Spicy pea basil shrimp rigatoni in Yeonnam-dong: Hôtel de Couture

Went to Yeonnam-dong for a weekend date and discovered a Western-style restaurant with such a nice atmosphere and generous portions that it'd also make a great blind date spot, so I wanted to share it!

Where is Hôtel de Couture, and is there parking?

• Address: 7 Donggyo-ro 46-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 11:00–20:00 (last order 19:00)
• Parking: Not available

⭐ It's hard to find a place with parking in Yeonnam-dong. Using the Modu's Parking app to pay for a shared parking lot is a cheap way to get around this!

Hôtel de Couture, a Western restaurant near Hongik University station, is located on the 2nd floor of the building. It's right in the middle of Yeonnam-dong's restaurant alley, so it wasn't hard to find at all!

The name means "couture hotel" in French, apparently meaning they intend to treat you with food that good. The entrance alone already gives serious French-restaurant vibes!

Inside the converted house: mood and seating

Hôtel de Couture is set in a converted house, so the interior isn't huge, but that just makes it feel cozier and warmer. It's a comfortable atmosphere that's great for sitting quietly and talking!

There are group tables, plus 2- and 4-person tables for smaller groups,

and there's more space further inside, but it was too crowded for me to get a photo.

The drink menu is varied too, so I filmed a video of it!

What we ordered at Hôtel de Couture and what it cost

• House steak ₩35,000
• Jambon truffle cream risotto ₩17,000
• Pea basil shrimp cream pasta ₩19,000

⭐ The pre-meal bread comes with a ₩3,000 surcharge, and we didn't know that so we missed out on ordering it, which was a shame ㅠ

You could tell a lot of care went into every little detail. Even the tissue holder had that French feel 💛

Pea basil shrimp cream pasta with spicy rigatoni

Pea basil shrimp cream pasta

I tend to always order the signature dish ⭐ I was a little worried since it has peas in it, but in the end this was my favorite of the three.

The peas were well-toasted and slightly crispy, and that texture went really well with the pasta.

I used to prefer spaghetti or fettuccine, but now I'm into rigatoni like this — it just feels like it holds so much more sauce!

And it was slightly spicy! This was my first time having spicy basil pasta, and since I already love eating cream pasta spicy, I was really satisfied 😆

Jambon truffle cream risotto, made with rice mixed with barley

Jambon truffle cream risotto

No truffle lover can pass up the jambon truffle cream risotto 💛 The colorful presentation alone was already great.

The egg yolk on top looked amazing, and it seemed like the white rice was mixed with barley? I usually don't love risotto made only with rice since it lacks texture, but Hôtel de Couture's risotto mixes in barley, giving it a much better texture.

Mix it well with the yolk and the flavor goes crazy..!

The jambon wasn't salty and had a soft texture, so it paired really well with the risotto too.

House steak: doneness and garnish

House steak

You can't skip steak on a date ❤️ The presentation was so perfect it'd also make a great blind date dish!

It comes with round onion rings and square potatoes as garnish. Personally I prefer the onion rings 😆

The steak was cooked exactly to my liking! Since the price wasn't that high, I worried the meat might be tough and flavorless, but the quality was great and it melted in my mouth. ⭐️

Just looking at the sliced cross-section shows how tender it was!

Is Hôtel de Couture worth a visit in Yeonnam-dong?

• Quiet, comfortable atmosphere makes it a great Yeonnam-dong blind date spot
• A must-visit if you're looking for a restaurant date spot in Yeonnam-dong
• Also recommended as a pasta restaurant with generous portions and great taste!