With a name inspired by a Korean phrase meaning ‘flavourful house’, this quiet, family-run Hackney joint certainly packs a punch when it comes to interesting, modern, and ‘flavourful’ Korean food.
A true family affair, Miga is run by two inexhaustibly affable brothers who work front of house and their chef father, who trained in South Korea and Japan in the 1990s. Additionally, the family restaurant venture began with a grandmother working as a chef in 70s Seoul and eventually running a community restaurant in London Korean enclave New Malden, while the mother of the Miga siblings now runs a Korean takeaway in Morden. ‘Rudegirl’s probably hustling there now as you’re reading this,’ reads one quotation from the brothers’ narrative of their family history.
Despite the painfully East London minimalist white walls and Aesop products in the bathroom, this space still feels homely - there’s artwork made by the brothers on the walls, the ox bone broth served at the end of the meal is a family recipe, and one of the only scrawlings on the all-white exterior is a handwritten history of the family business.
The menu itself is filled with well-executed Korean classics. King prawns are served in a rich, ruby red gochujang sauce, perilla seed aioli is a comforting starter, summery lunch options include sanchaeg bibimbab topped with crunchy vegetables, and the jewel in the crown is surely the instantly Instagrammable Korean beef tartare served with slivers of pear. As of summer 2024, there’s no alcohol license yet, but you can bring your own.
An unexpectedly perfect marriage of East London cool and warm family hospitality, Miga is a welcome addition to a relatively quiet corner of Hackney and to the wider Korean restaurant scene in London.