Itaewon Korean restaurant with tablet ordering: Modam Itaewon

If you're near Yongsan looking for somewhere to host an important guest, a family gathering, or a formal meeting-the-in-laws dinner, this place deserves your full attention.

Where is Modam Itaewon? First floor of the Mondrian Hotel

It's Modam Itaewon, a premium Korean dining restaurant right on the first floor of the Mondrian Hotel. With its polished atmosphere, refined Korean course menu, and everything you'd want from an Itaewon hanjeongsik (Korean set-course meal) gathering spot, I went in with high expectations.

Stepping into the Mondrian Hotel lobby, the flashy, modern interior catches your eye immediately. It has that particular hotel luxury feel, and with so many foreign guests in the lobby, it felt almost like being abroad — a unique, exotic vibe. It seemed like a great, dignified spot to bring a foreign friend or hold a business meeting.

Walking past the elevators in the hotel lobby, you come across a dreamy photo zone with a grand full-length mirror and pink reed decorations.

Unlike the wide-open folding-door bars elsewhere in Itaewon, this space is quiet and calm — a great spot for a memorable photo before or after your meal. Modam Itaewon's entrance appears just past this photo zone. Arriving at the entrance, the black-and-white, clean modern look stood out right from the exterior.

How ordering from the tablet menu works at Modam Itaewon

The entrance area is floor-to-ceiling glass, giving it an open, airy feel. We browsed the formal menu — very fitting for an Itaewon hanjeongsik meeting spot — through the ordering tablet at our table.

The menu photos on the tablet were so neat and appetizing that choosing was easy. It even pointed out which course was currently most popular and best value, which helped a lot since we're both terrible at deciding.

Seating and private rooms for office dinners and family meetings

Inside, the space is really spacious and comfortable. With its modern, upscale interior and the AC blasting at full power, the inside was cool to the point of pure comfort. It felt like the best possible setup to enjoy a meal without breaking a sweat, even on a hot day.

The tables are spaced generously, making it a great fit for an office dinner or group gathering like ours. And true to its reputation as an Itaewon heritage hanjeongsik spot for formal family meetings, there are several private rooms available — perfect for an important occasion or a dignified gathering.

What comes in the 49,000-won seafood jang and dried corvina courses

We ordered the two BEST menu items that stood out most on the tablet: the mixed seafood jang (49,000 won) and the charcoal-grilled dried corvina (49,000 won). Each came with a full lineup — seasonal porridge, black sesame fruit salad, green salad, perilla oil buckwheat noodles — which built up my excitement even more.

Even before the main dishes and neat side dishes arrived, there was already a sense of fun anticipation. First came a smooth, neatly presented soybean porridge, sitting quietly in an elegant bowl.

Even the appetizer plating gave off a far more upscale, unique feel. It was the kind of setting where the phrase 'you eat with your eyes first' truly applied.

The dishes, carefully arranged in sleek bowls, were a pleasure to look at. Next came a green salad with a lovely mix of colorful ingredients, paired with a healthy dish dressed in black sesame.

The vegetables looked so fresh you could tell just by their color, and paired beautifully with the rich black sesame sauce — my mouth was watering just looking at it. Unusually, the salad was topped with a subtle fig sauce and green grapes, giving the plating an even more upscale, unique touch. It really was a setting where you eat with your eyes first.

The next dish arrived neatly and prettily placed over julienned vegetables. Taking a careful bite, it melted away like cream ice cream, with no fishy taste at all — just an intensely savory, umami flavor filling my mouth.

The quality of the ingredients was genuinely excellent — I felt like I would have really regretted it if we hadn't ordered this course.

The main spread: seafood jang, maekjeok charcoal-grilled pork, dried corvina

Finally, today's main dishes arrived, beautifully plated across the table.

The charcoal-grilled dried corvina, the mixed seafood jang set, and the maekjeok (marinated pork) charcoal grill all came together in a gorgeous mix of colors that made my mouth water just looking at it.

The freshness was visible even in the sheen on the flesh, and top-grade ingredients — abalone, octopus, shrimp, and marinated crab — were used generously to bring out the best flavor of the seafood and meat. Taking a careful bite, it melted away like cream ice cream, with no fishy taste at all, just an intensely savory, umami flavor filling my mouth.

The freshness was so high that even a light dip in vinegar-chili sauce or soy sauce let the natural sweetness fully shine through. The shells were packed generously with seafood meat, making the visuals perfect from the start. The leg portions had their own crunchy, chewy charm, so it was fun to pick through different parts.

Was the dried corvina fishy?

Last but not least, the dried corvina (bori gulbi) had a gorgeous color contrast between its rosy-red flesh and silvery skin, looking vivid and fresh. Dried corvina can easily turn fishy with even slightly poor storage or lower freshness, but Modam Itaewon's version had zero off-smell — just a rich, savory taste with the pleasant oiliness of a good blue-back fish coming through clearly.

Perilla oil buckwheat noodles, green tea rice soup and a sorbet finish

The rice dishes served alongside the mains were excellent too. The perilla oil buckwheat noodles and rice soaked in green tea combined a nutty richness with a clean finish for a distinctive flavor. Topping a bite with radish sprouts, a touch of wasabi, and a piece of the dried corvina made for a genuinely heavenly, moving bite.

The refreshing lime sorbet that finished the meal was the perfect ending too.

Is Modam Itaewon worth it? Final verdict

Overall, it was an evening that exceeded expectations in every way — the hip, clean atmosphere, the comfortably cool interior with not a drop of sweat, the friendly and attentive staff, and the outstanding quality and flavor of the food.

If you're looking for a foolproof, upscale Korean meal to enjoy over good conversation as an Itaewon hanjeongsik gathering spot, I'd strongly recommend Modam Itaewon.