A Korean restaurant at 35 Church Hill Road wants to sell alcohol with meals until 11pm. Comments close on 29 September, and nobody has written in yet.

A Korean restaurant has registered at the shopping parade on Church Hill Road in East Barnet, and has asked the council for a licence to sell alcohol.

Nchkoreanfood Ltd has applied for a new premises licence at 35 Church Hill Road, EN4 8SY, trading as NCH Korean Food. The application asks to sell alcohol every day from 11am to 11pm and to play recorded music indoors from 10am to 10pm, with the premises open from 10am to 11pm daily.

Anyone who wants to comment has until Tuesday 29 September. As of Saturday the council’s register recorded no representations at all.

What has been applied for

The application was received on 27 August and validated on 31 August. Its reference is LAPRE1/26/75179 and its status is “pending decision” (the council’s licensing register).

The register records the detail the newspaper notice does not:

  • Opening hours: Monday to Sunday, 10am to 11pm
  • Sale or supply of alcohol: Monday to Sunday, 11am to 11pm, recorded as off premises
  • Playing of recorded music: indoors, Monday to Sunday, 10am to 10pm
  • Expiry date for consultations: Tuesday 29 September 2026

The applicant has offered a long list of conditions with the application, and they read like a restaurant rather than a bar. Any alcohol sales will be ancillary to a meal, and there shall be no vertical drinking in the premises. CCTV must be installed and kept in working order whenever the premises are open. An incident logbook must be kept and shown to a council officer or the police on request. A Challenge 25 age policy applies, with passports, photo-card driving licences and proof-of-age cards the only accepted identification. Notices must ask customers to leave quietly.

One offered condition is aimed squarely at the neighbours: waiting delivery drivers are to be told to switch off their engines while they wait for food, with a notice to that effect displayed prominently.

The two records do not quite line up on one point. The newspaper notice says only “sale of alcohol” between 11am and 11pm, while the council’s own register logs the activity as off premises, meaning alcohol sold to take away rather than drunk on site. Read alongside the condition that sales be ancillary to a meal, that points at a restaurant that also delivers. If the distinction matters to you, the licensing team can confirm it before the window closes.

The business

Nchkoreanfood Ltd was incorporated on 10 November 2025. Its registered office is the restaurant address, 35 Church Hill Road, and Companies House lists its business as licensed restaurants and take-away food shops (company 16844647).

A food business at the same address is already on the Food Standards Agency’s register, under the name BABIO, classed as a restaurant, cafe or canteen and recorded as awaiting its first inspection (the FSA entry).

That parade is busy. On Church Hill Road alone the FSA register lists Asil Bistro, Cafe No41, Champs American Fried Chicken, the Prince of Wales, the Bake House, Eco Mar Supermarket, Handmade Fever, Red Onion, The Cheeky Kebab and East Barnet Express. Eight of those ten currently hold a hygiene rating of 4 or 5.

How to comment, and what counts

Representations have to be in writing and have to say what the grounds are. They must relate to one or more of the four licensing objectives set out in the Licensing Act 2003:

  • the prevention of crime and disorder
  • public safety
  • the prevention of public nuisance
  • the protection of children from harm

Write to the Licensing Team, London Borough of Barnet, 8th Floor, 2 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, London NW9 4EW, to arrive no later than 29 September 2026. The register can be inspected at the same address by appointment on 020 8359 7443.

Two things are worth knowing before you write. The council will not accept anonymous representations, and copies of everything sent in go into the papers for the Licensing Sub-Committee, which means they become public. It is also an offence under section 158 of the Licensing Act 2003, punishable by a fine of up to £5,000, to make a false statement knowingly or recklessly in connection with an application (the statutory notice).

What it means for you

If you live on or near Church Hill Road, the question the licensing process asks is a narrow one. It is not whether you want another restaurant. It is whether the hours, the music or the deliveries would cause crime, disorder, nuisance or a risk to children, and whether the conditions offered deal with it.

The application answers some of that in advance. Alcohol only with a meal, no standing and drinking, music indoors only and finishing an hour before alcohol sales end, and delivery drivers told to switch their engines off. If those conditions go into the licence they are enforceable, and a breach is grounds for a review.

If no relevant representation is made by 29 September, the licensing authority must grant the licence as applied for, subject to the conditions offered and the mandatory conditions in the Act. If one is made, the application goes to the Licensing Sub-Committee for a hearing.

We also reported on the adult gaming centre licence at 226 Station Road in Edgware, where representations close on 14 September.

Sources