Eating and Drinking in Seoul음식과 음료
- Words George Upton & Raphael Rashid
- Photos Hong Kiwoong
- Words George Upton & Raphael Rashid
- Photos Hong Kiwoong
A guide to the city’s best restaurants and bars.
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KYOJA: There are just four items on the menu at Kyoja and one of them, kong-guksu, a cold soybean noodle soup, is only available between late spring and early autumn. Despite this, the restaurant, which was established in Myeongdong in 1966 and is still owned by the same family, has long been a local staple for its dumplings and noodles. (GU) 29 Myeongdong 10-gil, Jung District
ONJIUM: Onjium, which means “creating in the right way,” is a Michelin-starred restaurant and research institution dedicated to renewing traditional Korean cuisine. Housed in a minimalist, contemporary building, and overlooking the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the restaurant offers a fitting setting to discover modern versions of dishes inspired by royal Joseon recipes, like abalone dumplings, clam pancakes and steamed gueomdak. (GU) 49 Hyoja-ro, Jongno District
AFF Seoul
Located on the upper two floors of an unassuming building in Euljiro, AFF Seoul (standing for “Asian Funky Flavor”) draws inspiration from the head chef’s travels in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Dishes like halibut ceviche, Thai oyster soup and grilled sablefish are paired with natural wine in candlelit dining rooms. In good weather, diners are seated on the balcony of the double-height rooftop room, where there are views over a cityscape of narrow alleys and high-rise buildings. There’s also the option to have a drink downstairs at the bar-cum-aquarium. (GU)
4F/5F, 42-21 Supyo-ro, Jung District
Hanchu
The Korean word anju refers to food that’s eaten with alcohol, such as tofu and stir-fried kimchi with makgeolli, fish dishes with soju, and chimaek, a portmanteau of the Korean word for fried chicken, chikin, and maekju, beer. Fried chicken became popular in Korea in the 1970s and has since developed its own variations. Hanchu in Apgujeong serves huraideu-chikin—crispy and lightly spiced fried chicken—with pickled radishes and draft beer in an unpretentious setting that’s open until 3 a.m. The restaurant also offers fried chili peppers, chicken gizzard and squid, and fish cake soup. (GU)
68 Nonhyeon-ro 175-gil, Gangnam District
TWO MORE…
KYOJA: There are just four items on the menu at Kyoja and one of them, kong-guksu, a cold soybean noodle soup, is only available between late spring and early autumn. Despite this, the restaurant, which was established in Myeongdong in 1966 and is still owned by the same family, has long been a local staple for its dumplings and noodles. (GU) 29 Myeongdong 10-gil, Jung District
ONJIUM: Onjium, which means “creating in the right way,” is a Michelin-starred restaurant and research institution dedicated to renewing traditional Korean cuisine. Housed in a minimalist, contemporary building, and overlooking the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the restaurant offers a fitting setting to discover modern versions of dishes inspired by royal Joseon recipes, like abalone dumplings, clam pancakes and steamed gueomdak. (GU) 49 Hyoja-ro, Jongno District
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Millennial Dining
Meat wasn’t widely consumed in South Korea until the economic boom of the 1970s and it continues to be associated with wealth and social status. While Koreans regularly cook meat-free meals at home, it’s less easy to find vegan or vegetarian dishes when eating out; even apparently vegetable-based dishes like kimchi will often contain fish or be cooked in a meat broth.
Millennial Dining in Seocho is one of the few vegan restaurants in Seoul. Founded by chef Lynn Ahn in 2020, it brings together recipes Ahn learned from her grandmother, traditional fermentation techniques and research into plant-based food with the overall aim of demonstrating that vegan food can be accessible and enjoyable—regardless of whether you eat meat or not. Dishes like pasta with apple jam and Beyond Meat bacon, carrots slow cooked for five hours and roasted with a soybean paste, and a truffle and mushroom pizza with handmade vegan mozzarella are typical of Ahn’s approach, which views vegan cooking as an opportunity to create something new, rather than being a dietary requirement that has to be accommodated. The restaurant is zero-waste and has its own herb garden, reflecting its wider goal to “promote a lifestyle that respects both personal well-being and global environmental sustainability.” (GU)
3F, 316-1 Hyoryeong-ro, Seocho District
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SookHee (Myeongdong)
The entrance to speakeasy bar SookHee is hidden behind a secret door on the fourth floor of a nondescript building in the middle of busy Myeongdong—a setting that makes a striking contrast with the opulent decoration inside. Drawing inspiration from the Geunjeongjeon Hall at the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the bar has been decorated in traditional Korean style: wooden beams embellished with colorful dancheong paintings, munsal latticework, mother-of-pearl panels and antique cabinets. The cocktails showcase seasonal fruits and local flavors like jujube and scorched rice, and there is a small food menu for snacking. (RR)
4F, 7-9 Myeongdong 10-gil, Jung District
Kompakt Record Bar’s second location at 28 Nonhyeon-ro 157-gil
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MINGLES: Chef Mingoo Kang trained under Spanish chef Martin Berasategui and worked at fusion restaurant Nobu in Miami and the Bahamas before returning home to study Korean cuisine. His two Michelin-starred restaurant, Mingles, in Cheongdam offers a seasonal, 10-course tasting menu that specializes in local fish and vegetables, like bellflower root and acorn jelly. (GU) 2F, 19 Dosan-daero 67-gil, Gangnam District
SAMWON GARDEN: Samwon Garden elevates Korean barbeque—where grills are built into the table and diners cook the meat themselves—to the level of fine dining. Situated in a high-ceilinged space in Dosan with large windows that look out onto a landscaped garden, the restaurant serves a range of beef and pork, cooked at your table over coals, as well as other traditional dishes. (GU) 835 Eonju-ro, Gangnam District
THE EDGE: The Edge is part bar, part record shop and part nightclub. Tucked down an alleyway in bustling Euljiro and sharing a third-floor space with vinyl shop Clique Records, the Edge serves coffee during the day and natural wine at night to the backdrop of visiting and resident DJs. (GU) 3F, 8 Eulji-ro 12-gil, Jung District
Sigol Bapsang
While much of bustling Itaewon has transformed dramatically in recent years, Sigol Bapsang offers a reminder of how things once
were. Located just off the main stretch of Itaewon-ro, this small, traditional Korean restaurant (there are just five tables) has remained largely unchanged through the decades. Here you can order bapsang, a traditional meal that consists of rice, soup and banchan—20 or so small vegetable side dishes that can be supplemented with a seafood omelet or bulgogi (thin slices of meat that have been marinated and grilled). The restaurant is open 24 hours a day. (GU)
235 Itaewon-ro, Yongsan District
Tarsty
Natural wines have grown in popularity in Seoul, with several bars opening in recent years to cater to the trend. Tarsty is one of the latest additions to the scene and provides a chance to escape to a quieter part of the city. Situated in a contemporary hanok in Samcheong, just east of Gyeongbokgung Palace, there are five tables, a small courtyard and a rotating list of imported orange wines that are paired with Korean small plates. The seats in the window—which have views across the hanok rooftops to the gardens surrounding the Blue House, the residence of the South Korean president until 2022, and Ingwangsan Mountain—are particularly popular at sunset. (RR)
102-15 Samcheong-ro, Jongno District
Kompakt Record Bar
Seoul’s record bar scene was likely inspired by mid-century Japanese listening bars, which gave music lovers access to sound systems and a collection of imported records that they wouldn’t have had at home. The current trend in Seoul might be motivated as much by nostalgia, or anemoia, as by the high-end speakers, but “LP bars” have been cropping up in the city since the 1990s and have a broad appeal: There are bars dedicated to ’60s psychedelia and ’70s Korean folk, for example. Kompakt Record Bar opened in 2018 and now has four locations around Seoul. At the original, and most compact, in Apgujeong, waiters double as DJs when not serving cocktails and guest DJs visit on weekends. (GU)
46 Dosan-daero 25-gil, Gangnam District
Tarsty occupies a traditional hanok house in Samcheong.
THREE MORE…
MINGLES: Chef Mingoo Kang trained under Spanish chef Martin Berasategui and worked at fusion restaurant Nobu in Miami and the Bahamas before returning home to study Korean cuisine. His two Michelin-starred restaurant, Mingles, in Cheongdam offers a seasonal, 10-course tasting menu that specializes in local fish and vegetables, like bellflower root and acorn jelly. (GU) 2F, 19 Dosan-daero 67-gil, Gangnam District
SAMWON GARDEN: Samwon Garden elevates Korean barbeque—where grills are built into the table and diners cook the meat themselves—to the level of fine dining. Situated in a high-ceilinged space in Dosan with large windows that look out onto a landscaped garden, the restaurant serves a range of beef and pork, cooked at your table over coals, as well as other traditional dishes. (GU) 835 Eonju-ro, Gangnam District
THE EDGE: The Edge is part bar, part record shop and part nightclub. Tucked down an alleyway in bustling Euljiro and sharing a third-floor space with vinyl shop Clique Records, the Edge serves coffee during the day and natural wine at night to the backdrop of visiting and resident DJs. (GU) 3F, 8 Eulji-ro 12-gil, Jung District
