Wine bar in Gongneung-dong, Seoul: lunch brunch date at LA RUELLE

Today I'm introducing LA RUELLE, a spot I visited while looking for a nice-atmosphere French restaurant in Gongneung-dong.

I visited during lunchtime and enjoyed a relaxed, brunch-like meal. I'd heard there was a place to get French food in Gongneung-dong and was curious, and once I actually visited, not just the food but the whole space had such a strong European feel that it seemed like it'd make a great date spot too.

LA RUELLE was originally run as a wine bar, so it definitely had more of a wine-friendly atmosphere than your typical restaurant. It was great for wine lovers, but also for people like me who don't know much about wine — there were fun elements that let you pick a wine anyway. So here's my lunchtime review of LA RUELLE.

Where is LA RUELLE, and what are its hours?

• 📍 18 Gongneung-ro 35-gil, 2nd floor, Nowon-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• ⏰ Tue–Sun 11:30–23:00 / break time 15:00–17:30 / last order 21:30
• 🚗 No parking ❌
• ✨ Corkage available, wine pairing, group bookings

LA RUELLE is located in Gongneung-dong, on the second floor of a building. It's technically the second floor, but since the ground floor is semi-basement, it felt like the third floor haha. It's inside a building tucked in an alley, so if it's your first visit, it helps to check the exterior as you find your way — once you head up to the second floor, you'll find the entrance. It's also easy to reach from Taereung Station, so it's worth keeping in mind whether you're searching for Gongneung-dong restaurants or Taereung restaurants.

Since LA RUELLE is on the second floor, it's not the kind of place that jumps out at you flashily from street level.

Once you step inside the building and head up the stairs, you'll find the entrance to LA RUELLE.

If anything, being tucked away above a building in an alley like this gave it the feel of a small restaurant only insiders would know about.

Inside LA RUELLE: a European back-alley mood

Open the door and step inside, and a completely different atmosphere unfolds from what you saw outside the building.

Overall it was a space that brought to mind a restaurant or wine bar tucked into a small alley in Europe.

Warm lighting, calm tones, and cute little props all came together, so it felt like stepping into a small restaurant down an alley while traveling in Europe.

The space itself wasn't over-decorated but felt cozy and calm, which actually made it great for eating and chatting.

There was also a dedicated space for professionally storing wine. Seeing all the different wines neatly arranged gave the sense that this is a place where you can properly enjoy wine alongside your food.

If you love wine, browsing what's on offer would be fun on its own.

When I visited at lunch, natural light came in and made the space feel bright and comfortable, but I imagine in the evening, with the lights on, that distinctive wine-bar mood would really come through. So it seemed like a place for a relaxed, brunch-like meal during the day, and an atmospheric dinner with wine in the evening.

It also felt a little unexpected to find this kind of European vibe in Gongneung-dong.

The menu and the wine MBTI test

LA RUELLE serves a variety of dishes centered on French cuisine. With a French restaurant, the dish names alone can feel intimidating, but since each item came with a description, it was easy to reference when choosing.

And the fun part at LA RUELLE — the wine MBTI! Scan the QR code on the menu and you can take a wine MBTI test. Answer a few questions and you get a wine recommendation matched to your taste, so even people who don't know much about wine could use it without any pressure.

There are so many types of wine with names that can be hard to keep straight, so it's often tricky to know what to order the first time — being able to get a recommendation through such a simple test would be especially useful for wine beginners.

It also seemed like it'd be fun to each take the test with a companion and compare what wines you get recommended. If you already know wine well, you can just pick what suits your taste, and if you don't, you can get a recommendation — so it felt low-pressure no matter who you visit with.

Order — Beef bourguignon ₩33,000 / Bisque pasta ₩18,000

The amuse-bouche before the meal

First came the amuse-bouche. It was a light bite before digging into the dishes we ordered.

It was a nice bite-sized portion, good for whetting the appetite before the meal, and it let us catch a glimpse of LA RUELLE's own style right from the start. While we snacked on it lightly, the main dishes started arriving one by one.

Beef bourguignon, 33,000 won

This is one of the signature dishes of French cuisine, so I was curious about it.

The beef, cooked until soft, came together with a rich sauce for deep flavor.

The meat was tender enough to cut easily with a fork, and eating it together with the accompanying vegetables and sauce made for a great combination.

It reminded me of Korean galbi-jjim (braised short ribs) or jangjorim (soy-braised beef), so it wasn't unfamiliar at all haha. It was still clearly different from a regular steak, so it definitely felt like being at a French restaurant.

This dish in particular seemed like it would pair even better with wine, matching LA RUELLE's atmosphere well.

Bisque pasta, 18,000 won

The dish I liked most that day was the bisque pasta.

It's a pasta with shrimp, and above all, the sauce had a strong, distinct shrimp flavor that I really liked.

Just because shrimp is in a dish doesn't automatically mean you get a strong shrimp flavor, but LA RUELLE's bisque pasta had that distinctive, rich crustacean flavor really coming through in the sauce itself.

So the shrimp flavor hit right from the first bite, and the sauce soaked well into the noodles, making it tastier with every bite. I personally like pasta with a strong shrimp flavor, so of everything I ate that day, the bisque pasta was especially satisfying.

I think it would suit anyone who loves shrimp or seafood, and I'd recommend it to people who prefer a rich seafood flavor over the heaviness of a cream pasta.

Ordering both the beef bourguignon and the bisque pasta together was great since we got to try two very different styles of dish. If you're visiting with someone trying French food for the first time, ordering one clearly French dish like the bourguignon alongside a more familiar pasta dish, and sharing, seems like a good approach.

Is LA RUELLE worth a lunch date?

• A great pick if you're looking for a nice-atmosphere French restaurant in Gongneung-dong
• Easy to reach from Taereung Station too, so it's a solid choice among Taereung restaurants
• Located on the second floor of a building, giving it a cozy, calm atmosphere
• The interior evokes a small European restaurant, making it well suited for a date
• Originally a wine bar, so it's a great space to enjoy wine alongside food
• A dedicated space for professionally storing a variety of wines gives it genuine wine-bar character
• Lunch feels like a relaxed brunch, while evenings are great for enjoying wine with your meal
• The wine MBTI test via the menu's QR code makes it easy for wine beginners to get a recommendation
• Beef bourguignon is a French dish combining tender beef with a rich sauce
• Bisque pasta was especially satisfying thanks to its strong shrimp and crustacean flavor
• Recommended if you like pasta with a strong shrimp flavor