Geomdan bar with a dry highball and shrimp noodle soup: Matgim

For my birthday, I wanted dinner somewhere a little more special and lovely, so I’m introducing the place I visited 😊 It’s Matgim (맡김), a seasonal omakase bar near Geomdan New Town in Incheon’s Seo-gu! Matgim prepares its food with the thought, “Leave the menu to us, come in, and relax while enjoying the atmosphere and your time.” 🤍 They make everything with care, from sauces to every last seasoning, so I arrived full of anticipation 🥰

Matgim information and menu

📍 Location 129, 1F, 788 Seogot-ro, Geomdan-gu, Incheon, South Korea ⏰ Hours 18:00–24:00 Last order 23:00 Closed every Tuesday

🚗 Parking 2 hours free in the building parking lot

📋 Menu

• Per person (5–6 dishes) ₩35,000
• Per person (7–8 dishes) ₩50,000
• Southeast Asian-style shrimp noodle soup ₩8,000
• Wine by the glass ₩10,000
• Wine by the bottle (choose directly in the wine room) ₩70,000–₩150,000
• Suntory Premium Draft Beer ₩9,000
• Matgim Highball ₩8,000
• Yamanoka (shochu) ₩10,000
• Sekitoba (sweet potato soju) ₩10,000
• Hendrick’s (gin and tonic) ₩12,000
• Whisky (single malt/bourbon/peat/cognac) ₩13,000–₩25,000
• Seasonal ade ₩9,000

The open kitchen from the bar table

There were bar seats and tables for four, but I reserved the bar table for that omakase feeling 😁

The wines displayed along one side worked so nicely with the interior—it had such a lovely atmosphere 🧡

There’s also a wine room, and apparently it has a photo spot inside too 📸

Because the kitchen is open, I could watch the chef preparing the food right in front of me, enjoying both the fun of watching and the fun of eating at once 😆

My September ₩35,000 omakase order

I ordered the ₩35,000 omakase with five to six dishes, plus Matgim shrimp noodle soup, a Matgim Highball, and seasonal ade!!

• ₩35,000 omakase: fig & tofu cream cheese, grilled young cabbage, tripe taco, daily pasta, pork tenderloin steak, plum granita
• ₩50,000 omakase: fig & tofu cream cheese, grilled young cabbage, tripe taco, daily pasta, Swedish meatballs, flat iron steak & herb chimichurri, plum granita

Fig & tofu cream cheese

The appetizer was a salad with seasonal figs and plums, arugula, and house-made tofu cream cheese!

Since the cream cheese was made from tofu, it was nutty and not at all heavy!! Personally, I loved that it didn’t have the distinctive tang of regular cream cheese 😊 The tart plum, sweet fig, and arugula came together perfectly as an appetite-opening appetizer 🤍

How was the signature grilled young cabbage?

Next came Matgim’s signature grilled young cabbage!! Topped with cheese, bacon, scallions, and salsa, it really brought out the cabbage’s flavor 👍👍 I was especially impressed that the young cabbage itself became sweeter the more I chewed—perhaps because they select only good ingredients 😋 It was a dish that immediately showed how much care the chef puts into every ingredient choice 💚

Tripe taco

After the grilled cabbage came a taco topped with doenjang (fermented soybean paste)-based tripe, a special sauce with a wasabi-like kick, and fragrant cilantro 🌮 The cilantro wasn’t overpowering; it just gently tied the flavors together, so even people who usually avoid cilantro can enjoy this light, clean dish without strong likes or dislikes 😁

Daily pasta with a hint of truffle

The daily pasta that followed wasn’t the long noodles we usually imagine, but a Southern Italian-style short pasta! With truffle and three kinds of mushrooms, the subtle truffle aroma really got my appetite going 🍄🟫

After mixing it so the sauce, pasta, and mushrooms came together well, I scooped up a generous spoonful. The nutty flavor filling my mouth, the rich mushroom texture, and the truffle flavor that lingered without being too much were honestly the best combination ✨

The tender pork tenderloin steak

Here’s the highlight: pork tenderloin steak 😋 It was sous vide, so it was incredibly tender with no toughness at all!

The accompaniments neatly lifted what could have been a simple meat flavor, making it even more delicious 🧡

Southeast Asian-style shrimp noodle soup

Reimagined with Matgim’s own recipe, the shrimp noodle soup had a subtle curry aroma and an exotic Southeast Asian-style savoriness, and it was even tastier than I expected 👍 I was already quite full from the course, but its distinctive deep broth never became tiring, so I happily finished every last noodle 😋 It’s a special dish I would have been sad to miss!

Plum granita for dessert

This crisp, refreshing, sherbet-like granita was topped with bouncy Shine Muscat grape jelly, and the chewy texture was so appealing 👍 The plum’s signature sweet-and-tart flavor neatly refreshed my palate ✨

Matgim Highball & seasonal ade

The Matgim Highball was also far more satisfying than I expected! Unlike the sweet highballs I usually drink, it was a dry style with no sweetness at all! Strangely enough, it didn’t have a strong, bitter alcohol taste, so it went down clean and light 🍹🍸

The seasonal ade was a strawberry ade full of freshness 🍓 It didn’t taste like something quickly made with artificial commercial ade syrup; there were actual strawberry pieces to chew, which made the texture completely different. I could taste the fruit’s natural sweetness, and it left my mouth clean rather than coated after drinking it 🥰

Why it’s also good for second or third rounds

Matgim is great for a meal, but here’s why it also works for second or third-round drinks ‼️ Depending on how full you are, they lower the per-person price and offer snacks that go well with drinks‼️ Getting one or two dishes for just ₩10,000 per person, in such a nice, quiet atmosphere, makes Matgim perfect for a date or a blind date too 🥰 If you’re looking for an omakase bar in Incheon’s Seo-gu, give Matgim a visit 🧡❤️