried vegetables and beef on a bed of rice, garnished with a fried egg. The waitress used chopsticks to mix this all together with chili paste, and the outcome was delicious. You can choose to have the dish either cold or hot.

We dug in with the chopsticks and spoon provided, though knives and forks are available for those experiencing difficulty.

Our 'Japchae' main was a simpler affair, made from cellophane noodles, stir-fried in sesame oil with sliced beef and lots of vegetables and soy sauce. As the menu informed us, this dish is served with seasonal vegetables at Korean parties and special occasions.

As the servings were more than ample, we had no room to consider a sweet, although the special tofu ice-cream came highly recommended. Instead we shared the remainder of the bottle of sweet and perfectly chilled plum wine that we had enjoyed throughout the meal.

The restaurant's subterranean cosiness encouraged us to linger, and we enjoyed the room's friendly atmosphere and smart, simple decorations. The background music of various crooners was played very quietly so was easy to ignore. The restaurant is spotlessly clean, with cream walls and red chairs decorating the underground rooms. The space is broken into smaller semi-private areas to allow for a variety of social groups.

While the restaurant is hoping to attract diners with its low prices and special lunch offers, and one might expect that would attract students, we encountered a mixture of young families and couples of all ages. With a wide, very reasonably priced selection, and all dishes available in a vegetarian version, this restaurant is definitely worth further trips to explore more of what's on offer.