There is a lot going on in her review
William Telford Business Editor
11:42, 17 Aug 2025
The team at Bristol restaurant Dongnae(Image: Dongnae)
A top Bristol restaurant has received high praise from MasterChef star and food expert Grace Dent, even though she likened it to a student bedsit. The Korean eatery Dongnae was called “odd, unique and absolutely a roaring hit” by Dent in a Guardian review.
The critic and TV celebrity said the eatery, in Bristol’s “very cool” Chandos Road haven for foodies, was a “little stranger and more homespun” than traditional neighbourhood Korean barbecue restaurants. She even said it was a bit like a student bedsit, but nevertheless approved of the furniture, wallpaper and counters.
Dongnae has been noted for its minimalist design with paper lanterns, recycled plastic stools, and a communal wooden countertop overlooking the open kitchen. Dent called it “pared back” and said the paper lanterns were like something bought in Ikea.
But she loved the place and acclaimed the menu for its “ginger old fashioneds, a low-intervention wine list, delicate servings of grilled monkfish with octopus alongside tiny bowls of seasoned seaweed or mustard leaf kimchi, and a very good raw sea bass mulhwe soup made with fresh sugar tomatoes”.
Dent said: “Expect octopus and lamb fat kkochi (skewers), assorted punchy kimchis, hand-dived scallops, cockle and mussel bibimbap, and Korean beef tartare. Expect cold, bracing Korean soups and peculiar but unforgettable pond-green puddings”.
Restaurant critic Grace Dent(Image: PA)
And she said the seven-course hanjeongsik menu, which costs £65 and changes daily, offered “a handpicked flurry of Korean loveliness”.
She also praised the staff for being helpful and able to explain the difference between “your naengchae and your naengguk” and concluded by saying: “Grab a seat if you can. Buckle up. Enjoy the ride.”
Dent’s glowing review is not the first accolade Dongnae has received in its short history.
Opened only last year, the venue, named from the Korean word for neighbourhood, has already been named in a list of the UK’s top 100 restaurants, listed in the Michelin Guide and received a five-start review from BristolLive.
Dishes served at Dongnae(Image: BristolLive)
Dongnae, charging £50 a head a la carte and £24 for set lunch, is run by husband and wife team Duncan Robertson and Kyu Jeong Jeon.
The pair met at famous Parisian restaurant L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, ran a restaurant in South West France, and spent nearly 10-years in Ms Jeon’s native Korea.
In 2019, they moved to Bristol to open the hit Bokman diner in Stokes Croft, before opening Dongnae last year.
The Chandos Road area of Redland is also home to Michelin-starred Wilsons and the highly-rated Little Hollows Pasta.