Seongdong wine bar with doenjang carbonara: Out of Order

I was wondering where to go for my mom’s birthday, and ended up at Out of Order, one of the good spots in Seongsu-dong :) This wasn’t actually my first visit—I’d been several times before! I had ordered the clam kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) on an earlier visit, and it was quite memorable, so I thought Mom would like it too. But oh my god... when I went this time, the kalguksu had become a lunch-only menu item ㅠㅠ I was sad, sob, but we picked other dishes this time and honestly, even better! Everything we ordered was delicious, and Mom and I had such a lovely, comfortable meal.

Out of Order’s exterior and space near Seongsu Station

As you head from Seongsu Station toward Konkuk University Station, you’ll spot Out of Order, a great Seongsu-dong restaurant, looking like this. Dough Society, which I absolutely loved, used to be here, so I was sad when it disappeared. As it turns out, Dough Society moved to Yaksu. Anyway, Out of Order’s exterior is cool from the start, and so is its logo. The building itself stands out, so it shouldn’t be difficult to find even on your first visit.

There’s also a sign by the entrance, and it’s holographic... It suits the name Out of Order so perfectly. What is this sense of style, seriously... I personally like spaces that are a little raw but full of character, so I found myself taking a few photos before even going in.

Ah, it’s just so pretty. This is what it feels like inside. Since it’s a Korean-fusion wine bar, there are Korean-inspired objects placed here and there, which makes it fun to look around. Maybe that’s why it feels a little calm, too.

But I think the exterior walls could use a wash, haha. Especially because I went with Mom, I liked the quiet atmosphere! Maybe I’m getting older... loud, trendy places are just too exhausting these days, aaah. Mom said she liked how peaceful it was, and how they kept things like the floor as they were while making the furniture and tables look neat. Oh... a Seongsu hot spot that won Mom over too.

There are bar seats like this too, and except for the day I came with Mom, I’d always sat at the bar. The bar seats are so pretty. They sometimes play music on LPs, so the music is all great too. The bar seating continues like this.

There’s a display of all kinds of alcohol. There seemed to be more liqueurs than I expected, so I checked the menu again and saw that they sell cocktails too. So rather than simply being a place to eat, it definitely feels like a wine bar—a bar with drinks to pair with the food.

When we sat down, the table was set very neatly. Since it was Mom’s birthday, I wanted to make the occasion feel a little special too, so I ordered wine, haha.

Omija tea and flounder carpaccio after ordering wine

And this is where I started feeling really happy. They first gave us omija tea (five-flavor berry tea) as a welcome drink! Such thoughtfulness...!! The glass was so cute too. Omija whets the appetite, so serving it like an aperitif made me think, ah, they must have really studied food here. I loved that.

Then, because we ordered two glasses of wine, welcome food came out too. Wow. And it was seriously delicious... Mom said this was her favorite of everything we ate... hahaha. Hmm? This flounder carpaccio had grapefruit, orange, yuzu sauce, and olive oil, and it was wonderfully refreshing. Ordering wine and receiving food like this made our birthday meal feel like we were being treated, which was lovely. The staff were so kind too. Things like that stay with you for a long time, separate from how the food tastes.

Grilled baby napa cabbage and doenjang carbonara sujebi

The three things we ordered this time were grilled baby napa cabbage, potato pavé, and doenjang carbonara sujebi (hand-torn dough soup)! I came back to Out of Order because of the clam kalguksu I had before, so I was sad that it had become a lunch dish ㅠㅠ But because of that, I got to try these new dishes, which was actually nice. The grilled baby napa cabbage made me think, you can eat cabbage like this? They grill the whole cabbage, leaving beautiful sear marks on the outside. It felt a little like geotjeori, lightly seasoned fresh kimchi, baked in the oven. I really love and admire places with dishes that present familiar ingredients in slightly unfamiliar ways! So cool.

The dish I was most curious about on this visit was the doenjang carbonara sujebi. Wine with sujebi? At first I was like, huh? But then I thought, it’s kind of like gnocchi anyway! I think it’s fun to see new combinations of ingredients and sauces like this at Out of Order. The sujebi itself was familiar, but the sauce was completely unlike a typical sujebi dish, so it felt fresh. Doenjang (fermented soybean paste) in the cream sauce created a wonderful balance of savory depth and saltiness. I was a little sad not to have the clam kalguksu I’d eaten before, but it was great to discover different dishes this time.

They also sell dongchimi (radish water kimchi) as a side instead of pickles. I ordered it because I thought Mom might find the carbonara sujebi too rich, but I ended up eating it all myself... haha. Having a bite between the mains refreshes your palate each time.

Potato pavé with perilla seeds and scallions

And then there was the potato pavé I ordered because I was curious. The potatoes were layered so beautifully that I went wow...!! It looks pretty like a dessert, but it’s actually thin slices of potato stacked in layers and cooked almost like they’ve been fried. The perilla seeds in the sauce were such a fresh touch. There were also scallions scattered generously over it, which cut through the richness. Ah... I’m so happy that I can eat food showing this much thought and the chef’s ideas at such good value.

The orderly flow of the kitchen and bar

You can catch a glimpse of the kitchen in the back. Everyone, can you see how neatly those prepped ingredients are arranged... So impressive. It feels like the chefs trained somewhere intense and serious. It’s a small restaurant, but you can sense a system behind it. Mom kept saying, look at that—why don’t you properly learn how to cook too? You need to learn a system like that. They do such a good job here, and she gave me so many lectures... hahahahaha.

The bar area is also designed efficiently for bartenders to prepare drinks, from the flow to the washing station. The layout feels experienced. There are lots of things here, but they’re organized well, and Mom liked that the food was neat and delicious too.

Why I want to return for another birthday meal

Out of Order is a Seongsu wine bar I think I’ll visit very often. I returned thinking about the clam kalguksu I’d had before, and it was a little disappointing that it had become lunch-only! But this time we tried the grilled baby napa cabbage, potato pavé, and doenjang carbonara sujebi, and they were even more delicious...!!! Ordering two glasses of wine brought us omija tea as a welcome drink and flounder carpaccio as welcome food, so it was a very happy meal and Mom loved it too. It was her birthday, and seeing her happy was the best part. Out of Order is a great Seongsu-dong restaurant because its menu is a little unusual, making it fun to look through and think, oh, they have this too. There are so many interesting sauce-and-ingredient combinations that I left feeling like I’d learned something. Next time, I need to go back and try more dishes, hehe.