Itaewon Korean restaurant with buttery deodeok gui: Modam Itaewon

If you're looking for a hanjeongsik (Korean set-course) restaurant in Itaewon that nails both atmosphere and food, here's one worth remembering: Modam Itaewon. It felt especially suited to occasions where the setting matters — meeting the in-laws, hosting foreign guests, that kind of thing.

Where is Modam Itaewon? First floor of the Mondrian Hotel, with easy parking

Modam Itaewon sits on the first floor of the Mondrian hotel, so parking was easy. The moment I walked in, the clean yet sophisticated interior caught my eye. Great location, upscale atmosphere — I thought it'd also work well for family gatherings or a meal on a special occasion.

What we ordered at Modam Itaewon: the handmade tteokgalbi set and the mixed seafood jang set

This time at Modam Itaewon we ordered the handmade tteokgalbi (grilled minced-beef patty) set and the mixed seafood jang (seafood marinated in soy sauce) set. What I especially liked about Modam was how carefully the meal was put together even before the main dishes arrived.

Starters: perilla oil buckwheat noodles, Modam gangjeong and seasonal sashimi

Seasonal vegetables, fruit and salad, then perilla oil buckwheat noodles, Modam gangjeong (sweet-savory crispy snack), and seasonal sashimi arrived one by one — and these weren't just filler starters, each one had a distinct, well-defined flavor.

The cooking method and sauce differed for each ingredient, which made it fun to try them one at a time, and from start to finish every dish felt like it had its own character.

Handmade tteokgalbi and deodeok gui: a nutty, almost buttery grilled bellflower root

Here's the full spread after the starters. Clean-looking, right? haha

And then the tteokgalbi and deodeok gui (grilled bellflower root) we'd been waiting for.

The tteokgalbi wasn't overly seasoned, let the meat's flavor come through, and had a soft, tender texture — genuinely delicious. But personally, what impressed me even more was the deodeok gui served alongside it.

It was quite different from the spicy or heavily-seasoned deodeok gui you usually picture. It had this subtle buttery-like nutty, mellow flavor that felt really upscale. I hadn't easily come across that taste anywhere else, so it ended up being one of the most memorable dishes of the meal.

Mixed seafood jang set: rice stirred with gamtae seaweed butter

Modam Itaewon's mixed seafood jang set also exceeded expectations. Abalone, prawns, and other seafood were arranged generously, looking both bountiful and upscale, and I appreciated the thoughtful touch of providing scissors to make it easier to eat. The real highlight, though, was the gim (laver) butter sitting on top of the rice.

Mixing the gim butter thoroughly into the rice, then adding a suitable amount of the seafood jang and its broth and stirring it all together — genuinely delicious. You might worry that a seafood jang dish means an overly salty soy sauce, but here the broth wasn't too salty, so it was easy to mix generously into the rice. The umami of the seafood combined with the nutty gim butter kept my spoon going back for more.

Dessert at Modam Itaewon: perilla leaf and lime sorbet

The meal ended with a perilla leaf and lime sorbet. The combination of perilla leaf and lime felt a bit unfamiliar at first, but it cleansed the palate really refreshingly and worked well as the finish to a Korean course. From the starters through to dessert, I got the sense that the whole flow of the meal had been carefully thought out, not just the main dishes.

Who is Modam Itaewon best for? In-law lunches, foreign guests and family gatherings

If I had to pick the single best thing about this visit to Modam, honestly it's hard to narrow it down to just one. Each dish had its own distinct character without being overly strong or in-your-face, and from the starters through the mains to dessert, there wasn't a single dish I'd call mediocre — that was the most satisfying part. Parking was easy thanks to the Mondrian hotel, and the interior and atmosphere were great too — I genuinely wondered why I hadn't discovered this place sooner.

If you're craving something a bit special in Itaewon in the way of Korean food, or you want to cover the atmosphere as well as the meal — for a dinner with parents, a date, or a family gathering — Modam Itaewon is worth remembering. I'd like to come back next time and try some of the other set menus.