Sous vide pork belly at LA RUELLE, French dining in Gongneung-dong

It had been a while since I'd seen this friend, so I really thought hard about where to go and looked for a good restaurant! That's when I found LA RUELLE, a hidden-gem French restaurant not far from Taereung Ipgu Station and Gongneung Station >.< Even from the photos the interior looked so pretty and the menu looked great, so I booked a reservation right away 🥰

Where is LA RUELLE, and what are the hours and parking?

LA RUELLE is located on the 2nd floor of 18 Gongneung-ro 35-gil, Nowon-gu, Seoul, 697m from Exit 4 of Taereung Ipgu Station (Lines 6·7). It's open Tue–Sun 11:30–23:00, with a break time from 15:00–17:30, last order at 21:30, and it's closed every Monday.

• Location: 18 Gongneung-ro 35-gil, 2F, Nowon-gu, Seoul / 697m from Exit 4, Taereung Ipgu Station (Lines 6·7)
• Hours: Tue–Sun 11:30–23:00 (break time 15:00–17:30), last order 21:30
• Closed: every Monday
• Parking: nearby paid parking lots
• Amenities and services: group seating, wine pairing, corkage available (fee), easy payment

The European-style interior on Gongni-dan-gil alley

Tucked into the Gongni-dan-gil (공리단길) alley of Gongneung-dong, LA RUELLE feels like it could be somewhere in France 🩵

It's on the 2nd floor of a clean ivory building! With a sign decorated in pink flowers, it really stood out in the alley 😊 It's been almost two years since my last trip to France, so this European atmosphere felt so welcome 🥹

I was so struck by the interior the moment I walked in~~ The arched stone-pattern flooring, rattan chairs, and stylish tables made it feel like stepping into some alley in Europe! The whole space was so pretty that just walking in put me in a good mood >.<

The pink roses on every table matched the mood of LA RUELLE perfectly 💕

It was such a nice spot to chat away with my friend over a relaxed meal!!

MBTI wine recommendations by QR code

Behind an arched entrance marked 'Cave à Vin', LA RUELLE has a wine cellar packed full of bottles. You could really feel the chef's love for wine in that space 💕

Now here's the thing!! I'm sure everyone can relate 🤣 when ordering wine at a restaurant, there are just so many options it's hard to decide, and frantically googling a wine list on the spot is chaotic~ and just asking for a recommendation feels a little unsatisfying too. ^^ But LA RUELLE has a service that recommends wine based on your MBTI, and I thought that was so clever and fun +_+ You scan the QR code on the menu and answer a few simple questions to find your match~

As you answer the questions like in the photos above, it shows you the wine that suits you along with its characteristics and price, all at once!! Even people who don't know much about wine can approach it in an easy, friendly way, and there's fun in waiting to see what gets recommended ^^ Since I'd given birth not long before, I just had a light, low-alcohol beer that day. Next time I visit I'm definitely getting the MBTI wine recommendation and trying the wine too haha.

Alongside a range of French dishes, they also have more than 30 kinds of wine ready to go! (Menu source: Naver Place 'LA RUELLE' menu)

Amuse-bouche and an Ayinger Helles lager

Before the main menu arrived, LA RUELLE brought out a small pre-meal bite — caramelized onion topped with scallop and minced shrimp haha.

Eating it in one bite, the crisp pastry and soft scallop and shrimp came together in harmony, and the sweet onion added richness — it was so good ♥️

Before the real meal started, I wetted my throat with a cold beer lol. This one's an Ayinger Helles lager made to mark the 100th anniversary of Germany's Ayinger brewery ☺️

The mellow flavor and smooth finish were the charm ^^ A cold sip and — ahh, so happy 👍

Salmon tartare

The salmon tartare, stacked into a round tower, was gorgeous just from the plating 🧡 Topped with caviar and a dainty edible flower, it looked even more luxurious — I could only admire it..!!

I wrapped the caviar and salmon in gamtae (dried sea lettuce) and took a big bite. The gamtae's gentle sea aroma plus the fresh mint pesto was exactly my taste.. You absolutely have to try this!!! 😍

The salmon wasn't cut into tiny pieces either — the chunky slices let you really feel that soft, tender bite~😋

Bisque pasta

Next up was the bisque pasta, which looked delicious from the first glance 🥰 It's a seafood pasta with shrimp and squid, in a bisque sauce made by simmering ddak shrimp for a long time!

There was a generous amount of big shrimp and seafood, and you could really tell they hadn't skimped on ingredients 👍

That bisque sauce in particular was rich and deep, with a subtle hint of the sea running through it. The thick sauce soaked right into the linguine, and every single bite matched perfectly 💛

Sous vide pork belly

For the main, I ordered the sous vide pork belly. The thick cut wasn't tough at all — it sliced smoothly the moment the knife touched it 😀 With one bite, the outside was crisp while the inside was, true to sous vide, moist and tender, and full of rich juices — so good!!

The soft, sweet corn sauce on top of the meat went so well with the sous vide pork belly >.<

There was also pea purée and carrot purée on the side!! You could mix and match them however you liked, which made this dish even more fun to eat 😍

Zucchini flower fritter

We also got a zucchini flower fritter as part of a review event ^^ It was fried crisp on the outside, but packed full of soft ricotta cheese inside!

The crunchy batter and soft cheese combo was so good that my friend and I kept shouting 'so good!!' lol and polished it off in no time 😆

Who is LA RUELLE best for?

From the interior to every single dish, everything felt refined, and it was the kind of satisfying meal you keep thinking about afterward 💛 Since you can enjoy high-quality French food at a reasonable price, I'd recommend it for anniversaries and dates, as well as family meals or small gatherings.

If you want great French food and wine in a beautiful atmosphere for a special occasion, give LA RUELLE, a Gongneung-dong favorite, a try!💗