Wide Window Diner · 18 stories

Wide Window, Seoul-Gyeonggi-Gangwon Tables

Writes about cafes, restaurants, and bars across Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Gangwon. · Writes about: Cafés · Restaurants · Bars

PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Sinnonhyeon gyukatsu for a couple's date: big steki-don rice, Ichigyu

Ichigyu Gangnam Sinnonhyeon Branch is a Japanese home-style gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet) restaurant on the 2nd floor on Bongeunsa-ro 4-gil, a 5-minute walk from Sinnonhyeon Station in Gangnam, Seoul. A married couple ordered sirloin gyukatsu (19,000 won), sirloin steki-don (19,000 won) and karaage & fried shrimp (6,000 won), grilled the gyukatsu in Isigny butter, and found the rice portions generous and the staff attentive about the burner and grill plate. With a blind date happening at the next table, Ichigyu Gangnam Sinnonhyeon Branch proves a fitting spot for dates and blind dates.

Written Jul 25, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangjin, SeoulRestaurants

Geondae Station tonkatsu: mixed katsu too big for a big eater, Kosi

Kosi Konkuk University Branch is a Japanese restaurant specializing in house-made udon and tonkatsu at 197 Achasan-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. After a 20-minute wait at around 1pm on a weekend, the writer and her husband had the mixed katsu set (18,000 won) and the tori bukkake set (14,500 won); the crisp, thick tonkatsu and plump house-made bukkake udon stood out. At about 33,000 won for two sets, Kosi Konkuk University Branch serves portions so generous that even her big-eater husband left food.

Written Jul 26, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Gangnam Station ramen, wood ear paitan on a summer-break lunch: Oreno

Oreno Ramen Gangnam is a Japanese ramen restaurant with a chicken-broth base near Exit 11 of Gangnam Station in Seoul, serving two bowls: tori paitan (creamy chicken broth ramen) and kara paitan (spicy chicken broth ramen) at 13,000 won each. Oreno Ramen Gangnam usually has a long line, but on a lunch visit during the summer vacation season the writer walked straight in and enjoyed a rich, nutty chicken broth with wood ear mushrooms and tender chicken breast. Oreno Ramen Gangnam is a ramen shop where even people who find Japanese ramen too salty end up finishing the broth.

Written Aug 1, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulCafés

Gongdeok Station financier café: Berry Berry crumble, Fluffy Bake Shop

Fluffy Bake Shop is a baked-goods café about a 5-minute walk from Gongdeok Station in Mapo, Seoul, baking 16 kinds of madeleine, 9 financiers and 3 canelés in-house. A dessert-loving couple stopped by early and filled a box of madeleines and financiers for around ₩25,000, and the Berry Berry financier they tried first at home won them over with its thick crumble topping and tangy berry jam. With generously sized pieces at around ₩3,000–4,000 each, Fluffy Bake Shop is worth a stop for good-value baked goods near Gongdeok Station.

Written Jul 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Pizza pub lunch for two near Mapo Station: Cheese Bomb, Raccoon Pizza

Raccoon Pizza Mapo Station branch is a pizza, pasta and chicken pub for pizza and beer on Tojeong-ro in Mapo, Seoul. After an errand in Gongdeok, the writer and her husband had an early lunch of the Pizza L & Pasta set (40,400 won), adding Cheese Bomb and a Hanwoo Steak and Super Raccoons half-and-half topping. They rated both the Toowoomba pasta and the thick-dough pizza among the best pizza they had eaten lately. Verdict: if you go to Raccoon Pizza Mapo Station branch, the Cheese Bomb add-on is a must.

Written Jul 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulBars

Gangnam Station bar for a team lunch: hotteok ice cream, Jusindang

Jusindang Gangnam is a dining bar themed on a shaman shrine and the 12 zodiac animals, on basement level 1 of Gangnam-daero 96-gil near Gangnam Station Exit 11 in Seoul. After hearing that Jusindang Gangnam opens for lunch, the writer booked a table with coworkers and, in a private room, ate an abalone seaweed purée rice bowl (₩21,000), gondre noodles (₩19,000), spicy rosé sujebi (₩19,000) and hotteok ice cream (₩12,000). The writer expected little from a bar's food, but every dish was delicious, so Jusindang Gangnam is worth recommending even just for lunch.

Written Aug 2, 2026Sponsored
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