Cheongdam izakaya for second-round Chardonnay and futomaki: Osa

I visited an izakaya where you can enjoy upscale dining surrounded by a beautiful garden. Let me introduce Osa Cheongdam, Osaka-style dining set around an open garden.

What kind of izakaya is Osa Cheongdam?

Osa Cheongdam is an Osaka-style dining izakaya at 37 Seolleung-ro 152-gil, 2nd floor, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, close to Apgujeong Rodeo Station. The open space wrapped around the garden is the face of the restaurant, and the interior itself is decorated in an upscale style.

There's a really pretty bonsai tree placed right in the middle.

There were private rooms too! So clean and upscale in feel. >.<

What we ordered at Osa Cheongdam

The otoshi starter

The otoshi (small starter dish) was a vegetable mix — cooked eggplant and onion with a sweet, savory Japanese-style sauce, topped with cheese and scallion. A well-balanced basic side!

Terrazas de los Andes Chardonnay: how does it taste?

The wine we chose that day at Osa Cheongdam was Terrazas de los Andes, a Chardonnay. I'd been craving futomaki for a while... and sashimi with white wine, they go so well together, right?! haha

They served the glass nice and cool, and there was even an ice bucket for chilling, which I loved. >.< They opened it and poured it for us right there! A subtle aroma, not too sweet. Cool and refreshing but light, with a faint depth to it — well balanced and easy to drink. haha

Osa futomaki half plate: how much do you get?

An incredibly thick half plate of futomaki arrived. Even though it was a half order, it was huge and thick — genuinely generous! Since it was a second-round stop, we couldn't eat too much, so we ordered lightly with just the half plate, but it was plenty. hahaha

Two sauces came with it too — a creamy one and sashimi soy sauce.

The filling was so packed and appetizing. Freshly fried shrimp tempura, cucumber, Japanese-style rolled egg, red seabream sashimi, flounder sashimi, tuna sashimi, amberjack sashimi, pickled radish, shiso leaf — fresh, great ingredients crammed in tightly, such a beautiful futomaki!

Futomaki and Chardonnay together

So this is how the futomaki and Chardonnay set looked once complete. >.< Way too proper and gorgeous for what was supposed to be a simple side dish — I was touched. hahaha

The shrimp in the tempura were incredibly plump and chunky!!! Couldn't fit it in one bite, so I dipped a small piece of the shrimp tempura in the cream sauce first. haha It seemed like they'd fried it right after ordering, because even the tail end was super, super crispy!

I used the pickled ginger to brush sashimi soy sauce evenly over everything. haha Especially poured plenty of sashimi soy sauce on the sashimi parts!

And tasting it like that... >.< wow, my mouth filled up with the flavor of the sashimi and shrimp tempura together, so harmonious. The shiso leaf has a pretty strong aroma, but it's cooling and refreshing, giving a clean finish that pulls the whole flavor together! Clean yet savory, with a slight sweetness and a rich flavor — so, so delicious. haha The sashimi inside the futomaki was really fresh and full of umami too, very satisfying.

Is Osa Cheongdam worth a second round?

Osa Cheongdam is dining set in a garden where you can enjoy delicious food and drinks comfortably and privately in a pretty atmosphere. Genuinely one of the more satisfying izakayas in Cheongdam.