Daehangno restaurant with a peach highball set for two: Omil Hyehwa

These days there's a cool autumn breeze, so I went to see a play in Daehangno for a bit of a mood change. But every time I came to Hyehwa I always thought there was nothing to eat. Turns out there were good restaurants hiding here! One of the Daehangno restaurants I ended up going to was Omil Hyehwa Daehangno, famous for pasta, omurice, and more.

Where is Omil Hyehwa Daehangno, and what are its hours?

🏠 Name: Omil Hyehwa Daehangno 📍 Location: 2F, 35 Daemyeong-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea 🕙 Hours: 11:30–21:15 ⏰ Break time weekdays only 15:15–16:30

Omil Hyehwa Daehangno is famous not just for lunch but for its dinner menu too. The dishes look cute and pretty, so I think kids would love it too. I'd also recommend it as a date or blind-date spot.

Inside Omil Hyehwa Daehangno: full tables at 3pm and a self-service bar

Walking in, I saw a clean kitchen and tables that were already full. It really is a Hyehwa hot spot — popular even around 3pm.

What caught my eye was the cute interior. There was a baby chair and cute little decor pieces, so it'd be great to bring a kid along.

Side dishes were self-serve. There was a baby chair right next to it too. I could feel the owner's thoughtfulness — even phone charging was neatly set up.

This Hyehwa restaurant Omil had an unusual way of ordering. Tapping my phone on the sticker on the table brought up the order screen. They're also running a light review event, so if you want a free ade, it's worth doing.

The Omil Hyehwa Daehangno menu, and why we chose the set for two

Omil is a proper hot spot, with several famous menu items. In particular the swirl omurice with cute ducks and the pasta dishes were famous. We decided to go with the set menu. Since it's a hot spot, everything looked delicious, so it was hard to choose.

How the cheese katsu, spicy hanger steak risotto and corn fritters tasted

We ordered the set menu. It was made up of 2 mains + 1 side + 2 drinks. For the mains, the sizzling cheese katsu and the spicy hanger steak risotto covered both spicy and savory.

On top of that we ordered crunchy corn fritters as a side. An unexpected visual attack of a side dish from a Daehangno restaurant.

For drinks we tried basil tomato ade and a peach highball. I was tempted to just get a plain soda, but I went with the special drinks you can only enjoy at Omil, this Daehangno restaurant.

This round of menu picks was a real success, word for word. Especially the cheese katsu — there was even a performance where they pour cheese right at the table, which was so fun to watch.

The spicy risotto cleaned up the palate that could've gotten heavy from the cheese katsu. Also the spiciness wasn't too much, just right, and it kept making me want to reach for the cheese right away.

On top of that, the corn fritters came with plastic gloves for eating with your hands, and they were pre-cut so your hands wouldn't feel awkward pulling them apart. Just a light bite and it separated easily, no crumbs flying everywhere, and it tasted just as good as it looked — kids would love it. It reminded me of the addictive corn (마약옥수수) I loved as a kid.

Basil tomato ade and peach highball at Omil

And the drinks! Basil tomato usually makes you think of pasta, so this was my first time having it as an ade. But the drink had a sweet-and-bitter tomato flavor with a clean, fragrant basil aroma that made for a proper palate cleanser.

And the peach highball was a drink with just the right amount of fizz and a sweet peach flavor. Whether it was mixed weak or the combination was just perfect, there was zero alcohol taste, and even the peach pulp bits were perfect.

Is Omil Hyehwa Daehangno a good place to eat before a Daehangno play?

I stumbled onto this hot spot before going to see a play in Daehangno and had no idea I'd end up having such a perfect meal for lunch. We ate so well at this hot spot that my husband said he was still full even after the play ended. And the staff kindly explained how to eat certain dishes and how to use the self-service bar, so even though the menu items were somewhat unfamiliar, we were able to eat well and leave satisfied.

Next time I go back to this Hyehwa hot spot, I'll have to try the cute duck omurice.