Korean restaurant date in Gwanghwamun: neungi chicken gomtang at SABAL

Hi everyone!!🫡 If you're looking for a good Korean restaurant near Gwanghwamun, let me recommend SABAL, which is right nearby!! I go there pretty often even on regular days, and I also recommend it for a special date. This time again I ate so well that I really wanted to write it up as a review!! (Even though it's already super famous🤭)

This actually wasn't my first visit — it's already my umpteenth return visit — and what I notice every single time is

Where is SABAL? An alley between Gyeongbokgung and Gwanghwamun stations

SABAL is a Korean restaurant in the alley between Gyeongbokgung and Gwanghwamun stations, inside Gyeonggyunggung-ui Achim Complex 3. You have to turn slightly off the main street, so first-timers might wander a bit. But the food is consistently tidy and clean, which is exactly why it keeps coming to mind..!

Still, that quiet, relaxed atmosphere makes it great for a date course, and it's also just right for taking your parents along

Oh, and since it's already so famous haha🥹, I'd recommend making a reservation if you can!! (Especially if it's a special occasion)

• 📍SABAL
• 📌 Address: 34 Sajik-ro 8-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• 🚇 Location: Walking distance from Exit 7, Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3) or Exit 1, Gwanghwamun Station (Line 5)
• 🕒 Hours Sat–Sun: 11:30–19:50 (break time 14:50–16:30 / last order 14:10, 19:10)
• 🕒 Hours Mon–Tue–Wed: 11:30–20:50 (break time 14:50–17:00 / last order 14:10, 20:10)
• 🅿️ Parking: Available
• 🐶 Dogs welcome: Yes

Terrace seats and the mood at SABAL

If the weather's nice when you visit SABAL, I highly recommend the terrace seats. Especially these days when the weather is soooo good~~😏👍 Since it's tucked in an alley between buildings, it has a nice private feel, and with all the green trees right in front, just sitting there puts you in a good mood~

The interior is styled in a sleek black tone, and on the shelves

there are little ceramic pieces that are fun to look at too. You can tell they put a lot of thought into the interior, so it's great for photos, and the lighting is really nice too haha. That's why I recommend it as a date spot. I visited during the day this time, but the mood here in the evening is really great too haha

What we ordered: gamtae perilla oil bibimbap, neungi chicken gomtang, tteokbokki

Out of all the menu options!! This time we ordered the gamtae (dried seaweed) perilla oil bibimbap + mini noodles, the neungi mushroom chicken gomtang, and as a side, the tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) too! (The tteokbokki seems to be a surprisingly popular item — the group behind us couldn't order it because they'd run out of ingredients..🫣)

Before the food arrives, a sweet pumpkin porridge and some simple side dishes are set first!

It's got a sweet~~ flavor, so it totally wakes up your appetite haha. While you're eating that, your ordered food comes right out. First, the gamtae perilla oil bibimbap looked packed with ingredients just from looking at it

Gamtae perilla oil bibimbap: the seaweed is the kicker

SABAL's gamtae perilla oil bibimbap comes with a generous pile of toppings on the rice, and the gamtae (dried laver seaweed) is served separately on the side! The nutty aroma of perilla oil combined with the mild flavor of the vegetables makes the whole thing lean toward savory rather than strong or sharp.

Especially when you wrap the bibimbap in the gamtae, a subtle ocean aroma gets added and the flavor changes again.

With perilla oil and sesame seeds, it could easily get greasy, but the vegetables and seaweed balance it out nicely.

The gamtae was really the kicker!! It's delicious even eaten on its own!

The mini noodles that came alongside had a clear, warm broth, so it was nice to take a bite of that between spoonfuls of bibimbap. That kind of combination is exactly SABAL's charm~~😏

Neungi mushroom chicken gomtang: a clean, clear broth

The neungi mushroom chicken gomtang was the dish I especially liked this visit at SABAL. The clear broth was loaded with chicken, neungi mushrooms, and chives, and the broth had a rich, deep flavor! And it wasn't heavy or murky at all — it was clean👍

The neungi mushroom aroma also rose up subtly, the kind of flavor that makes you keep spooning up the broth on its own. There was a generous amount of chives too, which added a fragrant note that made it even better haha.

Side tteokbokki: how it pairs with SABAL's milder dishes

And then the side dish we ordered turned out to be a surprisingly good match — the tteokbokki!

Maybe because it's tteokbokki at a Korean restaurant, it wasn't overly intense but had a sweet-spicy sauce flavor, and eating the chewy rice cakes together with fish cake and vegetables made it a nice side to pair with the meal. I'm a wimp with spice so it was a bit spicy for me haha;; hehe but it's sweet enough that you keep reaching for it, you know that feeling~?😏 When we'd ordered only mild dishes like bibimbap and gomtang, adding one order of tteokbokki in the middle kept things from feeling monotonous — it was surprisingly good.

Why SABAL is worth a return visit for a date

Above all, what I love about SABAL is that even after visiting multiple times, the food stays tidy and the overall clean feel never changes🤭 The dishware and plating are neat too, so it's great for food photos, and the table atmosphere is calm enough for a relaxed meal! Especially on nice-weather days like these, eating at the terrace seats seemed like it would make the mood even better haha. That kind of feeling where love blossoms~~!!

If you're looking for a Korean restaurant with atmosphere near Gwanghwamun, or a clean-menu spot for a date, this is the kind of place that will come to mind. Personally, my satisfaction has stayed high every time I've returned, so I think I'll keep coming back from time to time haha✨️