Seongsu Station restaurant with flounder kimchi ceviche: Out of Order

How many times I have been back to Out of Order in Seongsu

I've lost count of how many times I've been back to Out of Order, a Seongsu Station favorite of mine. The first visit stuck with me because the food came out clean and well-plated and the atmosphere felt right, and ever since, whenever I'm looking for somewhere nice-looking in Seongsu, this place naturally comes to mind. It seems like a good fit for slightly special occasions too, like a gathering after handing out wedding invitations or an anniversary, and it also works well if you're after a Seongsu date restaurant where you can eat slowly and talk.

Where is Out of Order and is there parking?

It's fairly close to the Musinsa building, so we parked there and walked over. At the time of our visit there didn't seem to be any dedicated parking support, so if you're driving, it's worth checking nearby parking lots in advance.

What the dining room at Out of Order looks like

As the photos show, it's mostly wood-toned furniture with soft lighting layered in — not too dark, but not fully casual either.

Each table has a small lamp on it, so the mood comes alive even more in the evening, and the bar area has LPs, bottles, and glasses displayed together, giving it a bit of a wine bar feel.

The three dishes ordered at Out of Order this time

• Perilla oil potato pavé
• Doenjang carbonara sujebi
• Flounder aged-kimchi ceviche

Even the menu names at Out of Order are a little different from what you'd expect. A lot of the dishes take Korean ingredients as the base and mix in Western cooking methods or sauces, so if you're after a Seongsu Korean restaurant with a twist rather than something typical, this visit is a win 🙌🏻 Even the water isn't plain — it has tea leaves in it, a small touch that shows they care about the little details.

What does doenjang carbonara sujebi taste like?

The doenjang carbonara sujebi (soybean-paste cream sujebi noodles) leaves a subtle soybean paste aroma. I couldn't quite picture the flavor just from the name, but the combination turned out more natural than expected. The first taste is creamy and smooth, close to a regular cream sujebi, and as you keep eating, the savory, roasted flavor of doenjang lingers gently at the end.

The doenjang flavor doesn't hit hard up front — it's dissolved naturally into the cream sauce, so it's an easy dish even for people not used to fusion Korean food. The sujebi noodles soak up plenty of sauce too, so each bite gives you the nuttiness of the cream along with the chewy texture of the noodles. There's also plenty of cheese piled on top as shown in the photo, giving it a properly rich, thick look.

Perilla oil potato pavé, the unexpected top pick

And the dish that stuck with me most that day, an unexpected top pick: the perilla oil potato pavé. I honestly had the lowest expectations for this out of the three dishes, but one bite in, I changed my mind. Thin layers of potato are baked so the cross-section still looks layered like a pastry. The outside is browned and slightly crisp, while the inside keeps the potato's soft texture all the way through, making the texture interesting bite after bite.

Flounder aged-kimchi ceviche, worth ordering again

The flounder aged-kimchi ceviche is a dish I'd had before, and this time I ended up ordering the exact same thing again. Ordering it a second time is proof enough that it suited my taste. Thinly sliced flounder is topped with finely chopped ingredients and herbs, with a bright sauce served around it.

The flounder is mild and soft, and the familiar umami that quietly rises from the aged kimchi (mukeunji) meets the sweet-and-tangy sauce in a combination that works better than you'd expect. I also liked that the aged kimchi's smell isn't overpowering, so it doesn't mask the flounder's natural flavor.

On top there's also cream and a fragrant truffle note along with finely chopped herbs — the potato itself stays mild while the sauce brings the flavor to life. I especially liked that layered texture, like the potato was stacked sheet by sheet. If I come back to Out of Order Seongsu, this is one I'd order again. It's a good size for sharing across a few dishes, so if you're looking for a Seongsu Station restaurant with something to pair with wine, I'd suggest ordering the potato pavé too. After the meal we also tried the tiramisu that came through the review event.

Chestnut tiramisu and the mint candy at the end

From the outside it looks like a familiar tiramisu, but finely chopped chestnut is actually mixed in, so every bite carries chestnut's own nutty, subtle sweetness. Biting into chestnut bits between the cream layers gives it a different texture from a regular tiramisu. The cocoa's bitterness and the chestnut's gentle sweetness come through together, so it doesn't feel heavy as the final dessert of the meal. At the end they even give you a small mint candy to freshen up, and that kind of detail is the sort of thing that sticks with you for no particular reason.

Why I keep going back to Out of Order

Out of Order Seongsu isn't just a place with a nice atmosphere — it's a place I keep returning to because the food itself stays with me. There are dishes like the doenjang carbonara sujebi that take a familiar Korean ingredient and reinterpret it, and dishes like the potato pavé that turn out to be the most memorable precisely because I didn't expect much. Above all, each plate is cleanly plated, so it's great for photos too, and it all lines up well with the overall look of the space. So among Seongsu-dong restaurants, if you want a slightly special meal, a gathering after handing out wedding invitations, an anniversary dinner, or a good-atmosphere Seongsu date restaurant, this is one worth thinking of. No matter how many times I visit, both the mood and the food stay memorable, and I think that's why I keep coming back here myself.

Out of Order Seongsu: address, hours and visit info

• 🏡 Seongsu restaurant Out of Order
• 🔖 2F, 2 Achasan-ro 13-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• ⌚️ Mon-Sun | 11:30 - 22:00
• 🚈 335m from Seongsu Station Exit 2