Yeonnam-dong pasta lunch after a thesis defense: Hôtel de Couture

A review of the weekday wait at Hôtel de Couture (오뗄드꾸뜨), the Yeonnam-dong restaurant I went to for lunch after my thesis defense that morning! Hôtel de Couture is a good spot for Western food like signature pasta, steak and salads, and it's well known as a date place. Above all, there's already a crowd waiting before noon on weekdays, so I recommend getting there right at opening..! The atmosphere is good for talking, so it also works for a blind date or a wedding-invitation meetup.

Hôtel de Couture hours, parking and location

Hôtel de Couture is open daily 11:00-20:00, with last order at 19:00. There's no parking, so you'll need to use a Yeonnam-dong public car park, and there are no reservations, only walk-in waiting.

• Daily 11:00-20:00 (last order 19:00)
• No parking (Yeonnam-dong public car park)
• No reservations, walk-in waiting only
• Corkage charged
• Groups welcome (including parties of 4 and more)

It's in Yeonnam-dong, at the end of the Gyeongui Line Forest Park path from Hongik Univ. Station Exit 3, so it's a good Hongdae-area restaurant to drop into for a date after a stroll. The address is 7 Donggyo-ro 46-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea (Unit 101, 1.5th floor).

How long is the weekday lunch wait at Hôtel de Couture?

I got there around 11:30 on a weekday and waited about 20 minutes. Hôtel de Couture is on the second floor of a Yeonnam-dong building, and you can only wait in person at the front of the shop.

There's no name list or remote waiting, so you just sit on the chairs out front and a staff member calls you in order! For reference, I came around 11:30, and even though they open at 11, I waited about 20 minutes. Weekend afternoons must be insane..!

Seating and atmosphere at Hôtel de Couture

Inside there are seats for solo diners and group seating like tables for four, so it looked good for a wedding-invitation get-together or a date. The tables are fairly spaced out, so it might be fine for a Yeonnam-dong blind date too?

Hôtel de Couture menu and prices

The menu includes carrot duck aglio e olio for ₩18,000, pea basil shrimp cream pasta for ₩19,000, and honeycomb seasonal fruit French toast for ₩15,000, among others. Besides pasta there are salads, French toast and other Western dishes, so it's good for brunch too.

• Carrot duck aglio e olio ₩18,000
• Pea basil shrimp cream pasta ₩19,000
• Honeycomb seasonal fruit French toast ₩15,000

What I ordered for lunch at Hôtel de Couture

I kept it light with one pasta and a salad to share. The food comes out quickly, so even when the wait is long, the table turnover is decent!

Does the burrata seasonal fruit salad go well with pasta?

The burrata seasonal fruit salad is ₩19,000, and it went better with pasta than the French toast would have. I couldn't not order it after seeing the burrata, and I was torn between it and the French toast, but it turned out to pair better with pasta!

The fresh burrata comes whole on the salad, so you tear it up and eat it together with the romaine.

And there's fresh strawberry as the seasonal fruit too! Eaten with the romaine, cranberries, granola and cherry tomatoes, it was a colorful combination that I loved.

Is the honey slab bacon rosé pasta too rich?

The honey whole-bacon rosé pasta is ₩17,000, and even I, who tire of rosé easily, enjoyed it without it feeling heavy. I was torn between this and the aglio e olio, but the rosé sauce looked so good that I went with it.

The portion of noodles is definitely generous compared with other Western restaurants in Yeonnam-dong, so it made for a filling lunch..!!

There's also honey-glazed bacon as a topping, 6 pieces in all, which went really well with the rosé sauce. Above all, I usually can't finish rosé because it gets too rich, but the rosé at Hôtel de Couture wasn't heavy and was delicious!

Pickled radish and jalapeños come as standard, and I had a Coke Zero with it~

Verdict: Hôtel de Couture for a weekday lunch in Yeonnam-dong

• Value: risotto and pasta from ₩16,000, generous portions, and the rosé sauce was delicious
• Portion: a good place for lunch with one dish per person; recommended for dates, blind dates and wedding-invitation meetups
• Waiting: 20 minutes at 11:30 on a weekday; I recommend arriving at opening or going later