Seocho Station restaurant, chestnut & persimmon foam course: Vinovine

Where can you have a quiet after-work dinner near Seocho Station?

Vinovine (비노바인), a Western restaurant near Seocho Station, has only private rooms, which made it a great place to eat and talk quietly after work. Some days you need exactly that: you want to avoid noisy places, but somewhere too formal feels like a burden. On a day like that, I visited Vinovine, a Western restaurant near Seocho Station that worked well for me.

What are the private rooms at Vinovine like?

Step into the room and stone-textured walls wrap around you, so it feels cozy.

A long wooden table with four chairs was neatly set. Wine glasses, water glasses and cutlery were already in place, so we could start eating the moment we sat down.

We couldn't hear the next table much, so I thought it was a great spot for focusing on conversation, even among Seocho restaurants.

How much are the Vinovine dinner course and wine pairing?

The Vinovine dinner course is ₩65,000 per person, and the wine pairing is ₩35,000 per person, with three glasses of wine. The pairing wines were a Soave from Veneto in Italy, a Pinot Noir from Burgundy in France, and a Valpolicella from Veneto.

There were also drinks by the glass or bottle.

• Wine by the glass, red/white: ₩9,000
• Stella beer 330ml: ₩8,000
• Sparkling water: ₩7,000
• Coke, Zero, Sprite: ₩4,000

I found the course price and lineup surprisingly reasonable. It's not easy to find dining of this level near Seocho Station.

What dishes are in the Vinovine dinner course?

Starter: choux and seafood-mushroom tart

The first plate of the Vinovine dinner course was a bite-sized starter. The meal went on like this.

A round, bite-sized choux came together with a crispy tart topped with seafood and mushrooms.

A nasturtium leaf sat on the tart, so it pleased the eyes first. It was small, but enough to announce the start of the course.

Sea bream with Shine Muscat grapes

Next was thinly sliced sea bream, topped with Shine Muscat grapes, red greens and a frisée salad.

The mild fish with the sweetness of the fruit worked to wake up the palate.

Autumn foam dish with chestnut and persimmon

The next plate had a fine foam spread across it, topped with a crispy chip and lightly dusted with cinnamon.

The plate had a coppery texture that suited the autumn mood. What stayed with me was the soft texture and nutty aroma of chestnut and persimmon, the flavors of autumn.

Sourdough-style bread and butter

Bread came out soon after. It was sourdough-style with an irregular, open crumb, and pale yellow butter sat beside it in a small dish.

You can feel the care even in the bread, and I think it would be lovely to enjoy slowly with wine.

Fish course: salmon with a lemon-scented sauce

Salmon was the fish course. Moist, gently cooked salmon came with a yellow lemon-scented sauce, served with peas and small greens.

The sauce was fresh rather than heavy, so it felt less rich. Dots of orange sauce on the plate made the colors pretty too.

Spaghetti with slow-cooked meat

The pasta was thin spaghetti topped with slow-cooked meat and grated cheese.

The portion was right for the middle of a course, and I liked that the noodles kept their bite. The chewy noodles and the deep flavor of the meat went well together.

Main course: steak

The main of the Vinovine course was steak. Beef cooked to a clear pink inside came with a dark brown sauce, topped with purple cabbage and broccoli.

The meat cut tenderly, so it was no trouble with the knife, and the subtle tang of the sauce was the highlight. I felt it would go really well with red wine, and it was the high point of the course.

Dessert: hojicha ice cream and a shell-shaped cookie

Last came dessert. Hojicha (roasted green tea) ice cream sat under a shell-shaped cookie, with nuts and chocolate powder alongside.

Sweet syrup trickled down gently, so the finish was soft. It was a plate that wrapped up the course without feeling heavy.

Wine pairing or corkage at Vinovine: which is better?

If you want to enjoy dining with the ease of a Seocho wine bar, I'd recommend adding the Vinovine wine pairing (₩35,000 per person). If you'd rather bring your own wine, corkage is also available.

Vinovine at Seocho Station: visitor information

Vinovine was a good place to enjoy a quiet course near Seocho Station. The essentials are all-private-room seating, a ₩65,000 dinner course, a ₩35,000 wine pairing, and corkage allowed. When you eat a course meal, which matters more to you, the food or the wine?

• Location: B1, Hyojin Building, 6 Banpo-daero 23-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Reservations: all seats are private rooms, reservation required
• Dinner course ₩65,000 / wine pairing ₩35,000
• Corkage: 375ml and 750ml ₩20,000; magnum and other liquor ₩30,000
• Parking: 6 free spots around the restaurant; paid lots nearby when full