Haebangchon restaurant, pale ale & octopus carpaccio: Villa de Blue

Day two of our Seoul trip: Villa de Blue in Haebangchon

Villa de Blue Haebangchon is a Western restaurant we picked as our Haebangchon date spot on day two of a 2-day Seoul trip. The whole trip felt like a dream! On day one we started with a Weekend concert and then headed to Goyang. The next day we had brunch in Yeonhui-dong, and then we headed to Villa de Blue for a Haebangchon meal in a free-spirited neighborhood that feels good just to walk around :)

With the flashy performance, the overwhelming looks and the fantastic taste, why doesn't Villa de Blue have a Blue Ribbon?

Do you need to book Villa de Blue Haebangchon?

I recommend booking through Naver Reservation ahead of time. It's a hot Haebangchon date spot, so we reserved in advance, and if we had just walked in, a wait would have been a given. Definitely book before you go ★

Santorini-style blue interior and floor-to-ceiling window seats

As soon as we walked in, the interior and the props, full of Haebangchon blue personality, left an impression. The cool, refreshing blue reminds you of Santorini in Greece. The sign is pretty too, and it seems they took great care over the atmosphere and the little details.

One reason I recommend Villa de Blue as a Haebangchon date spot: the window side is wide open with floor-to-ceiling glass, so on a nice day like these it's a seat full of romance.

There were three of us, so we were shown to an inner table, but the window side has such a good mood that I bet it's first come, first served >_<

There's also a bar table, so while daytime means brunch, in the evening it would be great for a simple glass of wine, a highball or whisky, even on a special day!

Villa de Blue menu: Sicilia set and Amalfi set

The Villa de Blue Haebangchon menu starts with steak, and the set menus are really solid too. There's the Sicilia set (pulpo mambo + steak + cocktail) and the Amalfi set (lasagna + pulpo mambo + gnocchi fritz + cocktail), and you can swap the drink.

À la carte there are pasta, risotto and more. You can see how each dish looks from the pictures, and the descriptions were very friendly. The menu itself is really Santorini-ish ♥

Side dishes include salad, gnocchi and soup, and to go with them there are wine bottles, glasses of wine, spritz, cocktails, beer and more. We came all the way to Seoul, so how could we resist a daytime beer?

Daytime pale ale and lemonade

• Pale ale ₩9,000
• Matilda French lemonade ₩5,000 × 2

Shall we drink it right away? I personally love ale, and Villa de Blue's pale ale has its own fresh flavor and fizz, so it went down gulp gulp ♥ It pairs sooo well with the food :)

What does the octopus avocado carpaccio taste like?

• Aligot cheese lasagna ₩22,000
• Pulpo mambo ₩25,000
• Octopus avocado carpaccio ₩21,000

The octopus avocado carpaccio (₩21,000) is an appetizer marinated fresh in a vinaigrette sauce. These are combinations I love, so I ordered it as a light starter.

The chewy-yet-tender octopus with the vegetables, and the rich avocado oil spread thickly underneath, blend so well that you keep reaching for more, a bewitching taste >_< The sauce mix and its freshness seem to wipe out any greasiness along the way!

The outrageous looks pass with flying colors too! I wondered whether to order a salad instead, but with the juicy crunch of onion and bell pepper it's a perfect, healthy nutritional balance ♥

Pulpo mambo: why I recommend it so strongly

Villa de Blue's pulpo mambo (₩25,000) is tender octopus and baby potatoes served with pimentón (Spanish smoked paprika) sauce. I enjoyed it so much that it's a total strong recommendation! ★

First, the octopus in the pulpo mambo is a really hefty size, cut into bite-size pieces, and if you dip it generously in the sauce on the bottom, you'll faint.

The sauce itself is pure paradise ♥ Kind of like a rosé sauce? A similar taste, but with savory depth. The octopus is super tender and the baby potatoes are crisp! The texture balance was blissful too, so at Villa de Blue, no questions asked, order the pulpo mambo as well.

The cheese-waterfall aligot cheese lasagna performance

The main dish at Villa de Blue Haebangchon is the aligot cheese lasagna (₩22,000). Stretchy French aligot cheese sauce is poured right over the lasagna, a fierce dish with a performance that's a treat for the eyes.

They pour the cheese on without holding back, so generously that the lasagna itself disappears from view. The dish is also very hot, so be careful ★

The lasagna portion is really hearty, and with the thick cheese poured on top, every piece you pick up is full of aligot cheese flavor.

The combination with the ragù sauce soaking the layered lasagna was excellent and delicious too! You can't just skip the lasagna performance, so at Villa de Blue, pulpo mambo and lasagna are a must, not an option ♥ A Haebangchon date where eyes, ears and mouth were all happy, and we enjoyed our daytime beer very much :)

Also, if you've come to Haebangchon, be sure to capture the Namsan Tower view that makes you feel like you're in Itaewon Class ♥