Two Forks, Seoul Cafes and Restaurants — Fork Guest

Open-plan sushi in Gwanghwamun, kiwi-dressing salad: Elephant Sushi

Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun is an open-concept sushi restaurant in the B1 food court of KT Tower in Gwanghwamun, Seoul. On a weekend visit, the writer had the Elephant A set (18,000 won) and B set (28,000 won), each with mini cold soba, plus a free Kirin draft beer and potato croquette from Naver events, and the monkfish liver (ankimo) was the standout. Elephant Sushi serves platter sushi with the touch of a chef from high-end sushi, a rare find in Gwanghwamun, where good sushi is scarce.

Written Jun 10, 2026Sponsored

PlaceJongno, SeoulCafés

Brunch café near Gyeongbokgung Station: salt bread jambon at Respire

Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon is a salt bread bakery and brunch café behind Cheongwadae Sarangchae, near Gyeongbokgung Station in Jongno, Seoul. Over lunch with a friend, the writer, visiting as a sponsored reviewer, had a salt bread basil jambon sandwich, a chocolate cream cheese ciabatta, a seasonal salad and a decaf iced americano, and the buttery flavor of the salt bread basil jambon sandwich was shockingly good. Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon is a Seochon brunch spot worth coming back to just for salt bread to go.

Written Jul 2, 2026Sponsored

PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Yeoksam eel rice bowl that rivals Haemok's hitsumabushi: Unagiwa

Unagiwa is a hitsumabushi (Nagoya-style eel rice bowl) restaurant on the 2nd floor above Dallae Haejang, a 3-minute walk from Yeoksam Station Exit 7 in Gangnam, Seoul. Each of us ordered the 38,000-won hitsumabushi sang (one whole eel), made with eel from the restaurant's own Ganghwa Island farm and grilled with tare sauce imported directly from Japan, and ate it the traditional four-way method; it was on par with, maybe even better than, Haemok's hitsumabushi, the benchmark so far. Unagiwa is a place worth bringing people back to whenever a hot day calls for an energy boost.

Written Aug 5, 2026Sponsored