Cah Chi

Address: 394 Garratt Lane, London SW18 4HP
Website: www.cahchi.com [Broken as at the time of writing]
Nearest station: Earlsfield

For our latest instalment, we visited Cah Chi, a Korean restaurant in Earlsfield. There is also a sister branch in Raynes Park.

Knowing that Cah Chi does not take cards, we headed straight from the railway station to an ATM at Barclays bank, just across the road and a few doors away from the restaurant. Not having brought any drink with us, we strolled down the road, past Cah Chi, looking for somewhere to buy a bottle – and failed. We then headed back up past the station, still unable to find any corner shop open. It was only then that we saw a Sainsbury's Local around the corner from the station and an alcohol-selling corner shop further up the road, which we had missed on our walk to the bank. Luckily, I already had an appointment booked at the optician for the following day…

We had arrived in Earlsfield rather early but these distractions had eaten up some time and we arrived at the restaurant on the dot of our booking. And I’d recommend making one – there wasn't a spare table to be seen and walk-ins were being turned away.

Before our starters arrived, four small plates were delivered to our table, compliments of the kitchen: a ball of cold mashed potato containing diced vegetables (surprisingly nice), two quarters of a boiled egg in soy sauce (ditto), kim chi and caramelised soy beans (extremely moreish, but not particularly easy to eat with chopsticks).

Next up were our starters, gun-mandu – five crispy homemade pork and vegetable dumplings with a soy dip on the side – and kkanpunggi – a generous portion of delicious chunks of deep-friend chicken with honey and garlic. The chicken was perfectly cooked and incredibly hot (temperature-wise, not spiciness).

For our mains, I went for the bulgogi, thin slices of beef cooked on a little barbeque on the table. In addition to the sliced beef, there are a number of barbeque dishes to choose from, including spare rib, pork and chicken. Unlike many Korean restaurants, the meat was cooked for us by a member of staff, rather than us being left to our own devices.

There are a number of optional side dishes which can be ordered with the barbeque dishes, including sliced mushrooms, onions and beansprouts. I went with the sang chu and pa sengs che: fresh lettuce with shredded spring onion and a dollop of spicy paste on the side. The staff show how it’s done – take a lettuce leaf, add some spring onion, some beef and a touch of the paste – and the whole parcel can be eaten in one.


Mrs BYO had her Korean favourite, a chicken bibimbap. And it didn't disappoint – just the right spiciness, and bursting with freshness and flavour. They even took the fried egg off the top, much to Mrs BYO's joy (she is not an egg person).

As a shared side, we had the gaji gui, grilled aubergine covered in a sweet miso sauce, something which we both really like. This one did not disappoint, though it was perhaps unnecessary on top of all the other food we’d ordered.


To drink, we had a bargainous bottle of Clearspring sauvignon blanc from Sainsbury's for £6 (which, from looking around the restaurant, was a popular choice with my fellow cheapskates), and Mrs BYO had two apple juices (£2.50 each). The corkage is a rather cheeky £4, though a total of £10 for a bottle of wine in a restaurant is still cheap. The restaurant is BYO wine only.

The bill came to £56.87, including a 10% service charge, which is automatically added.

Mrs BYO and I both agree that this is the best BYO we've visited so far. We’re definitely going back, armed with cash and our new-found knowledge of where to get our drink…