Birthday dinner at Modam, an Itaewon Korean restaurant: ₩49,000 sets

Here's a fancy ₩49,000 heritage hanjeongsik (Korean set menu) place I really want to recommend for special occasions — Modam Itaewon. It's a tidy, delicious restaurant perfect for meeting the in-laws in a room or celebrating anniversaries in the hall. What makes it special is that six appetizer courses come out before the main set, and the taste, service, and interior were all perfect. Highly recommend.

Where is Modam Itaewon, and where do you park?

Modam Itaewon is on the first floor of the Mondrian Hotel at 22-76 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, open daily from 11:00 to 21:30. The nearest station is Noksapyeong, but it's a bit of a walk from there — taking the bus is a better option.

You can park at the hotel, and the first 2 hours are free! After that it's ₩8,000 per hour.

Inside the Mondrian Hotel: the look of Modam Itaewon

This was a weekday evening visit. Let's get into it! Walk into the Mondrian Hotel and go straight, and you'll easily find Modam tucked inside. Even the waiting area shows off how spacious the interior is.

The last photo is the waiting area. Being a restaurant inside a hotel, it's incredibly upscale. It has a Korean, Asian concept, so it'd be great to bring foreign guests or friends here too.

Here's the interior! This is the overall view of the left side after you walk in — huge, spotless, and luxurious. And this is the right side.

Such a high-end interior. Great for birthdays, couple anniversaries, gatherings with parents, and even meeting the in-laws — perfect for a special day.

There are also private rooms. So comfortable, right? Perfect for important meetings or meeting the in-laws in a room. On the day I visited, another table was actually doing exactly that, haha. Everything here is spotless, upscale, and beautifully finished.

Modam Itaewon menu and prices

• Signature menu - Meeting-the-in-laws set (tteokgalbi & dried corvina) 65,000
• Signature menu - Handmade tteokgalbi set 49,000
• Signature menu - Beopseongpo dried corvina set 49,000
• Recommended menu - Hanwoo striploin set 69,000
• Recommended menu - Lunch tteokgalbi set 45,000
• Recommended menu - Modam nourishing set 35,000
• Drinks - Wine, distilled liquor, cheongju, etc.

Modam Itaewon's signature offerings are its full course sets. There are ₩49,000 sets for tteokgalbi, dried corvina, striploin, and seafood jangeori, and a dedicated meeting-the-in-laws set as well. Lunch set menus are a bit cheaper — the hot-pot rice sets and nourishing sets are more affordable while still refined. There are also à la carte dishes, plus wine and other liquor — the whole setup is perfect for meeting the in-laws. Best of all, every set menu comes with an appetizer course beforehand!

What we ordered: two ₩49,000 sets, tteokgalbi and dried corvina

• Handmade tteokgalbi set 49,000
• Beopseongpo dried corvina set 49,000

We ordered the tteokgalbi set and the dried corvina set — and Modam has something special in store.

The six appetizers served before the main course

Before the main sets arrive, a full appetizer course comes out first! Modam Itaewon's appetizer course consists of porridge, salad, mushroom jeonggwa, gimbugak (crispy seaweed) salad, sashimi, and dessert after the meal.

They lay out the appetizers first, and honestly you could get full on just these, haha. It was so nice being able to try such a variety of dishes, haha. My friend absolutely loved it!

Handmade tteokgalbi set, ₩49,000

Now for the main sets! We ordered the tteokgalbi and dried corvina sets. The composition was excellent, and every dish was tidy and clean — a real hanjeongsik gem. It comes with four or five side dishes, soup, and the main dish.

Here's the tteokgalbi, haha. Not greasy at all, full of meaty flavor. The grilled vegetables and especially the mashed potato(?) on the side were incredibly soft, special, and delicious. Definitely lived up to being hotel hanjeongsik, haha. Glossy, glistening tteokgalbi with just the right chewiness — my friend loved it.

Beopseongpo dried corvina set, ₩49,000

This is the Beopseongpo dried corvina (bori gulbi). Not salty at all, seasoned just right. They even give you green tea water to enjoy it ochazuke-style, haha. The corvina itself wasn't salty at all, just the peak of clean, savory flavor — I really enjoyed it. A truly flawless meal, no excess anywhere.

Perilla leaf sorbet and the surprise birthday rice cake

Even the dessert was genuinely delicious. This is the perilla leaf sorbet, haha — special, sweet and tangy, so good. Since I mentioned it was my friend's birthday, they even brought out a rice cake, and this thing was insanely good too, lol 👍 I was so full by the end that it was almost a shame I couldn't eat more. And honestly, every single staff member was so, so kind — that really stuck with me, haha. The best service paired with tidy, delicious food.

Receipt review event: 3 free financiers

If you write a review on your way out after eating at Modam Itaewon, they give you 3 financiers, haha. First time I've seen a place give out so many! Great service right to the very end — make sure you grab yours.

Is Modam Itaewon worth it for a birthday dinner?

• A high-end Korean set-menu restaurant inside the Mondrian Hotel
• Kind, attentive service
• Six appetizer courses plus delicious, tidy hanjeongsik dishes

Modam Itaewon, inside the Mondrian Hotel, felt like a space perfect for anniversaries or meeting the in-laws, with amazing service, a quiet and ultra-luxurious interior, a varied appetizer course, and clean, savory hanjeongsik dishes plus dessert to round it all off, haha. The food is delicious without any excess, so even the older generation would really love the flavors. The atmosphere is also so upscale and lovely, haha.

When one dish came out a bit late, they thoughtfully brought over some wine as an apology — that attention to detail really touched me. I had such a genuinely great time celebrating my friend's birthday here, haha. It'd also be lovely to visit with a partner for an anniversary, haha. Taste, service, and a luxurious interior — the perfect triangle. Definitely a five-star feeling, haha. I was so satisfied that I'm planning to go back to Modam again soon — I'll leave another review then! 💕