Dongdaemun wine restaurant: secret door and burrata salad at Athlonga

Why go to Athlonga after shopping at DDP?

On a Monday off, I was shopping at DDP (Dongdaemun Design Plaza) and ended up at Athlonga near Dongdaemun for an early dinner. I'd taken a happy Monday off to browse clothes at DDP for the first time in a while, and I was having so much fun shopping that before I knew it my stomach was growling like crazy.

I've been paying attention to my health and diet lately, so I went to Athlonga in Dongdaemun, where I could get both protein and salad.

Athlonga has a reputation for its moody atmosphere, so much so that it even appeared on Heart Signal (a Korean dating reality show), so I headed over with a fluttery heart.

Do you need a reservation at Athlonga?

Athlonga can have a wait at dinner peak time, so it's best to reserve in advance. I booked ahead for 5:30 p.m. And sure enough, when I finished eating and left around 6:20, the place was filling up with customers fast.

Restroom: Athlonga has clean, separate men's and women's restrooms inside the restaurant, which was convenient.

Athlonga's secret door: press the wine bottle to enter

Climb the building's stairs to the 3rd floor and you'll find Athlonga's unique entrance: you press a wine bottle on the wall to open the door. Push the bottle and the door swings open like a secret hideout, which is a fun touch. It felt special right from the start.

Athlonga's atmosphere, city-view window seats and open kitchen

Inside, Athlonga has window seats, soft lighting, a display of liquor and an open kitchen. Stepping through the door, the mood was totally my taste.

There are open window seats where you can eat while looking out over the city,

and with the soft lighting and a variety of liquor displayed on one side of the room, it felt upscale too.

The kitchen is open, so I could see a staff member in a head covering cooking with passion, which made me trust the hygiene too.

What to order at Athlonga in Dongdaemun

At Athlonga I ordered the burrata cheese salad and the grilled Iberico rib-finger meat and pork neck (₩32,000). Sitting down with the menu, I put together a balanced order: a meat dish to load up on protein and a salad for freshness.

• Burrata cheese salad
• Grilled Iberico rib-finger meat and pork neck (₩32,000)

There are so many dishes that go well with wine or a light drink that I immediately understood why Athlonga is famous as a date spot or blind-date venue.

Soon, beautiful-looking dishes began filling the table one after another. The plating caught my eye right away, and my mouth was watering.

🥗 Fresh, healthy burrata cheese salad

Athlonga's burrata cheese salad comes with burrata on top of arugula, cherry tomatoes and black olives. It's loaded with fresh green arugula, colorful cherry tomatoes and black olives. Burrata means "buttery" in Italian, and true to that, when you cut it in half with a knife, the creamy center oozes out, which is fun to watch. One bite and the soft texture melting in my mouth was excellent.

🥩 Juicy grilled Iberico rib-finger meat and pork neck

Athlonga's main dish, the grilled Iberico rib-finger meat and pork neck, is ₩32,000 and comes with both cuts nicely browned. It arrives looking appetizing, and the staff thoughtfully gave me a separate knife so I could cut it to whatever size I liked.

With the first piece of meat, rich juices filled my mouth.

It came with whole-grain mustard sauce, salt, and a subtly flavored chopped mushroom sauce, and mixing and matching them to taste meant I never got tired of it.

The cherry tomatoes in particular came out warm, not too hot, so they were perfect to eat in one bite. The well-cooked garlic and mushrooms brought out the meat's flavor, and the jalapeños weren't very spicy but clean, doing a great job of cutting through the richness.

Is Athlonga in Dongdaemun worth a return visit?

Athlonga was satisfying in atmosphere, food and service, a restaurant near Dongdaemun DDP that I want to revisit. It's not easy to find a place near Dongdaemun DDP with this much atmosphere and flavor, and Athlonga was a satisfying space.

From the kind service to the moody interior seen on Heart Signal, everything was perfect.

The combination of Iberico meat, which is healthy yet filling protein, and the burrata cheese salad seems like a great eating-out option even when you're on a diet.

Next time I want to come in the evening and have a nice glass of wine under the soft lighting. I recommend it as a Dongdaemun restaurant I'd happily revisit!