Basement salad shop at Jonggak: juicy Beef Light + salmon, Wystab

Where is Wystab Diet Gwanghwamun near Jonggak Station?

Wystab Diet Gwanghwamun is a salad spot for solo diners on the B1 floor of Le Meilleur Jongno Town, by Jonggak Station. Here? I used to only ever go to the ground floor of Le Meilleur because the basement was kind of shabby, but I heard lots of great places have been moving into the basement lately, and sure enough, Wystab is down there.

Come from the Exit 1 side of Jonggak Station and head down to B1 of Le Meilleur Jongno Town. (The escalator down to the basement is always out of order,,) Just walk down it and the salad shop is right there.

• Address: B1, 19 Jongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul
• Hours: Mon–Fri 10:00–21:30 / Sat 10:00–20:30 / closed Sun
• Naver ordering available

Walk down the basement escalator and the Wystab shop is straight ahead, no corners to turn.

There's a big banner with pictures and prices out front, so you can check the options and prices before going in. There are kiosks both outside and inside the shop, so let's start with the menu.

Wystab menu and prices: chicken, duck, salmon and beef

The Wystab Gwanghwamun menu runs from Chicken Light at ₩7,900 to Beef Pasta at ₩13,900, depending on the main protein and the base.

• Chicken Light ₩7,900
• Chicken Pasta ₩8,900
• Chicken Oats ₩8,900
• Chicken Tofu Noodles ₩9,900
• Chicken Cauliflower ₩9,900
• Smoked Duck Light ₩9,900
• Duck Pasta ₩10,900
• Duck Oats ₩10,900
• Duck Tofu Noodles ₩11,900
• Duck Cauliflower ₩11,900
• Salmon Light ₩11,900
• Salmon Pasta ₩12,900
• Beef Light ₩12,900
• Beef Pasta ₩13,900

There are so many combinations of meat and base that I didn't write out every salmon and beef one. If you're torn, pick a main protein from chicken breast, duck, salmon or beef, then pick a base: Light (just vegetables), tofu noodles, pasta or oat rice.

Once you tap a menu item on the kiosk, options appear for removing or adding sauces and toppings, and that's another round of agonizing~ I knew there'd be this many choices, so I'd already decided on beef before going and didn't have to think. For a side, I recommend the protein cookie at ₩3,500!

Each menu item shows its carbs, protein and calories, which is handy, and you can also see the new menu item, the Protein Pasta Tang (프로틴파스탕). Note that the duck is from China and so are the tofu noodles!

Is Wystab Gwanghwamun good for eating alone?

The seating inside Wystab is roomy, so it's a good place to eat in as a solo salad lunch near Gwanghwamun. The menu came first, so I ordered before introducing the interior. Office workers around Jonggak and Gwanghwamun come to Le Meilleur for lunch a lot, so besides takeout and delivery, plenty of people sit down and eat at lunchtime.

How was the Beef Light with a salmon steak add-on?

This time I ordered Beef Light at ₩12,900 with a salmon steak add-on at ₩5,900, to go.

By the time I carried it home, the hot meat had wilted the vegetables a lot, so it looks like less, but there was fresh, crunchy cabbage tucked inside, and there was so much meat that there was maybe more of it than lettuce. The grilling, the tenderness... so, so soft.

The salmon I added is fresh grilled salmon with no fishy taste. I liked that it wasn't raw salmon~~~

Why the Beef Light didn't need the yuzu dressing

I chose the yuzu dressing, but the beef in Beef Light is lightly seasoned and gives off juices, and eating the vegetables with those juices meant I didn't even need to pour on the yuzu dressing.

Best order next time: Beef Light + 100g extra beef

The salmon is tasty too, but Wystab's beef is on another level, so next time I should do meat on top of meat. Beef Light ₩12,900 + 100g extra beef is the combo I'd recommend.

The chickpeas, yellow bell pepper, olives, asparagus and even the flakes were all nice and chewy, and the bell pepper was so sweet. If you're looking for a solo salad lunch near Gwanghwamun, head down to the basement of Le Meilleur~~