Hongdae oil pasta restaurant: spicy roe vs seafood set for 2, Omil

Omil Hongdae opening hours and parking

Omil Hongdae is on the 2nd floor of 178-8 Yanghwa-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul. It is open 11:30 to 21:15 on weekdays (Mon–Fri) and 11:00 to 21:15 on Saturday and Sunday. Last order is 20:30 every day.

There is no parking, so you'll need to use a nearby public car park.

Hongdae has so many pasta and Western restaurants that it's hard to decide where to go. Out of all of them, I went to Omil Hongdae, which I'd heard has a great atmosphere and serves omurice (rice omelet) and pasta at good value.

How close is Omil Hongdae to Hongik Univ. Station?

Omil Hongdae is just a 2-minute walk from Exit 8 of Hongik Univ. Station. The location is a big plus: after eating you can head out to the Hongdae streets, cafés, shopping or a cinema, so it works perfectly as a Hongdae date course.

Omil Hongdae atmosphere

The inside of Omil Hongdae was very clean and warm and cozy overall ✨

It feels like a casual Western restaurant where you can sit back and eat comfortably, rather than somewhere heavy or formal. Most people come for dates, but I saw plenty of friends and groups too 🫶

Omil Hongdae menu and set-for-two price

The set for two at Omil Hongdae comes with 2 mains + 1 side + 2 drinks, and it costs under ₩50,000. From the rubber duck omurice and gochujang pasta you can only get at Omil Hongdae to Western, Korean and Japanese dishes, you get a real variety in one sitting..! 🍝 It's a Hongdae pasta restaurant that's good value too.

What is soba maki, the side in the set for two?

I ordered the set for two, which has the best value: 2 mains, 1 soba maki side and 2 drinks. From the look to the portion, just perfect..! 🤭

First up was the soba maki side. I wondered whether it was really a side, because it looked and tasted so polished ✨

Soba maki is a futomaki-style (thick sushi roll) roll of buckwheat noodles, vegetables and Japanese-style rolled omelet. It's about the size of an adult's palm, so one bite has a really rich texture.

Maybe because of the buckwheat noodles, it feels much lighter than regular gimbap (seaweed rice roll), and the softness of the omelet adds to it. It's a perfect side for summer.

Rubber duck omurice: can you take the duck home?

Omil Hongdae's signature rubber duck omurice comes with a rubber duck doll, and you can take it home. I just laughed as soon as it arrived, haha. Details like this are so fun 🐤

How is there a cute little chick on top of a quail egg, haha! It tastes good and looks great too, which makes eating omurice even more fun.

The egg on the rubber duck omurice is soft and moist when you scoop it with a spoon, and the salmon fried rice inside is nutty and savory. Together with the sauce, it's a perfect match.

How does the spicy oil pasta with roe taste?

The spicy oil pasta I got in the set at Omil Hongdae is packed with nutty roe (myeongran, salted pollock roe). It was so much better than I expected, I was surprised..! Every bite the savory flavor was just crazy good.

The signature popping texture of the roe is still there. Being oil-based it could be a little heavy, but the spiciness spreads and balances it out perfectly 🥹

What goes into the spicy seafood oil pasta?

The spicy seafood oil pasta at Omil Hongdae has fresh clams, mussels and squid. Right away a subtle smoky wok flavor comes up, and it isn't greasy at all, so it's really appealing 🔥

There's a surprisingly generous amount of seafood, and none of it was fishy. It was fresh, and blended with the oil the flavor is deep.

Omil Hongdae overall review

Omil is a fusion Western restaurant in Hongdae where you can enjoy everything from cute rubber duck omurice to Korean, Western and Japanese dishes. Ordering the set for two gives you a great lineup at once, so it was perfect value for a date. It's close to the station and the atmosphere is relaxed, so I highly recommend Omil Hongdae if you're looking for somewhere to eat pasta in Hongdae ⭐️