Gangseo pork tasting-menu restaurant, abalone risotto: Don Tamguso

A pork omakase experience near Magok Station

The address is Botanic Park Tower 3, 11 Magokjungang 6-ro, Gangseo-gu, Seoul. It is about a three-minute walk from Magok Station, so the access is seriously great! It always comes up when you search for a good omakase spot around Magok Station, and I had been curious for ages—pork omakase? When you think of omakase, it is usually Japanese cuisine—so I finally went :)

As its name suggests, Don Tamguso is built around the idea of exploring pork. Its biggest draw is that, rather than the usual beef or sushi omakase, it serves a full course made with pork! Omakase normally brings sashimi or sushi to mind, so the very idea of putting together such a varied course with pork felt so fresh!!

Reservations and the counter-seat atmosphere

The dishes for that day's dinner are listed outside the restaurant! Since it is omakase, I thought it would be best to reserve, so I booked ahead through Naver Booking. Weekend dinner slots especially tend to fill quickly, so I recommend getting your reservation in fast!

There are counter seats and table seats for group gatherings, and since there were two of us, we were shown to the counter! You can watch the cooking right in front of you, which really gives it that omakase feel, haha. It was quiet and cozy, with a dining atmosphere where you can enjoy the course at a relaxed pace—perfect for a date or a meal with someone special! The couple next to us had come for their wedding anniversary; their daughter had made the reservation for them.

Each table receives a leaflet with the reserved guest's name and an explanation of the day's course. Everything was described in detail, so it was easy to check what we were eating along the way, and there was a choice course too, which we could choose from the brief descriptions :)

From soup to shiitake mushroom lasagna

There was also a drink menu to enjoy with dinner, and we ordered the house wine of the day! Today's house wine: ₩8,000.

The very first dish was soup, and the caramelized? walnuts were especially delicious. It was rich and tasty, just right for the start of the meal!

Next came a refreshing salad with dried persimmon, orange, basil, and prosciutto. What made it unusual was the foamy sauce poured over it—the kind I had only seen on YouTube! It was a bright, tangy salad that was great for waking up the palate before the mains!!

Then came one of the main dishes, shiitake mushroom lasagna! White ragù and a smoky mozzarella sauce came together in a dish covered with shiitake mushrooms instead of lasagna sheets. It went so well with the house wine I ordered that I recommend pairing it with wine!

One benefit of counter seats... you get to catch the cooking fire show too!

Shio-koji tenderloin and minari pork belly

Next came the main dish, shio-koji tenderloin!! Just looking at it, you can tell it is moist and full of juices, right? The shio-koji, a salt-fermented rice malt, aged tenderloin steak came with button mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, and broccoli—just looking at it, all those juices...

They also served house-pickled dongchimi radish, a water-kimchi radish, to eat with the shio-koji tenderloin. The radish cut through the meat's richness so cleanly and left the mouth feeling refreshed!!

The second main combined pork belly with fragrant minari (Korean water parsley)! Spices including Sichuan pepper and cumin helped balance the richness of this fatty cut. I already absolutely love minari pork belly, but this was such a different way to enjoy the two together!

The next dish was one where we could watch the chef's dazzling performance!! Drumroll...

Choosing between abalone barley risotto and a burger

The risotto was one of the two choice-course options! The signature risotto contains Wando abalone and is made with barley, giving it a lovely springy texture. I loved the texture of the barley, and the sauce was seasoned so well that this was one of my favorite dishes of the day. At first I was like, what is this leaf..? It turned out they had fried bangpung namul (coastal hogfennel greens) for extra texture. Is the chef a genius or what, haha?

The fried bangpung namul gave a wonderful twist to the risotto texture, which could otherwise have been a little plain, and its aroma paired so well too. I really loved itㅠㅠ I wanted another bowl...

My husband chose the burger, so I stole half of it, haha. It had a house-made patty, onion, cheese, and carrot râpée, and all the flavors worked together so nicely!!

Finishing with coconut rice cake and mango pudding

Dessert is served to finish the course. I heard that if you write a receipt review, they give you two desserts of the day! The chef's dessert picks change with the season, and on the day I visited, they were chapssaltteok (chewy glutinous rice cakes) and mango pudding!

The chapssaltteok was coconut-flavored, so it was wonderfully chewy and the nutty coconut flavor worked perfectly. The mango pudding was also super smooth and sweet—just right for finishing the meal!!

I happened to visit on the day of the Yeouido Fireworks Festival, so after a delicious dinner, I even got to watch the fireworks from afar. Such a perfect day!! For anyone looking for a great omakase spot around Magok Station, or a date-night stop after Seoul Botanic Park, I totally recommend Don Tamguso!! Especially if it is a special occasion, being able to enjoy omakase like this for the high ₩50,000s is simply happinessㅠㅠ!