Ilsan restaurant with ancient-rice abalone risotto: Upstairs Kitchen

I was looking for a Western restaurant with a nice atmosphere on Bamridan-gil and ended up at Upstairs Kitchen.

This time, instead of ordering all sorts of things, I picked mainly what I actually wanted to eat — steak, abalone risotto, and bruschetta No. 1, three dishes total. Long story short, the combination worked out really well, and the abalone risotto in particular turned out more unique than I expected, so it stuck with me.

Location and parking at Upstairs Kitchen Bamridan-gil Branch

Upstairs Kitchen Bamridan-gil Branch is on Daesan-ro 11beon-gil in Ilsandong-gu. Parking on Bamridan-gil can be stressful, but this place actually has space to park right in front. That said, from other reviews it seems the space in front can fill up depending on the time, so it's probably a good idea to arrive with some buffer time on weekends or around mealtimes.

The exterior is done in green and brown tones, so it really catches the eye. The brick building with a green accent fit the Bamridan-gil vibe nicely.

What's the atmosphere like inside?

The interior of Upstairs Kitchen mixes white, wood, and brick. Once you step inside, the mood from the exterior carries through — not too flashy or busy, but clean and comfortable.

There are especially large windows, so if you visit during the day, the natural light coming in looks lovely. Lay the food out on the table and photos come out great too, so it seemed like a good spot for a Bamridan-gil date or a restaurant for a special occasion in Ilsan.

What we ordered: sirloin steak, abalone risotto, bruschetta No. 1

We ordered three dishes: sirloin steak, abalone risotto, and bruschetta No. 1. I briefly considered pasta too, but since we were already getting steak and risotto, I added bruschetta as a lighter starter instead. In the end, eating all three together worked out well since nothing overlapped.

Bruschetta No. 1

The first thing we ate was bruschetta No. 1 — baguette topped with mascarpone, eggplant, tomato sauce, and basil. At first I ordered it just as a light bite since steak and risotto were the mains, but the combination turned out better than expected. It's not just plain baguette; with everything piled on top, it felt like the perfect thing to eat before getting into the main meal. I thought the eggplant might be a bit polarizing, but with the tomato sauce, mascarpone, and basil together, it didn't stand out on its own.

This is a dish you really need to eat all together in one bite to fully enjoy it! Ordering only heavy dishes like steak or risotto can feel a bit much right from the start, but adding an appetizer like this made the flow of the meal much better. And then, finally, the dish I'd been curious about.

Abalone risotto — ancient rice with abalone, gamtae, and sea greens

The abalone risotto. If you order Upstairs Kitchen's abalone risotto expecting a typical creamy risotto, it might feel quite different. It's made with ancient rice along with abalone, gamtae (seaweed laver), and sea greens, so the texture is a world apart from the usual soft, thick risotto. I actually liked this about it.

Instead of the rice being fully softened, there's a lively crunch to it that kept me reaching back for more. With the abalone plus gamtae and sea greens added in, the whole dish carried a real ocean scent. It's quite different from the risotto you'd normally expect at a Western restaurant, so if you want to try something you don't usually eat at a Bamridan-gil restaurant, the abalone risotto seems like a solid pick. Out of everything we ate that day, this was the one that stuck with me the most.

Sirloin steak

And the main we ordered — sirloin steak! It comes plated with the steak, garnish, and sauce all together, so it had the most presence on the table the moment it arrived. Alongside the steak came garnishes like broccoli and potato, plus a whole-grain mustard-style sauce.

The meat came pre-cut into easy-to-eat pieces, which was convenient, and the cross-section looked good too. Rather than just eating steak on its own, alternating with the garnish and sauce made it much less monotonous. Having a sauce like the whole-grain mustard with that little pop of texture was especially nice to mix in between bites of meat.

What combination works best for a first visit?

Starting light with the bruschetta, then moving between bites of abalone risotto and steak, made for a pretty great combination. Even with no pasta and only three dishes ordered, each one had such a different style that nothing felt lacking. If it's your first time at Upstairs Kitchen, I'd actually recommend trying the steak + abalone risotto + bruschetta combination.

And this is a place where the atmosphere plays as big a role as the food. Visiting when the sunlight is coming in makes the window seats especially pretty, and the overall clean look made it nice for a slow, leisurely date meal. If you're looking for somewhere on Bamridan-gil that offers steak or a slightly different take on risotto instead of the usual pasta-only Western restaurant, this one's worth a visit.

If I go again, I think I'd order the abalone risotto one more time. The distinctive crunch of the ancient rice combined with abalone, gamtae, and sea greens was clearly different from a typical risotto, making it the most memorable dish I had at Upstairs Kitchen. Starting light with bruschetta No. 1 and moving on to abalone risotto and sirloin steak made for a satisfying combination that day. If you're looking for a Bamridan-gil date spot or a restaurant with good atmosphere in Ilsan, Upstairs Kitchen is worth adding to your list.

Upstairs Kitchen Bamridan-gil Branch information

• Address: 5-25 Daesan-ro 11beon-gil, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, 1st floor
• Hours: 11:30 - 21:20
• Ordered: Sirloin steak / Abalone risotto / Bruschetta No. 1
• Recommended for: Dates / dinner gatherings
• Parking: Available
• Atmosphere: A clean, warm restaurant on Bamridan-gil