Calong

Bistro · Stoke Newington

Calong

Bistro · Stoke Newington

35 Stoke Newington Church St, London N16 0NX, United Kingdom

Highlights

Korean remix dining with sea trout, fried chicken & wine

35 Stoke Newington Church St, London N16 0NX, United Kingdom Get directions

calonglondon.com

@calonglondon

£40–50

@infatuation

The Hit List: New London Restaurants To Try Right Now

"Go to Calong if you’re into wine bars but might consider dairy severance if you encounter another burrata. The Stoke Newington setting is familiar—blackboard menu, exposed brick, a lambrusco-initiated crowd—but it’s a Korean remix dining experience that’s never predictable. One minute the chef is hand-delivering a refined plate of silky, citric sea trout slivers, the next a jenga stack of fried chicken arrives with a handful of peanuts and sweet chilli sauce. It makes for a trendy dream sequence of a date night with all of the tealight charm, none of the small plates deja vu." - jake missing, rianne shlebak, daisy meager, sinead cranna, heidi lauth beasley, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna, daisy meager, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna, heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, rianne shlebak, jake missing, sinead cranna, sinead cranna, jake

https://www.theinfatuation.com/london/guides/best-new-london-restaurants-hit-list

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@infatuation

London’s New Restaurant Openings

"Stoke Newington Church Street is home to new spot Calong, which is all about combining Korean and British cuisine to serve things like fried chicken with sweet chilli and peanut, kimchi fritters, and chocolate crémeux with roasted tea ice cream. We checked out Calong and added it to the Hit List." - team infatuation

https://www.theinfatuation.com/london/guides/londons-new-restaurant-openings

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@infatuation

Calong is cool, creative Korean escapism from small plates deja vu - Review - London - The Infatuation

"Calong is the wine bar we never knew we needed, even though it’s technically a Korean restaurant. The Stoke Newington setting is familiar—blackboard menu, exposed brick, wildflowers romantically decaying in the corner, a lambrusco-initiated crowd—but it’s a dining experience that’s never predictable. One minute the chef is hand-delivering a refined, pretty little plate of sea trout slivers that are silky and citric, the next a jenga stack of fried chicken arrives with a handful of peanuts and sweet chilli sauce. A lot of the Korean dishes here make us think of a record scratch followed by a DJ shouting “REMIX”—the zing of pickled rhubarb with sesame, rich tartare sauce with a briny, salt-show hwangtae croquette, a hunky piece of French baguette soaking in the spicy jjamppong. Sometimes all this creativity means Calong misses the mark, but order wisely—paging our food rundown below—and you’re set for a trendy dream sequence of a date night or a one-on-one catch-up with all of the tealight charm and low-intervention wines, none of the small plates deja vu. photo credit: Calong photo credit: Calong video credit: Heidi Lauth Beasley Pause Unmute Food Rundown Sea Trout Hoe, Sesame, Plum Soy & Rhubarb Excuse us, while we make eating pickled rhubarb our entire personalities for the foreseeable future. It’s hard to choose our favourite element of this light, citric dish, but plum soy and sea trout is a combination we need more of in our lives. PlayMute video credit: Heidi Lauth Beasley Joo’s Fried Chicken, Sweet Chilli & Peanut This luminous sauce is more sweet than chilli, but the fried chicken is starchy with the perfect subtle crunch. A hack: save some of the chicken for the seafood jjamppong’s arrival and dip generously in the spicy sauce for an excellent, impromptu surf and turf situation. PlayMute video credit: Heidi Lauth Beasley Pressed Brawn & Bossam Mooli This is what cats will eat when they eventually take over the world. It’s a rare miss and is deceptively solid and congealed. Even the zing factor of the accompanying bossam mooli doesn’t make this worth an order. PlayMute video credit: Heidi Lauth Beasley Spicy Seafood Jjamppong & Aioli Weird to be jealous of a prawn, but just look at that little fella languishing in this spicy broth, complete with lightly toasted baguette lilo and squid flotation noodles. It has a heat that simmers at the back of your throat like you’ve swallowed a tealight. Very, very good. PlayMute video credit: Heidi Lauth Beasley Rhubarb & Custard Tart, Yoghurt Cream & Candied Ginger We almost didn’t order dessert at Calong. What a sad state of affairs that would be, because this best-in-class vanilla tart just knocked Rochelle Canteen off our London tart top spot. The candied ginger adds some sneaky heat which is the perfect alibi for loading up on more cream. PlayMute video credit: Heidi Lauth Beasley" - Heidi Lauth Beasley

https://www.theinfatuation.com/london/reviews/calong

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Steffi

Google

Sensational! We came in for a wee birthday lunch yesterday with my two pals and their baby and it couldn't have been a more blissful experience. The front of house guy had such a welcoming, lovely soul and made us feel so cosy and looked after. He gave us a perfect run down of all the dishes and was always there when we needed him but never in a way that felt intrusive. We got every dish on the menu and we tried to nail down our favourites after we left but honestly couldn't, every single dish banged. If I had to, special shout out to the bulgogi beef (literally the most buttery soft, melt in the mouth cut I've ever had), kimchi fritters, KFC and the pork with fregola which is, again, not really narrowing it down - it was all so good. The desserts were absolutely knock-out as well, not too rich, but complex in flavour. Prices are super reasonable, ours was just a wee bit more expensive because we went all out and bought a fancy bottle of wine, cocktails and some insanely good desert wine. Just such a lovely aura in this gaff, you have to go!

Fiona Chan

Google

It’s the best lunch I’ve ever had in London in the past 3 years. Good service and good food. Highly recommend their fried chicken. The Cornish mackerel, asparagus and roasted tea ice cream are exceptional. Mushroom sotbap with brown butter is also a must add-on. A printed menu for the mains would be appreciated.

Kitt Chuang

Google

I love how Calong takes Korean cuisine elements and flavors and present them in a small plates format. I was sad to see Rubedo’s closure but I’m now very glad to see Calong presenting new ideas and interesting menu. The fried chicken and seafood jjamppong were absolutely delicious. I love the lamb as well. Service was quite attentive and nice. We were there on a weekend and soon it was packed, but the atmosphere was delightful.

Nina Patel

Google

We visited Calong in May 2025. This restaurant is cute, small and cosy. The cuisine is interesting taking influence from Korean, English and French. All the dishes were delicious. Cooked well with good ingredients. The menu is on a board and changes so be prepared that a dish you have seen online may be unavailable. Good selection of alcoholic drinks. I would recommend 5 dishes for your group. It is designed for sharing but not ‘too small’ small plates. I would recommend eating here for a nice dinner.

Hulya A.

Google

The food is out-of-this-world amazing – literally every one of the 10 dishes we tried was a solid 10/10. The service is the friendliest and most efficient I've experienced in a long time, all thanks to our wonderful and smiley server. Add in the cosy atmosphere and you have the perfect restaurant. Genuinely one of the best meals we've ever had. We'll be back!

P R

Google

Amazing meal here!! Every dish was delicious, the highlight being the lamb and fregola. Service was very friendly and attentive and the ambience is lovely. Highly recommend! Cocktails and wine were good as well- yummy soju paloma

Divya Singhal

Google

We had an excellent lunch at Calong, I’m still thinking of the kimchi fritters and the fried chicken. Lovely food, we liked some dishes better than others but overall a wonderful meal. I’m not a huge dessert person but the rhubarb choux was delicious.

Ruby Gooders

Google

Amazing!!!!! Could not have had a better meal. Food was delicious! The waitress we had (pink bangs) was absolutely fantastic! Super chatty, helpful and recommended us the most amazing dishes. She really enhanced our experience. We will absolutely be back, such a vibey spot great for a date night, rose was delicious - fav was the trout and the lamb!