Last Round Payer · 41 stories

A Last Tab in Mullae

Notes from a few Seoul bars, mostly written the morning after. · Writes about: Restaurants · Bars · Cafés · Hair & beauty salons · Stays · Things to do

PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Yeonnam-dong pasta spot, Saturday walk-in window seat: Hôtel de

Hôtel de Couture (오뗄드꾸뜨) is a pasta and steak restaurant in a Yeonnam-dong alley in Mapo, Seoul, 567m from Exit 3 of Hongik Univ. Station. On a late Saturday lunch, two diners walked into Hôtel de Couture without a reservation, got a two-person window table, and shared a basil shrimp cream pasta with smoked peas and an egg in hell with about 3 soft-boiled eggs. Verdict: one pasta plus one egg in hell is an easy, generous order for two at Hôtel de Couture, with bread left over.

Written Oct 14, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Insa-dong hanok gomtang: solo dinner, sogokju by the glass, Wolhadong

Wolhadong (월하동) is a pork gomtang (pork bone soup) restaurant in a hanok on Insa-dong 8-gil in Jongno, Seoul. On an evening out near Anguk Station, the writer dined alone at Wolhadong and ordered Wolha Gomtang for 12,000 won, a half plate of cold jeyuk (chilled sliced pork) for 10,000 won and a generous glass of sogokju (Korean rice wine) for 5,000 won, enjoying the clear yet savory broth and pork as tender as suyuk (boiled pork). Wolhadong is an easygoing Insa-dong gomtang spot for a solo meal with a drink.

Written Jul 7, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulBars

Nonhyeon food alley bar for yuk sashimi and soju: Yeongdong Pocha

Yeongdong Pocha (영동포차) is a fusion pocha (Korean-style pub) in the middle of the Nonhyeon food alley in Gangnam, Seoul, near Exit 3 of Nonhyeon Station. On a weekday evening, two friends started with honey highballs and then drank more than 4 bottles of soju over the signature Yeongdong Samhap alone, a platter of sweet shrimp, yuk sashimi (Korean raw beef), uni, scallop and avocado. The yuk sashimi was chewier and beefier than six years earlier. If you want a bar near Nonhyeon Station for yuk sashimi and seafood, Yeongdong Pocha's Yeongdong Samhap is the answer.

Written Jul 17, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Sinnonhyeon gomtang spot: solo after-work window booth, Geumnyeong

Geumnyeong Gomtang Yeoksam Branch (금녕곰탕 역삼점) is a Korean gomtang (beef bone soup) restaurant in Gangnam, Seoul, a 2-minute walk from Exit 4 of Sinnonhyeon Station. The writer ate there alone after work before a holiday, ordering the special-size minari gomtang (beef soup with water dropwort) and seasoned pollock salad, and was seated at a separate window booth because the hall's air conditioning was being repaired. With Hanwoo beef piled into the minari gomtang, cabbage kimchi and pollock salad, Geumnyeong Gomtang made for a hearty, restorative solo meal.

Written Jul 20, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSongpa, SeoulRestaurants

24-hour Jamsil sundaeguk restaurant: 2nd round with Cheongha, Boseung

Boseung Hoegwan Bangi Branch (보승회관 방이점) is a 24-hour gukbap (Korean rice soup) restaurant on Ogeum-ro in Bangi-dong, Songpa, Seoul. After a first round of drinks with a friend, two people shared one ₩16,000 solo special set of sundaeguk (Korean blood sausage soup) late at night. The set came with 3 kinds of sundae and 12 slices of suyuk (boiled pork) and head meat, so there was food left over. For a late-night drink and hangover soup near Jamsil, the solo special set at Boseung Hoegwan Bangi Branch is a strong pick.

Written Jul 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulBars

Sinnonhyeon wine bar, round table and Cabernet bottle: Mixed Table

Mixed Table is a basement lounge and wine bar near Sinnonhyeon Station in Gangnam, Seoul. On a third visit, as the second stop of a wine date, the writer sat at a round table in a separate area of Mixed Table with a bottle of Belaretta Cabernet Sauvignon and kaymak with melon. Mixed Table is a reasonable place to enjoy wine by the bottle, and the black-and-white films playing in the background make it a date spot worth recommending.

Written Jul 25, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangneung, GangwonCafés

Gangneung café for couples: tofu gelato croffle set, Dokkaebi Gelato

Dokkaebi Gelato (도깨비젤라또) is a handmade gelato rooftop café on the Jumunjin beachfront in Gangneung, right in front of a filming location from the K-drama Goblin. The writer booked ahead with her boyfriend, ate the Dokkaebi Gelaple set (Chodang soft tofu gelato on a croffle) at a 2nd-floor ocean-view seat, then took sea photos at the Goblin filming spot just outside. Dokkaebi Gelato is a great Gangneung dessert stop for an unusual-looking gelato croffle paired with Jumunjin's sea view.

Written Aug 1, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangneung, GangwonRestaurants

Gangmun Beach noodle restaurant: 8am eel buckwheat gimbap at Gossi's

Gossi's Donghae Makguksu & Sundubu Kalguksu Main Branch is an ocean-view makguksu (buckwheat noodle) and buckwheat dish restaurant in front of Gangmun Beach in Gangneung, open from 8am. As the first meal of a 2-night, 3-day summer vacation, the writer and her boyfriend had Chodang pine nut sundubu (soft tofu) makguksu, perilla oil makguksu, and eel and spicy pork buckwheat gimbap; the pine nut sundubu broth, smooth as cream soup, and the 13,000-won eel buckwheat gimbap were the highlights. For an early first meal in Gangneung while looking out at Gangmun Beach, Gossi's Donghae Makguksu is a great fit.

Written Jul 31, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulRestaurants

Gangnam Korean BBQ date with BYO pinot noir and black beef: Hwaseol

Hwaseol Gangnam Direct Branch (화설 강남직영점) is a beef and pork Korean BBQ restaurant near Exit 7 of Sinnonhyeon Station in Seoul, where you can bring your own wine with free corkage. On Jungbok, a midsummer day when Koreans traditionally eat samgyetang, the writer skipped the chicken soup for a date over the Hwaseol 1% black beef platter (400g, 109,000 won) and a store-bought bottle of Elephant in the Room Pinot Noir, while staff grilled the flower cut, sirloin and rib finger right to the end. For anyone who wants hanwoo and wine together at a stylish Gangnam Korean BBQ, Hwaseol Gangnam Direct Branch is an easy recommendation.

Written Jul 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangneung, GangwonCafés

Gangneung gift shop: corn & purple sweet potato sand, Gangneung Sand

Gangneung Sand Main Branch (Cookie Castle) is a signature Gangneung dessert shop on Seonggokgoyang-gil in Gangneung, Gangwon, housed in a white-and-blue building completed in 2025. On a 3-day, 2-night summer trip in Gangwon, the writer stopped at Gangneung Sand Main Branch before heading to Yangyang and bought two boxes, Chodang corn and purple sweet potato, at 17,000 won per box. The boxes were kept in the lodging fridge and carried all the way to Seoul with no change in taste. Verdict: Gangneung Sand was a safe, well-chosen Gangneung travel gift to share with family and coworkers.

Written Aug 4, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho noodle restaurant for a last trip lunch: Haepung Jangkalguksu

Sokcho Haepung Jangkalguksu is a jangkalguksu (gochujang-based knife-cut noodle soup) restaurant at the entrance to Saemaeul village near Sokcho Beach in Sokcho, Gangwon. Before heading back to Seoul, the writer arrived right at opening on a weekday for a last lunch of the Gangwon trip and ordered jangkalguksu, perilla kalguksu and a ghee butter potato waffle; the jangkalguksu was not very spicy and finished clean and refreshing, while the perilla kalguksu was nutty without any extra seasoning. Sokcho Haepung Jangkalguksu is an easy bowl to finish even for people who find spicy broth hard going.

Written Aug 5, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangneung, GangwonRestaurants

Gangneung cockle bibimbap restaurant opening at 10:30: Yeonhwa Maeul

Yeonhwa Maeul Kkomak Bibimbap is a Korean restaurant specializing in cockle bibimbap and mixed mulhoe (raw fish in cold broth), next to the lotus field in Pungho Village, Gangdong-myeon, Gangneung. On day two of a summer vacation, we arrived for the 10:30 opening and ordered the medium cockle bibimbap and mulhoe set for ₩48,000, which was more than enough for two, and the staff finished the meal with freshly steamed waxy corn and lotus leaf tea on the house. If you want both cockle bibimbap and mulhoe on a Gangneung trip, the Yeonhwa Maeul set is the way to go.

Written Aug 8, 2026Sponsored