Itaewon Korean restaurant for a celebratory course: Modam Itaewon

I took a day off on Monday, and before heading to Starbucks The Bukhan Mountain, we decided to stop somewhere with a lovely atmosphere for a nice lunch. Honestly, I had wanted to visit Modam Itaewon for ages. I had saved it on Naver Map because the atmosphere looked great and I loved the idea of a neat, full Korean table setting—and I finally made it there this time.

Modam Itaewon is inside a hotel, so parking is easy and the atmosphere feels wonderfully upscale!

Modam Itaewon location and parking

If you are taking the subway, Modam Itaewon is close to Exit 3 of Noksapyeong Station. It is on the first floor of Mondrian Seoul Itaewon, so if you are driving, you can park in the hotel’s underground garage.

• First 120 minutes of parking free
• Additional charge: ₩8,000 per 60 minutes
• Maximum charge: ₩60,000
• Valet parking available: ₩28,000

Walk straight ahead through Mondrian Hotel’s glamorous lobby and you will find Modam Itaewon.

An antique-inspired, comfortable interior

This is the interior of Modam Itaewon. From the entrance, it has such an upscale, antique-inspired feel. Every detail, from the entry decorations to the lighting and accessories, seemed carefully considered, so I somehow felt looked after from the moment I walked in.

As you would expect from an upscale Korean set-menu restaurant, there are many decorative pieces throughout the space that convey Korean beauty. It felt both luxurious and distinctly Korean, so it was fun just looking around.

We arrived at 11 a.m. Since it was still early, the restaurant was quiet, which meant we could leisurely look around and take photos. Around 11:30, diners began arriving one by one.

Modern yet luxurious—those two words sum up Modam Itaewon, I think. The softly warm lighting, generously sized tables, and spacious table spacing made it feel comfortable while still refined. It would be lovely for couples or families, as well as gatherings or hosting business guests.

Private rooms for family introductions and gatherings

Modam Itaewon is also known as a popular spot for sanggyeonrye, the formal meeting between two families before a marriage. It has private rooms, so many people visit for that occasion; while we were eating, we even saw a family who appeared to be there for one.

There are not only four-person rooms but also eight-person rooms, so it looked great for sanggyeonrye, company dinners, and other gatherings.

They had a wide selection of alcoholic drinks, including wine. The lineup was so impressive that I nearly lost my mind the moment I saw it, haha.

A Korean set course where you choose the main

It is arranged as a Korean set course. You only choose the main dish; the rest of the dishes are the same and are meant to be shared. We ordered the grilled deodeok root and charcoal-grilled tteokgalbi set, the charcoal-grilled Beopseongpo borigulbi set, and marinated seafood as an additional à la carte dish.

A generous table from the course appetizers onward

The beautifully plated dishes arrived all at once. There were so many dishes and such generous portions that, after trying them one by one, I was already full before even getting to the mains, haha.

This was seasonal fruit and grilled vegetables with black sesame dressing. The dressing was nutty and delicious, and it went really well with gim bugak, crispy fried seaweed.

There were grilled mushrooms hiding beneath the sauce. I loved the texture, so I kept reaching for them.

This was a green salad topped with borisaeu chips, little dried shrimp chips. It was generously sprinkled with shrimp, and the fresh salad really woke up my appetite—just the right light appetizer before the meal.

Bracken fern perilla-oil buckwheat noodles. Oh! You simply cannot resist the combination of bracken fern and perilla-oil buckwheat noodles. The nutty flavor was so good that I finished every last bite.

Modam gangjeong made me think it would be dakgangjeong, sweet crispy chicken, because of the name—but there was shiitake mushroom inside the batter. The crunchy coating and chewy mushroom were an unbeatable combination, haha. The seasoning was delicious too, so I really enjoyed it.

The seasonal raw-fish ceviche came with a tangy sauce, making it perfect as a pre-meal appetizer.

Grilled deodeok, tteokgalbi, and Beopseongpo borigulbi

After the earlier course dishes, the main meal really begins. Even though the table was quite large, it quickly became completely full.

The grilled deodeok root and charcoal-grilled tteokgalbi set comes with rice, soup, three side dishes, and mul kimchi, a mild water kimchi.

The grilled deodeok root and charcoal-grilled tteokgalbi are handmade patties aged for 24 hours. This was the menu my friend chose. She was curious how different it would taste from the frozen tteokgalbi we eat at home… hahahahaha.

But I shared some too, and handmade tteokgalbi really was noticeably different. It was full of juices and delicious. My friend especially preferred the grilled deodeok that came with it.

The charcoal-grilled Beopseongpo borigulbi set likewise comes with rice, soup, three side dishes, and mul kimchi, plus a dipping sauce for the borigulbi and Boseong green tea water. The golden-grilled borigulbi, salted and dried yellow croaker, arrived looking so appetizing. Most of the large bones had been removed, but you still need to watch out for the small ones.

I absolutely love borigulbi, but I do not get many chances to eat it, haha. Modam Itaewon’s borigulbi was pleasantly salty, with that wonderfully distinctive borigulbi flavor.

Marinated seafood and sorbet that were worth adding

This is the marinated seafood we added as an à la carte dish. My friend was torn between the seafood and tteokgalbi courses, so I said, “Since we are here, let’s try both!” and added the seafood too, haha. In the end, it was such a good decision! My friend loved it so much.

The marinated seafood included a variety of seafood, such as abalone, salmon roe, egg, mussels, and octopus.

My friend liked it so much that she said she wanted to take some home and eat it as a side dish for a whole week.

There were large shrimp in it too, so we separated the heads. They were wonderfully rich and delicious.

For dessert, we had a sorbet made with perilla leaf and lemon. Perilla-leaf sorbet? It sounded unusual and I could not imagine the flavor, but oh my—it was so delicious. It was the perfect clean finish to the meal.

I was happy with every single dish, and the portions were generous too. A Korean set course in such a lovely restaurant inside a hotel for ₩45,000 per person! Prices vary by menu, with some lower and some higher, haha. Still, considering the overall composition and food quality, I actually thought the pricing was very reasonable.

The neat Korean set course at this elegant Korean restaurant inside a hotel seems like a meal anyone would enjoy, regardless of preference. It would be a great place to visit on a special day—for an Itaewon sanggyeonrye, gathering, company dinner, or business appointment.