Dog-friendly pasta restaurant near Seoul Forest: Kongkase Seongsu

Kongkase Seongsu (콩카세 성수) in Seongdong-gu, Seoul

There are so many restaurants with pretty interiors around Seoul Forest. So instead of the usual gukbap (soup) or Korean BBQ place, my friend and I decided to try somewhere with a good atmosphere — the kind of place you'd take a date or a blind date to. Today I'm writing about Kongkase Seongsu, a Seoul Forest pasta restaurant with great vibes and even better food.

Where is Kongkase Seongsu, and how far is it from Seoul Forest Station?

Kongkase Seongsu, this Seoul Forest pasta restaurant, is about a 4-minute walk from Seoul Forest Station and around 5 minutes from Ttukseom Station, so it's easy to reach from either station. It's also a good spot to pair with a walk around Seoul Forest before or after a date.

We visited on a weekday around 6pm as a walk-in, and luckily got seated right away without a wait. But the place was almost fully booked both before and after our meal, so if you're planning a weekend visit, I'd recommend booking ahead through Naver or Catch Table for peace of mind.

Inside Kongkase Seongsu: the atmosphere and bringing a dog

Kongkase Seongsu, this great-atmosphere restaurant near Seoul Forest, had an overall upscale, calm feel. Maybe that's why most of the guests when I visited were couples or small groups.

It's a nice place to eat with friends too, but the space itself has such a good atmosphere that it would work well for dates or blind dates — occasions where the restaurant's vibe matters. Kongkase Seongsu, this Seoul Forest restaurant, also allows dogs.

There was a table right next to ours with a customer who'd brought their dog. We love dogs, so we were happy just having it sit nearby, but if you have allergies or are afraid of dogs, this might be worth keeping in mind. That said, ours was the only table with a dog, so it doesn't seem to be a common occurrence.

How to order at Kongkase Seongsu and the three dishes we chose

At Kongkase Seongsu, this Seoul Forest pasta restaurant, you can order via the QR code on the table. They also give you a paper menu, but the QR code shows photos of the food, so I found it easier to use.

We ordered the white ragu pasta, pork jowl with kimchi puree, and beef Wellington. Originally, since it was just the two of us, we planned to get only two dishes, but they were so good that we ended up adding the signature beef Wellington too, since we were curious about it.

White ragu pasta: how was the fresh-noodle texture?

Kongkase Seongsu's white ragu pasta is made with fresh noodles. The noodles were quite thin, similar in feel to Japanese ramen noodles.

When I bit into them, they snapped cleanly, giving a bouncy texture in the mouth. The sauce was a savory cream base with ragu mixed in, so you got the meat's flavor and texture along with the noodles.

Pork jowl with kimchi puree: smoky char meets kimchi

This was the dish I was most looking forward to, since it seemed like an interesting fusion dish. The outer surface of the pork jowl is torched once more before serving, so I could taste a subtle smoky char right away.

Paired with the kimchi puree and the cabbage that came alongside it, it tasted a bit like pickles but also had that familiar kimchi flavor — both comforting and unusual at the same time.

The combination with the cream-based ragu pasta from before worked really well — light and not greasy at all.

Beef Wellington at Kongkase Seongsu: order on the spot, no reservation needed

Kongkase Seongsu's beef Wellington took about 15 minutes to cook after ordering. At many other restaurants, you often need to reserve beef Wellington in advance, so it was convenient that Kongkase Seongsu let us order it on the spot.

As soon as the dish arrived, my friend and I were both busy grabbing our cameras because of how it looked. Since the beef Wellington already came sliced neatly in half, it was great for photos and easy to share.

The tenderloin was cooked to about medium-rare, and I could taste both the crisp pastry exterior and the soft tenderloin inside together.

Personally, I really enjoyed the mashed potatoes underneath the beef Wellington. Eaten together with the tenderloin, they added a soft, savory richness that made the whole dish feel much more moist. The mini onions and cabbage on the side added a crunchy texture, so both the taste and texture were satisfying.

Why Kongkase Seongsu works for a Seoul Forest date

Every dish we picked at Kongkase Seongsu, this Seoul Forest pasta restaurant, was satisfying. It's easy to reach from the stations, and there are plenty of other spots nearby to pair with it for a date course, so if you're looking for a great-atmosphere date restaurant near Seoul Forest, I'd recommend Kongkase Seongsu.