Solo weekday lunch omakase in Pangyo: summer 8-course at Kkweda

I finally had some free time on a weekday afternoon, so I headed over to Kkweda in Pangyo, a place I'd been curious about for a while. I'd heard the menu changes completely every season, so I figured I had to go before this summer's course ended haha.

Thinking about eating a course meal on a weekday afternoon while everyone else is hard at work gave me an extra dopamine kick, in a slightly guilty-pleasure way (bad habit of mine,, ). So here's my review of Kkweda Pangyo Avenue France Branch's summer stamina course.

Kkweda Pangyo Avenue France Branch: location, hours, price

• 📍25, Dongpangyo-ro 177beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Hours: Lunch 12:00–14:30 / Dinner 1st seating 17:00–18:45 / Dinner 2nd seating 19:00–21:00 (break 14:30–17:00)
• Parking: Avenue France underground parking
• Price: Summer Stamina Course ₩75,000 per person (same for lunch and dinner / one drink required per person at dinner)
• Reservations: Catch Table or Naver Reservation, no walk-ins

If it were tucked inside Avenue France, it'd be pretty easy to get lost looking for it, but Kkweda is set apart facing the main road, so it's easy to find. First-timers, keep this in mind.

Out front, this season's summer course was displayed at a glance. From watermelon gazpacho to yogurt sorbet, eight courses total — just the names scream summer ʕ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ʔ⊃⊂ʕ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ʔ

Bar table seating facing the open kitchen

I sat at Kkweda's bar table, which faces the open kitchen directly, so I could watch every course being prepared start to finish. With beige marble and indirect lighting, the mood was calm yet upscale b

Watching the staff carefully place even a single leaf just right got my expectations up before the course even started ⚗︎·̫⚗︎

The Summer Stamina 8-course: dish by dish

1. Watermelon gazpacho

The first course of Kkweda's summer menu was watermelon gazpacho, a Spanish-style cold soup. It had watermelon, squid, oxalis, and melon in it — watermelon with squid made me go huh..? at first, but the squid was surprisingly chewy, keeping a nice texture, and it wasn't fishy at all — sweet and refreshing, a light way to start the summer meal.

2. Grilled vegetable salad

The second course was a grilled vegetable salad with almonds, vegetables, and prosciutto. Since the vegetables were grilled rather than served raw, their natural sweetness really came through. On top of that, the yogurt-based sauce was insanely good — I'm not usually one to go out of my way to eat vegetables, but I devoured this happily (๑ᵔ⤙ᵔ๑)

3. Chodang corn custard

The third course was chodang corn custard, with chodang sweet corn, scallops, and shallots. The scallops were sous-vide cooked, so they were plump and springy without being chewy — genuinely amazing,, ✺⋆* (⸝⸝⸝´▽`⸝⸝⸝)⋆*✺ The slightly sweet sauce was almost sinful. I wanted more, but the portion was just tantalizingly small, so I scraped the bowl clean. If this were sold à la carte, I'd order seconds!!

4. Charcoal-grilled Iberico pork

The fourth course was charcoal-grilled Iberico pork with chimichurri sauce and potatoes. The pork shoulder didn't taste like typical pork at all — moist, tender, and luxurious. Chimichurri, apparently a South American herb sauce usually paired with steak, worked wonderfully with the meat without any greasiness, and the potatoes came sliced thin with cuts instead of whole, so each bite had several layers to chew through — great texture and flavor (っ˘ڡ˘ς)

5. Sea bass karaage

The fifth course was sea bass karaage with yuzu ponzu. The batter wasn't thick, yet every bite had a crisp crunch, and the flesh underneath was soft and flaky. Dipping the moist, tender sea bass karaage into the grated-radish yuzu ponzu was, well, incredible.

6. Eel donburi

The sixth course was eel donburi. The surface was glistening, like it had been basted with sauce multiple times. Eel and pickled melon sat on top of seasoned rice, and the rice was so chewy and delicious, almost like sweet rice cake, I could've eaten two bowls of just the rice alone G͜͡o͜͡o͜͡d͜͡(*ˊᵕˋ*)੭ ੈ❤︎ The rice-eel-wasabi combo was fantastic, and this was my first time trying pickled melon — sweet and tangy enough that I never got tired of it.

7. Neungi duck soup

Next was neungi mushroom duck soup, served with udon noodles and sliced boiled duck. It had a broth similar to chicken stock but not greasy at all — clean, and perfect as a summer health food. The bean sprouts and chives were nice and crunchy, and the noodles were chewy and delicious.

8. Yogurt sorbet

The last course was yogurt sorbet, served with blueberry jam and streusel crumble. The crumble stayed crunchy and paired perfectly with the yogurt. Sweet and tangy ㅠ — a perfect finish.

Private room, corkage, and how it works for meetings

Ah, and besides the bar table, Kkweda also has this 6-person hall table, and there's a separate private room further inside (reservable for 4–8 guests). Around dinner time, there were guests who seemed to be there for meetings or gatherings in the room area, and honestly, it felt quiet and clean enough to be perfect for a meeting spot. Corkage is also available, so pairing wine or whiskey with the meal sounds great too (₩30,000 for wine, ₩50,000 for whiskey / max 2 bottles).

Honest verdict after finishing all 8 courses

Now for my honest overall take after finishing Kkweda's summer stamina 8-course meal: the flavors kept the ingredient pairings fresh course after course, so it never felt boring, and the portions left me satisfied without being overly full or leaving me wanting more.

The atmosphere, with its open kitchen and bar table setup, made the food prep itself something worth watching, and I liked that too. As for value, ₩75,000 isn't bad at all for a fully seasonal course dining experience that changes every season. It's fully reservation-based, so walk-ins aren't possible — make sure to book ahead before visiting ✿𓂃 ⸜₍ ᐢ. ̫ .ᐢ₎⸝

Who this is for

• Anyone in Pangyo looking for a seasonal course dining menu that changes every season
• Anyone who wants to leisurely enjoy dishes that feel in tune with the season
• Anyone who enjoys watching the open kitchen while eating
• Anyone who wants to quietly enjoy a bar table alone or with one other person
• Anyone looking for a private room for a work dinner or meeting
• Anyone who wants to pair the meal with corkage wine or whiskey