Hyehwa Western restaurant with phone-tag ordering: soba maki at Omil

In short: Omil after a play with Mom, and the last free seat

Mom and I saw a play in Hyehwa, then went to Omil Hyehwa Daehangno for something tasty. The moment we walked in, I was shocked. The place was packed, and exactly one seat was left! After we sat down, other customers started waiting in line. Wow, what a lucky break haha

We ordered a set for two with iron-plate cheese katsu, salmon steak gnocchi, soba maki and 2 drinks. All of it was good, but my personal favorite was the Omil soba maki. It's like futomaki (a thick Japanese seaweed roll) with the raw fish taken out and soba noodles put in, and it was seriously delicious. Mom and I wiped the plates clean down to the sauce!

Where is Omil Hyehwa Daehangno?

Omil Hyehwa Daehangno is a Western restaurant on the 2nd floor of a building on Daemyeong-gil, close to Exit 4 of Hyehwa Station. I went to Hyehwa for a date with Mom and a play. We enjoyed the show, so now it was time to eat something good! That's how we ended up at Omil Hyehwa Daehangno.

I found it while searching for a good pasta place in Hyehwa, and the menu goes well beyond pasta: omurice (omelet rice), steak, gnocchi and iron-plate cheese katsu. When we arrived, though, there were so many people. Every table had customers and it was almost full. I wondered if we'd have to wait... but there was exactly one seat left!

Mom and I could walk straight in and sit down. We were super lucky haha. Even stranger, right after we came in, customers started waiting. If we'd been a little later, we'd probably have waited too.

How do you order at Omil? Phone-tag ordering at the table

Instead of a paper menu, you hold your phone near the tag guide on the table and the ordering screen opens. You look at menu photos on your phone, pick what you want and order. I heard you can also get in through a QR code.

I'm used to this kind of ordering so it was fine, but Mom found it a bit hard. She said, "I can't do this kind of thing," T_T Thinking about it, young people are used to ordering by phone, but older people may find it difficult.

You have to pick your food on your phone from the very start of the meal. If you come with parents who aren't comfortable with phones, it's a good idea to help them order. It's a convenient system, but I realized it isn't convenient for everyone.

What comes in the Omil OH! SET for two?

The OH! SET for two lets you choose 2 main dishes, 1 side dish and 2 drinks. The price was much better than ordering everything à la carte. Since it was just Mom and me, a set was perfect. Here's what we chose!

• Sizzling iron-plate cheese katsu
• Salmon steak gnocchi
• Omil soba maki
• 2 drinks

With two mains plus a side and drinks, it was a generous amount even for two people. I especially liked that soba maki counts as a side.

Sizzling iron-plate cheese katsu with cheese poured by the staff

The first dish was the sizzling iron-plate cheese katsu. As the name says, it comes on an iron plate, and after it arrives a staff member comes over and pours the cheese on it themselves! hahaha

It doesn't just arrive finished; you get to watch the cheese being poured at your table. The cheese covering the katsu on the iron plate looked really appetizing.

Omil's iron-plate cheese katsu is less like a thin ordinary pork cutlet and more a thick meat katsu served with cheese.

Because they finish it right in front of you, even the process of the food arriving was fun. It tasted good with Mom too. If you love cheese, keep an eye on this one.

Rosé gnocchi topped with salmon steak

The second main was the salmon steak gnocchi. I'm told it's gnocchi with rosé sauce and a salmon steak on top. Gnocchi is an Italian dish usually made from potato dough, and you often see it at Western restaurants alongside pasta.

Unlike regular noodle pasta, you get gnocchi, and the salmon comes with it too. If our other dish was the cheese katsu, this one was gnocchi and salmon together. We enjoyed both. I came here searching for Hyehwa pasta, but it was fun to pick dishes like these instead of pasta.

My top pick at Omil: what is the Omil soba maki?

Omil soba maki is a side dish that feels like futomaki with the raw fish removed and soba put in, and it was the tastiest thing to my taste that day. Okay, this is the dish I most want to talk about: Omil soba maki! The two mains were good, but to my taste this was the best.

At first I was curious what soba maki even was. Maki suggests it looks like gimbap (seaweed rice roll), but with soba inside? When I saw it, it really felt like futomaki without the raw fish and with soba instead.

Futomaki is a Japanese-style thick seaweed roll with several fillings, and Omil's soba maki is distinctive for using buckwheat noodles instead of rice. I'm told the inside of the seaweed wrap holds soba noodles, vegetables, Japanese-style rolled omelet and so on.

It looked a little different from ordinary gimbap or futomaki. This was really good... haha. Honestly, when I ordered two mains, I never expected to like the soba maki this much. I picked it as a side, yet it was the most memorable. Rolling soba noodles up like this was fun, and it tasted great.

I'd love for other people to try it. If you go to Omil, pick your mains and plan to add one side, I personally recommend the soba maki. It was the dish I was happiest with in this meal.

Halloween-season rubber duck omurice and high chairs at Omil

Omil Hyehwa Daehangno has a menu item called rubber duck omurice, and during the Halloween season we visited, it seemed to come with special decorations. A cute duck shape plus a Halloween theme, haha. Judging by the menu photo, it looked like a lot of fun.

We had already picked the cheese katsu and salmon steak gnocchi, so we didn't order the omurice. I don't know how it actually tastes, but families visiting with kids would probably notice a cute dish like this. Omil also has high chairs, so it's worth considering if you're looking for a place to eat in Hyehwa with a child.

Plates wiped clean, and a line still waiting as we left Omil

Everything we ordered at Omil that day was delicious. Watching the staff pour the cheese on the katsu was fun, and we enjoyed the salmon steak gnocchi too. But my top pick was the soba maki! Eating with Mom, before I knew it the plates were empty. We wiped them clean down to the sauce haha

After a tasty meal for two, I felt glad we chose Omil for dinner after the play. Not having to wait and getting seated right away was a bonus. But when we left, there was still a line. It was almost full when we came in, and people were still waiting when we left. Our timing was truly perfect that day.

Good to know before a Hyehwa date at Omil

Omil is near Hyehwa Station, so it's a handy spot for a meal when you're watching a play in Daehangno or out on a date. The menu is varied, from pasta to katsu, gnocchi and omurice, and with the set for two you can share several dishes. If you come with a child, the high chairs are also useful.

However, when it's busy like the day we went, there can be a wait. Also, since you order by phone at the table, if you come with parents who aren't used to smartphones you may need to help them a bit. That's something I felt visiting with Mom.

Omil Hyehwa Daehangno: location and basic info

• Address: 35 Daemyeong-gil, 2nd floor, Jongno-gu, Seoul
• Location: About a 3-minute walk from Exit 4 of Hyehwa Station (Line 4)
• Hours: Daily 11:30–21:15
• Break time: Weekdays 15:15–16:30
• Last order: 20:30
• Parking: No dedicated parking lot
• Reservations: Available
• How to order: Tap your phone on the table tag, or scan the QR code
• Facilities: High chairs, Wi-Fi, waiting area and more

Verdict on Omil Hyehwa Daehangno

It was a day of enjoying a play and then some tasty food. Omil was full from the moment we walked in, but we were lucky to get the last seat. The food was good, and I especially loved the soba maki. I'll also remember Mom saying phone ordering was hard haha. If I'm in Hyehwa again, I want to eat the soba maki again.