Itaewon Korean fine dining weekday lunch with 5 appetizers: Modam

Today I'm sharing my review of Modam, the heritage Korean fine-dining restaurant in Itaewon~

Where is Modam Itaewon? Hours and parking

Modam Itaewon is on the first floor of the Mondrian Hotel at 23 Jangmun-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul (22-76 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul), 921m from Noksapyeong Station Exit 3. Hours are 11:00–21:30 with a break time from 15:00–17:00, and last order is at 13:40 and 20:10.

• 📍 1F Mondrian Hotel, 23 Jangmun-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul (921m from Noksapyeong Station Exit 3)
• ⏰ 11:00–21:30 / Break time 15:00–17:00 / Last order 13:40, 20:10
• 🚘 Hotel parking available (2 hours free with dining)

The weather's getting cooler these days, which is nice, but maybe because of the change of seasons my condition felt a bit off~ At times like this I feel like I need to eat something healthy, mostly Korean food~ With clear skies and nice weather, and hoping to recover a bit, I visited Modam, a Korean dining restaurant~

Modam serves Korean cuisine that reinterprets signature jang (marinated sauces) and seasonal specialties in a modern way~ It's on the first floor of the Mondrian Hotel, and the space felt modern yet luxurious~ The first-floor lobby was so pretty I ended up staring at it for a while~

Inside Modam Itaewon on a weekday afternoon: private rooms for 4 to 8

Modam Itaewon is right across from the lobby, directly in front of the Mondrian Hotel's main entrance, so it's easy to find~ Walking in, there's a waiting area on the left, and the mother-of-pearl partitions and fabric ceiling structure were really striking~

To the right of the entrance is a space for serving drinks, and that was gorgeous too~

Maybe because I visited on a weekday, the interior felt pretty quiet~ Overall, with monotone furniture and soft lighting, the whole place felt clean and calm~

Aside from the central hall, there are a lot of private rooms along the walls, which seemed great for meeting the in-laws or other formal gatherings~ I heard the rooms can hold anywhere from 4 to 8 people, so you can pick one that fits your group~

There's a mix of darker and brighter rooms too, so you can choose based on your taste~

Ordering both sets at Modam Itaewon: seafood jang and dried corvina, 45,000 won each

Modam Itaewon is apparently known for its set menus like seafood jang~ I wasn't really in the mood for meat, so I ordered the seafood jang set and the dried corvina set~

• Assorted seafood jang and gim butter rice set: ₩45,000
• Charcoal-grilled Beopseongpo dried corvina set: ₩45,000
• Sparkling water: ₩6,000

The five appetizers served first

Not long after ordering, the food arrived~ Ceviche, salads, and more, all so pretty~ There aren't official names for these, so let me introduce them briefly~ (Please note I'm describing them based on taste and appearance, so this may not be exact~)

Eggplant, mushroom and gim bugak salad with black sesame dressing

A salad of grilled eggplant, mushroom, melon, and gim bugak (crispy fried seaweed) topped with a nutty black sesame sauce and finished with plum syrup — nutty and refreshing, I loved it~

Shine muscat grapes and melon are served on either side, and they were as pretty in color as they were tasty~

Sweet and sour shiitake mushrooms

It looked like crispy fried shiitake mushrooms tossed in a sweet citrus sauce, topped with garlic chives and crushed peanuts~

The chewy mushrooms and crispy batter went really well together, and the sweet, fruity sauce was delicious too~

Perilla oil makguksu with bracken fern and Korean melon

The perilla oil makguksu (buckwheat noodles) is tossed with fragrant perilla oil and whole perilla seeds, topped with bracken fern seasoned with perilla powder, sliced melon, scallions, and gim~

Full of perilla oil aroma, with softly braised bracken fern and crunchy melon, the flavors were varied overall~

Barley shrimp and tofu cube salad

The salad comes with fresh vegetables and cube-grilled tofu, topped with a sauce of barley shrimp and whole perilla seeds~

It tasted like it might have olive oil and white balsamic in the mix~

Amberjack ceviche

Amberjack ceviche topped with a fresh sauce of tomato, cucumber, red onion, and pickles — chewy texture and a bright taste, I loved it~

Overall, all five appetizers were evenly delicious~

The full table: how the two Modam Itaewon sets differ

Next up came the full set menu spread~ The soup and side dishes are basically the same for both, but the seafood jang set comes with gim butter rice while the dried corvina set comes with plain rice~ The dried corvina set also comes with an extra green tea broth for pouring over rice, which was a nice difference~

Assorted seafood jang with gamtae seaweed butter rice

First, the assorted seafood jang was gorgeous just to look at~ Shrimp, octopus, mussels, abalone, egg, seaweed, garlic scapes, chili, salmon roe — so many kinds of seafood and vegetable jang, I really loved it~

It's great to mix the gim butter placed on top of the rice with the seafood~ The gim butter had more flavor than I expected, so it held its own against the seafood jang instead of getting buried~

The various side dishes that came with it were all refined and clean-tasting too~

Charcoal-grilled Beopseongpo dried corvina

The dried corvina felt less salty and less oily than others I've had before, so it was really clean-tasting yet still had a moderate saltiness and chewy texture~

It came well-prepped so it was easy and pleasant to eat~ You can dip the dried corvina in the green tea broth, or pour it over rice soaked in the broth — it gives the fish a totally different feel from eating it plain, and you get to enjoy it in another way~

Perilla leaf lime sorbet for dessert

For dessert, we got a sorbet made with perilla leaf and lime~

The first taste has a bit of perilla leaf aroma, but it's not overly strong, so even people who aren't fans of perilla leaf should be able to enjoy it comfortably~

What kind of gathering is Modam Itaewon best for?

Overall, everything at Modam Itaewon was high quality and beautifully presented~ It felt like each dish was made with real care~ That's probably why it's often mentioned for meeting the in-laws or other formal gatherings~

On top of that, it's a restaurant inside a 5-star hotel, yet the prices felt very reasonable~ I'd highly recommend it to anyone wanting a well put-together, healthy meal, or anyone needing a formal gathering at a reasonable price~