Seocho restaurant with a 65,000-won hanwoo steak course: Vinovine

Today I visited a secret hideout restaurant tucked deep in a Seocho alley, the kind of place only insiders seem to know about — Vinovine!!

I'm bringing you my honest review after enjoying the dinner course here with my eating buddy Eungdi! Getting this quality of dinner course in Seocho for this price... I was gasping the whole meal haha. Let me walk you through the location, the basics, and every single dish.

Where is Vinovine? Basement on Banpo-daero 23-gil, behind Seocho Station

• Hours: closed every Saturday and Sunday, Mon–Fri 11:30–22:00 (break 14:00–18:00, last order 20:30)
• Signature menus: lunch course (4-course) and dinner course (7-course)
• Reservations and groups: bookable via Naver and Catch Table, ₩20,000 deposit per person
• Parking: 6 spots beside the restaurant, fairly tight, so nearby paid lots are recommended (Seocho Kkotmaeul Jewelry parking lot gives 1 hour free, then ₩1,000 per 10 minutes; a ₩7,000 late-night pass is available after 18:00 via Modu's Parking Lot)
• Highlights: all seats are private rooms, detailed course explanations from staff, great-value wine dining

Down the basement stairs: what Vinovine's private rooms look like

Walking down into the basement through the back alleys of Seocho already felt kind of magical haha. Following the stairs down to the entrance felt like stepping into another world!

Right from the entrance, wine bottles and corks greet you with tons of atmosphere, and corks are used as clever decor pieces throughout the interior. I thought, 'Ah, this is a real hideout that wine lovers pass along by word of mouth!' haha.

And it's not just the vibe — every single space is a private room, so it was perfect for chatting quietly and comfortably with my eating buddy Eungdi over the meal!

The room we used was, of course, number Lucky Seven!!!! haha

There was even an umbrella stand, coat hangers, and an air purifier, plus a wide table already set up for us!!! Hehe, it made me feel so pampered, it was great haha. I was a tired office worker straight off work, and this totally recharged me!!!!

Vinovine's menu and corkage fees

Looking at the menu, I was moved that a 7-course meal at this price exists in Seocho... Every time a dish came out, the staff kindly explained the ingredients and sauce pairings, which made eating even more fun with the extra knowledge! The lunch menu also looks solid, so I'd recommend that too!!

I don't know much about wine, but they had a solid wine lineup!! Corkage is also available, just so you know!! For 375mL/750mL bottles it's ₩20,000 per bottle, and for 1,500mL magnums or other spirits (whisky, sake, etc.) it's ₩30,000 per bottle.

What comes in Vinovine's 65,000-won seven-course dinner?

Sitting there politely waiting to eat haha. The grand journey begins!!

Starter: chicken liver cocoa choux and abalone tofu tart

Two amuse-bouche-style starters to kick things off! The first bite was a crispy tart topped with abalone and its innards sauce, savory tofu, and smooth mascarpone cheese — the chewiness and savoriness together made for a perfect appetite-opener haha. The second was a cocoa choux filled with savory chicken liver mousse and fig jam, which tasted surprisingly interesting haha. I didn't expect richness and sweetness to pair so well.

Appetizer: smoked watermelon with stracciatella salad

A refreshing first appetizer! A salad topped with lightly smoked watermelon and beets, with soft stracciatella cheese piled underneath the watermelon! Thanks to the tomato water and herb oil dressing it was super fresh, and every bite had salty prosciutto chips and savory pistachio powder that reset your palate haha.

Appetizer: shrimp in bisque sauce

A gorgeous-looking second appetizer of shrimp! The shrimp body was slowly cooked in butter at a low temperature, so it was plump and tender, and the rich bisque made from the heads and shells brought insane flavor haha. Piled on top were celeriac (a root vegetable) and Brussels sprouts — scooping up the shrimp meat with plenty of sauce in one bite was a crazy combination, honestly!

The designated driver Jangchaekim and lightweight-drinker Eungdi toasted with Bundaberg instead of wine haha (Eungdi went all the way to Australia and never drank Bundaberg there haha).

The chef's house-made sourdough bread

Freshly baked bread arrived in the middle of the meal!! Sourdough made by the chef himself, served with Maldon salt and butter.

You know that toasty bread smell, right? haha. It smelled so good and toasty that I immediately picked a piece up by hand — the outside was crispy and the inside was chewy!!! Crispy plus chewy — that's basically cheating haha. It's delicious on its own, but piling on the Maldon salt and butter that came with it — that's pure happiness haha.

Fish: Jeju white tilefish steak

The fish course was a Jeju white tilefish steak! Fried with the scales left on to keep the texture, coming out crispy on the outside and moist inside — the best texture (this was Eungdi's favorite dish)!

The vermouth sauce had herb oil mixed in, and the garnish included umami-rich tomato, lightly charred basil, and zucchini stir-fried with wild greens and tilefish broth! The staff recommended eating the tomato, basil, and tilefish flesh together in one bite, and following that suggestion led to an explosion of umami haha.

Primi: pecorino Genovese spaghetti

Spaghetti flavored with pecorino cheese and black pepper, topped generously with a Neapolitan-style white Genovese (white ragu) made by slow-simmering onions and meat for a long time! The meat on top pulled apart tenderly along its grain, just like Korean braised soy sauce beef (jangjorim), which was totally my style haha.

💡 Extra info 💡

• Pecorino: a savory, salty Italian hard cheese made from sheep's milk (the key cheese in cacio e pepe pasta)
• White Genovese: unlike the basil pesto usually called 'Genovese', this refers to a Neapolitan sauce made by simmering onions and beef (or pork) for a very long time until the meat falls apart. It's called 'white' because no tomato is added, and it has a texture that pulls apart along the grain, just like Korean jangjorim.

The staff told us to mix the white ragu meat sauce thoroughly with the noodles! Since it's cheese-based, it can firm up quickly once it cools, so the tip is to devour it while it's still hot haha. Salty yet savory, with deep flavor that's no joke!

There was some — and then it was gone haha.

Steak: hanwoo (Korean beef) striploin

Finally, the star of the dinner, the main dish — hanwoo (Korean beef) striploin steak, drumroll!! It comes with a deep, rich steak sauce made using the striploin's own juices, plus a sweet and savory black garlic purée! Beside the meat is a crispy potato crumble and eggplant powder for extra flavor, with balsamic-soaked mini onions as garnish! The tender steak, the crumble's crunch, and the balsamic onions cutting through the richness let me finish every last bite cleanly and happily haha.

Dessert: hojicha ice cream and warabi mochi

Even the final dessert was pure delight...

Under the house-made houjicha (roasted green tea) ice cream is a fun houjicha crumble made to look like soil! Chewy warabi mochi made from bracken starch and savory nut nougatine are placed on top! Sweet brown sugar syrup is drizzled over it, and they give you a crispy monaka wafer shell too — piling the ice cream and mochi onto it, the chewy, crispy, sweet combo just melts in your mouth haha.

Final verdict on Vinovine

The best value wine dining in Seocho! At ₩65,000 per person in Seocho, you get a solid 7-course meal, all-private-room seating, and staff who explain every dish kindly and in detail — just flawless!!

They said the pasta changes every month to month and a half, and the overall course lineup shifts with seasonal ingredients!!! I wonder how delicious the other lineups will be >_< I want to manufacture a fake anniversary just to come back haha.

With its private, upscale, secret-hideout atmosphere, it's perfect for a special-occasion date or a quiet gathering!

My eating buddy Eungdi and I both left Seocho's wine dining spot Vinovine extremely satisfied. Highly recommend it to anyone in Seocho looking for great-value fine dining with a good atmosphere!!!