Centre Point Food Store

If you’ve got a craving for Korean and want to make it at home, Centre Point is a great place to get all the staples. I agree with other reviewers regarding the pricing — expensive — but it’s hard to find places that will sell ramen, kimchi, marinated meats (ex: bugolgi), etc. in central London. If I need shincup, I don’t have to look further. If I want to buy some (expensive) banchan, they’ve got tons of choices.
That being said, this review is really for the Korean restaurant downstairs from the store. Go. Seriously. If you’ve been looking for some authentic and pretty cheap Korean, I don’t know if there is better in central London. We’ve eaten here a dozen or so times and, in general, it doesn’t disappoint. It’s a small space with seating for about 15 – 20. They don’t sell alcohol, but are happy for you to buy alcohol from upstairs and they will provide glasses (£1 charge/​bottle). We usually grab a couple Hites and a soju to bring down. It’s super casual and doesn’t have any ambience… but it’s downstairs from a grocery store so it makes sense.
On to the food! The menu is a bit massive for such a small place but after a dozen or so times, our go-​to mains are the yukgaejang (£6.90) or kimchi jigae (£6.50). The broths aren’t too thin (one of our biggest annoyances with a lot of Korean places in London) and are usually pretty flavorful. Plus, when we ask for it extra spicy, they do make it spicy (not over the top but spicier than we’ve found other places). Usually we get banchan as well (free and included!) which is generally bean sprouts and cucumbers. It’s hard to find free banchan in London, so it’s always such a nice surprise at Centre Point — especially since their prices are so cheap! The portions are large and the soups/​stews include white rice (no additional charge like a lot of places). We’ve also enjoyed the yukhoe (£9.00); though, today, we felt it was a bit too sweet (we think they added some sugar). Lastly, I’ve enjoyed the kimbap (£4.00) as it always tastes freshly made and it’s pretty huge and filling. We always leave full and I have a big appetite!
All of this being said, we do feel like you can order wrong. We used to order the soondubu (£6.50), but have found it a bit watery for our liking. Though, I will say over the past year we’ve noticed a change in the menu (increase in items-​new chef?) so we might give the soondubu another shot as its our favorite Korean dish. We’ve had the seafood pancake and thought it was just OK. The mandoo are fine if you’re in the mood for them but they do taste like the frozen variety. We are creatures of habit so once we’ve found dishes we like we’ve stuck with them. That being said, if the above isn’t your cup of tea they have grilled meats and stir fried dishes as well.
Honestly, I don’t know if I should be even writing this because every time we go, it seems to be busier (we’ve had to wait during dinner time in the past!) but since it’s in such a random location I want them to succeed. Obviously, selfishly, I also want them to stay open because it’s definitely our go-​to for some cheap but delicious Korean.

Good choice and clean!
could be pricey especially if you try on frozen stuffs.

Centre Point food store has moved from their previous location around the corner.
This new location seems a little smaller than their previous shop, but they still stock almost everything you could possibly need to make Korean or Japanese food.
— Lots of meats for hot pot/​bulgolgi at the back
— Looads of fresh Asian veggies
— All the noodles and ramen you need (although beware the Korean ones can be sooo spicy!
— Frozen gyoza, unagi, shumai
— Sooo many different sauces, dips and salad dressings
— So, so many snacks and sweets
— They also sell ready made salads, korean pancakes, kimbap etc
I was impressed that they have managed to fit so much into such a small space.
It’s all pretty good, but it can be a bit expensive (probably due to the super-​central location!) To give you an idea, packet ramen are from £1 each, which isn’t so bad, but frozen gyoza were £6.99, and all the meat and frozen fish seemed a bit too spendy for me.