Itaewon Korean restaurant scouted with Mom for in-law meeting: Modam

Modam Itaewon is a hanjeongsik (Korean set-course) restaurant on the first floor of the Mondrian Hotel in Itaewon, and this time I went there with just my mom for a meal. These days when I go out to eat with my mom, I find myself looking for somewhere with a bit of atmosphere, not just tasty food. She'd said before that she wanted to try a proper hanjeongsik place sometime, so I looked around and ended up at Modam Itaewon.

I originally just went for a meal with my mom, but after eating, I thought this place would actually be a good option if a big occasion like a formal meeting with in-laws ever comes up. So for anyone searching for a hanjeongsik restaurant in Itaewon to meet the in-laws at, let me share how it actually felt to visit.

Modam Itaewon location, hours and parking

Modam Itaewon is on the first floor of the Mondrian Seoul Itaewon hotel. It's open 11:00–21:30, with a break time from 15:00 to 17:00. Hotel parking is available and valet parking is an option too.

Being inside a hotel, it had a different feel from a typical hanjeongsik restaurant. You just walk into the hotel and follow the signs to Modam.

Is the private room at Modam Itaewon right for meeting the in-laws?

The main hall at Modam Itaewon was bigger than I expected, and the whole place felt calm and clean, probably because it's inside a hotel. There's also a private room where you can close the door and eat, which seemed like it would be great for a meet-the-parents dinner where you need to actually talk.

What to order at Modam Itaewon

Looking at the menu at Modam Itaewon, there were more set-course options than I expected, so it was a little hard to decide at first. From what I found in other reviews, the assorted seafood jang with gim-butter rice and the deodeok gui with charcoal-grilled tteokgalbi seemed to be popular, and there were also boribulgogi (dried yellow corvina) and tofu steak sets on the menu.

You order from a tablet at the table, and we went with these two:

• Assorted seafood jang + gim-butter rice set (₩45,000)
• Deodeok gui + charcoal tteokgalbi set (₩45,000)

Appetizers: seasonal sashimi and bracken fern buckwheat noodles in perilla oil

Before the main sets came out, Modam Itaewon served a seasonal sashimi appetizer first. Eating it with the salad underneath was so good...! I honestly wanted to just keep eating that alone!

After that came fruit and fried gim chips (seasoned seaweed), a green salad with barley shrimp chips, bracken fern buckwheat noodles with perilla oil, and Modam gangjeong (a Korean sweet rice snack).

The bracken fern buckwheat noodles with perilla oil were more memorable than I expected. I usually like bracken fern, but eating it this way with buckwheat noodles felt totally different.

The Modam gangjeong was also super crispy and came in bite-sized pieces, so it was nice to snack on lightly in between courses!!

🦐 How is the seafood jang and gamtae butter rice set?

Modam's assorted seafood jang set (₩45,000) came with abalone, shrimp, and mussels. Eating it together with the gim-butter rice made it feel different from just eating the seafood jang on its own.

The soy-sauce base itself wasn't salty and had a deep savory flavor, so all the seafood tasted great!!! As a seafood jang lover, I basically finished mine in no time.

If you like seafood, the assorted seafood jang set is worth keeping an eye on. Sharing one plate each with my mom, I was glad we'd ordered two different sets.

The seafood jang set comes with gim-butter rice. It has a subtle buttery aroma with gim mixed in, so it's better to lay a little seafood jang on top rather than mixing it all together.

🥩 What comes with the grilled deodeok and charcoal tteokgalbi set?

Modam's deodeok gui + charcoal tteokgalbi set (₩45,000) comes with charcoal-grilled tteokgalbi (Korean short rib patty) and grilled deodeok, plus today's rice and soup, cheongyang chili water kimchi, and three side dishes. This was the set my mom liked more, honestly, and she ate it happily haha.

🍨 Dessert: perilla leaf sorbet

The meal at Modam Itaewon ended with a perilla leaf sorbet. At first I was curious what a sorbet made from perilla leaves would even taste like, but it was a great palate cleanser after the meal. It's not a dessert you normally see at the end of a hanjeongsik meal, so it stuck with me.

💡 Should you visit Modam Itaewon with your parents before the in-law meeting?

If you're looking for a hanjeongsik restaurant in Itaewon for a meet-the-parents dinner, Modam Itaewon is worth considering. Being inside a hotel with a private room to eat in made it good for quiet family conversation.

For anyone like me who visits with their own parents first to scope out a place for a future meet-the-parents dinner, it's worth eating there in person and checking the atmosphere for yourself. The food matters, but so does whether the space lets you talk comfortably, right? In that sense, I liked being able to check out both the room and the hotel atmosphere together.

It was a day I got to relax and talk with my mom over a good hanjeongsik meal after a long time 🤍 If you're looking for a place to eat with your parents in Itaewon, or a quiet restaurant with a private room, Modam Itaewon is worth a look ✨