Breakfast poke and salad near Gyodae Station, Seoul: Salering

Salering Gyodae Direct Store: the old bakery spot near Gyodae Station

Salering Gyodae Direct Store is a salad and poke restaurant on the first floor of 15 Seochodaero 56-gil, Seocho-gu. A few years back when I lived nearby, this street was one of my regular morning walk routes, and there used to be a bakery here — now it's this.

Salering Gyodae Direct Store 🥫Address: 15 Seochodaero 56-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul 🥫Hours: Mon–Fri 08:15–21:00 (last order 20:30) / Sat, Sun 10:30–20:00 (last order 19:30) 🥫1–2 parking spots available in front of the store Even the sauces are delicious…

The exterior is so green and just looking at it makes you feel good — the kind of place that pulls you right in. Older folks who seemed to be out on their morning exercise nearby kept stopping to admire the sandwich board out front before moving on.

Inside Salering: solo bar seats and a plant-filled interior

Inside Salering Gyodae Direct Store, solo bar seats line the windows all the way around, and there are quite a few 2–4 person tables too. Honestly the plant interior is so pretty, like — is this a flower shop or a salad place?

The sunlight coming through the floor-to-ceiling windows feels amazing, and the bright, warm vibe instantly lifted my mood — so much so that I ended up being the suspicious person who spent 10 minutes photographing the store instead of ordering food 💦

Since this is the kind of menu people often come to eat solo, there are plenty of solo bar seats lined up along the windows

There are also quite a few 2–4 person tables, so the interior isn't cramped at all — this looked like a perfect lunchtime spot for office workers nearby

A 9am visit, with takeout orders already flying out

When I visited Salering Gyodae Direct Store at 9am, the owners already looked busy with takeout orders, with customers picking up food and delivery riders constantly coming and going — you could really feel how serious people are about wellness these days. A salad craving on a Monday morning?! I got so curious just how good Salering Gyodae Direct Store must be, and honestly, I was excited 👀

Spoons, chopsticks, and water are all self-serve, which makes things convenient. And just seeing the poster about their low-calorie brown rice and barley rice, said to lower blood sugar spikes tenfold, makes you feel healthier already 👏🏼

Surprisingly(?), Salering also sells alcohol — thinking about it, it fits perfectly with the whole brunch vibe, and I seriously debated getting a salad-and-beer combo for way too long... if only I didn't have plans right after 🥲

Raw salmon bibim poke with both gochujang mayo and mala mayo

The must-try signature dish at Salering, the raw salmon bibim poke (mixed poke bowl). Normally you only get one sauce as ordered, so why did I get two? Because I agonized so seriously between gochujang mayo and mala mayo that the owner ended up giving me a taste of the other one too 🥹 They were already SO kind, and this just moved me even more ㅜㅠㅠㅠ

But the most important thing is the taste, right? (dramatic pause)

Yes, it's insane (in the best way). Seriously, so good. The base ingredients are obviously fresh, and there's such a wide variety packed in that it'd taste great even plain — but the sauce here is next level... wait, this is a low-calorie meal?! Honestly if this is the option, I'll take Salering salad over fast food any day. Even with just the basic vegetable mix base, it was so filling that it had been a while since I'd felt full off greens alone.

Basil garlic chicken breast pasta: whole wheat noodles cooked just right

Basil garlic chicken breast pasta

For some reason it came out looking a bit like a Caribbean Bay adventure pool, but that's just me trying to show off how generous the sauce portion is.

The whole wheat noodles are cooked to the best degree — chewy enough without falling apart too easily, which honestly makes it taste even better than regular pasta. The toppings are packed full, and the sous-vide chicken breast is SO moist and tender — an absolute must-order. If salad alone leaves you feeling a bit empty and unsatisfied, get this!! The rich, flavorful basil garlic sauce makes it a completely satisfying dish ❤️‍🩹

Salad near Gyodae Station? No question, this is the place!!!