Suwon Asian dining bar for groups: lamb chops & crab curry, Raon

Is Raon Asian Dining Bar good for a night out with friends?

Raon Asian Dining Bar is an Asian dining wine bar on the 11th floor of Useong Tower in Ingye-dong, Suwon. I went a few days ago while looking for a place to meet up with friends. Ingye-dong is packed with bars, so choosing was a real struggle, but this time I wanted something with a slightly special atmosphere. Long story short, now I get why so many people recommend Raon as a bar on Nahyeseok Street!

Where is Raon Asian Dining Bar and where to park?

Raon Asian Dining Bar is on the 11th floor of Useong Tower, 44 Gwongwang-ro 188beon-gil, Paldal-gu, Suwon. For parking, use the elevator-style underground car park behind the building. Large SUVs of Genesis GV80 size or bigger can't get in, so if your car is too big, try line parking by Hyowon Park. It's near Suwon City Hall Station, so you can also walk.

The entrance already feels very Asian, and it's modern in black and gray too.

Raon Asian Dining Bar interior and window city view

The first thing that caught my eye when I walked in was the Suwon city view through the floor-to-ceiling windows. I arrived before sunset, and it was lovely to watch the scenery outside change as time passed. In the daytime the open view is the charm, and in the evening the city lights come on and the mood really ripens. Totally different!!!

I made a reservation and sat by the window. If you're looking for a date spot in Ingye-dong, I'd definitely recommend reserving a window seat.

There's also a bar table, and I hear many people come to drink solo :)

The overall interior is modern, centered on black and gray tones. It has an open kitchen, so you can watch the cooking, which made me trust this Nahyeseok Street bar even more.

What we ordered at Raon and the wine price

An alcohol order is required at Raon Asian Dining Bar, so I dropped the soft drink and switched to sparkling wine. The sparkling wine I ordered was ₩56,000. See the photo for the full order!

The atmosphere isn't overly loud, so it was easy to talk with my friends. Besides friend gatherings, I'd recommend it for blind dates and anniversaries too..!

We started with a toast of sparkling wine. Note that you pour the alcohol you order yourself :3

The color of the wine in the glass matched the bar's mood so well that it was great for photos too. A good atmosphere really makes a glass of wine more satisfying, haha. I usually look for atmospheric spots for date courses in Suwon, but it had been a while since I'd found a space like this, so I was even happier.

The food started arriving one by one, and the plating caught my eye right away.

Perilla pollock roe bibim pasta and chicken soboro

There was the charmingly green perilla and pollock roe mixed pasta, and the chicken soboro, where I thought, puffed rice cracker here? The chicken was crispy outside and moist inside, a great texture contrast, and even tastier with the sauce served alongside. About the lemon that comes with it: I recommend squeezing it into the sauce rather than over the chicken. It was crispiest when eaten right as it came out.

The perilla roe pasta got the best pick of the day. It's hard to explain the taste... but if you like things like kongguksu (cold soybean noodle soup) or deulkkae kalguksu (perilla seed noodle soup), you'll enjoy it a lot :) A mysterious charm~~~

Pad poo pong curry and charcoal-grilled lamb chops (230g)

We also ordered the pad poo pong curry (crispy crab in curry) and the tender charcoal-grilled lamb chops (230g). Pad poo pong curry is a must-order whenever I go to an Asian restaurant! I debated between lamb chops and steak and picked the lamb. Lucky that you guys eat everything, lol.

The combination of soft egg, crispy crab and slightly spicy curry was so good. The fried crab got even softer when I dipped it in the sauce, and there was plenty of crab meat, so it wasn't a hollow shell of a dish.

The lamb, served with tomato, garlic and green beans, tasted fresh overall and had a balance that goes well with wine.

The rich juices and the deep sauce went well together, and the vegetables on the side balanced the flavor. I absolutely recommend eating the lamb while it's warm! Once it cooled a little, the lamb smell came up and the meat felt a bit tough, so eat it warm, really!!!

Clams steamed in liquor (bajirak suljjim)

The cool, spicy steamed clams in liquor felt less like simple bar food and more like a proper dining dish.

It has sujebi (hand-torn dough flakes) instead of pasta noodles, so it's chewy too, and the clams were well purged of grit and not frozen! The broth was really spicy and kick-y~~~, a perfect dish to eat while having a drink.

Stir-fried morning glory

The crunchy, spicy-salty morning glory stir-fry (gongsimchae-bokkeum) is something I always order when I travel to China or Vietnam.

It came stir-fried so spicy and salty that I seriously considered ordering a bowl of rice, haha. Good to order when the rest of your menu feels a little bland~

Food that looked delicious even in photos vanished in a flash! Eating it for real was even more satisfying. With five dishes plus the morning glory stir-fry, I wondered if we'd get full, and we did. When it's time to eat, I focus only on eating, haha.

Dessert: lemon cheesecake

After the meal we had lemon cheesecake for dessert, and it looked like a work of art. Soft, rich cheese flavor with sweet lemon icing made for a fresh, sweet finish to the meal.

Who should go to Raon Asian Dining Bar?

Overall, Raon Asian Dining Bar wasn't just another Ingye-dong or Nahyeseok Street bar; it was a space where you can enjoy food, wine and atmosphere all together. It made the gathering with friends even more fun, and it felt like I'd had a proper dining experience for the first time in a while.

• Suwon city view through floor-to-ceiling windows
• An atmospheric Ingye-dong wine bar
• A moody space for anniversaries and dates
• High-level Asian dining menu
• Near Suwon City Hall Station, so easy to reach

If you're looking for a bar on Nahyeseok Street, a Suwon wine bar with a good atmosphere, or a date spot in Ingye-dong, it's worth a visit. Next time I'd like to go back to Raon Asian Dining Bar at the hour when the night view is prettiest!