Seafood stew and abalone pasta in Seochon, Seoul: Teen Seoul

Lately I've completely fallen for Seochon. I went on my first date there this summer and totally fell in love with the neighborhood, so I've been coming back a lot.

This day was a Seochon date with my boyfriend~~ to make the rounds of showrooms and prop shops, we stopped at Teen Seoul for lunch first to fill up. Hehe. Here's my review of Teen Seoul, a Western restaurant in Seochon where the fresh pasta was seriously delicious.

• 🏠 Address | 17 Jahamun-ro 5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea (1st-2nd floor)
• ⏰ Hours | 11:30-21:50
• 💤 Closed | Open every day

What kind of restaurant is Teen Seoul, and who is the chef?

Got off at Gyeongbokgung Station and headed to Teen Seoul in Seochon. First, let me introduce the place! It's a bistro opened in Seochon by a chef with experience at well-known Korean hotels, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu (one of the world's three great culinary schools), who went on to work at the 3-hat restaurant Quay in Sydney and as sous chef at the 2-hat restaurant Lakes in Melbourne, Australia, and later served as head chef at the Finnish Embassy in Korea. (*Australia's 'hat' rating is similar to Michelin stars.) Of course it's going to be good, right?

Teen Seoul's exterior and first floor.

Second-floor window seats at Teen Seoul and the Seochon view

The second-floor view at Teen Seoul is genuinely legendary, so I'd recommend writing a request for the second floor when you book. This was our seat ><

This place is a view spot for sure.

The moment we got upstairs, the wide-open Seochon view took me by surprise. The scenery outside the window doesn't feel like a backdrop — it feels like it's the main point of the whole space. As soon as we were seated I pulled out my phone and started snapping photos. On a nice-weather day I feel like you could really get a life-shot here... The lighting and interior are stylish without being over the top, so it seems like a spot that works for both a date and a casual meal with friends.

What we ordered at Teen Seoul and what it cost

Teen Seoul's menu. What we ordered that day was —

• Saffron Seafood Stew (sea bass, saffron, squid, shrimp, orzo pasta, yeolmu) 39,000 won
• Botarga Abalone Maltagliati (fresh maltagliati pasta, botarga, whole abalone, sourdough crumb) 29,000 won
• Glass wine (Sparkling) 16,000 won x2

Two glasses of sparkling wine, 16,000 won each

We had two glasses of sparkling wine with the meal, and drinking it while looking at the view was genuinely... the textbook definition of a good daytime drink. The crisp fizz cut through the heaviness of the stew and pasta between bites and cleansed the palate, so it balanced really well with the food, and holding a wine glass while looking out at the Seochon scenery made me wonder if I was even still in Seoul — it felt that relaxing. Haha.

Botarga abalone maltagliati, 29,000 won: the fresh pasta texture

Botarga Abalone Maltagliati. Botarga might be an unfamiliar ingredient — it's an Italian ingredient made from salted, dried mullet roe. Think of it like a Western cousin of eoran (salted fish roe) in Korean cuisine and it's easy to picture. That salty, savory botarga soaked naturally into the tender abalone and fresh pasta, and one bite in I thought, 'wait, what is this.'

The noodles weren't machine-cut and smooth but hand-torn maltagliati, so the texture was way more interesting, and since the thickness varied slightly with every bite there was never a dull moment. It showed me what 'real' fresh pasta is... Personally, this is the fresh pasta I'd recommend most!

Saffron seafood stew, 39,000 won: a broth made for dipping bread

Saffron Seafood Stew. The subtle aroma and color of saffron had soaked well into the broth, so the fragrance hit from the very first spoonful. There was zero fishy smell from the seafood — it was clean — and the broth's thickness was just right, not too heavy or too thin. Bread came alongside it, and dipping it in the broth was so good. The butter on the bread was seriously delicious too, heehee.

It was my first time having stew at a restaurant, and it was pretty satisfying. Hehe.

I'd definitely recommend booking early.

There's a restroom behind the curtain.

Is Teen Seoul worth a second visit?

Overall, this was a place where the food, the view, and the atmosphere all lined up perfectly!!!!!!! If you're ever passing by Seochon — actually, even if you're not, it's worth making the time to go. Highly recommended if you want a nice atmospheric meal in Seochon.

The restroom was clean too, which is a plus~ A very satisfying meal in Seochon.