Hillside Basket Carrier · 8 stories

Baskets and Bar Stools, Five Regions

Writes about the restaurants, cafes, bars and shops they stop at while travelling around Seoul, Gangwon, Gyeonggi, Incheon and Jeju. · Writes about: Bars · Restaurants · Cafés · Shopping

PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Daehak-ro salad shop solo meal: bacon potato soup set, Sallering

Sallering Daehak-ro is a poke and salad shop on Daehak-ro 10-gil near Hyehwa Station in Seoul. After seeing a play and before meeting a friend, the writer ate alone, ordering the Slim Pack Soup Set with 50g extra beef brisket, mentaiko wasabi mayo sauce, bacon potato soup and a Yellow Cleanse juice; the brown rice and brisket made it filling enough for a full meal. For a healthy but satisfying solo meal before or after a show in Daehak-ro, the Slim Pack Soup Set at Sallering Daehak-ro is a good choice.

Written Jun 1, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongdong, SeoulRestaurants

Seongsu date restaurant for sous vide flat iron steak: Omil Seongsu

Omil Seongsu is a pasta and Western restaurant on Achasan-ro 5-gil in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. After a first visit with a friend, the writer returned to Omil Seongsu on a date and ordered the Omil Steak (35,900 won), Spicy Pollock Roe Oil Pasta (17,900 won) and an Oh! Pineapple Ade (6,900 won). With its tender sous vide flat iron steak, savory pollock roe pasta and calm setting just off Seongsu's main street, Omil Seongsu is a Seongsu date restaurant worth returning to.

Written May 31, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangjin, SeoulBars

Gunja jazz bar, second try after a full house: Kick Ass Jazz Club

Kick Ass Jazz Club is a live jazz bar on Neungdong-ro near Gunja Station in Gwangjin, Seoul. The writer was turned away on a first visit because Kick Ass Jazz Club was full, came back two weeks later on an empty stomach, and made dinner of the set for two (Budweiser, Red Hot buffalo wings and pastry pepperoni pizza) while enjoying a piano and drum jazz set. Verdict: book on Catch Table if you want to be sure of a Friday or Saturday show.

Written Jun 3, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Seolleung sushi izakaya: wooden menu boards and yellowtail at Sakai

Sakai is a sushi izakaya on Yeoksam-ro 67-gil near Seolleung Station in Gangnam, Seoul, where you order the sushi you want one piece at a time. At the counter, with two Suntory draft beers, the writer tried red sea bream, yellowtail, otoro, uni, negitoro, bigfin reef squid, chutoro, horse mackerel, sweet shrimp and kinmedai, and watched the yellowtail's wooden menu board come down as it sold out mid-meal. With a menu that changes with seasonal ingredients, Sakai is worth a return visit when you'd rather pick only your favourite sushi than commit to omakase.

Written Oct 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Daehangno date-night restaurant: sous vide flat iron steak at Omil

Omil Hyehwa Daehangno is a casual Western restaurant on the 2nd floor of 35 Daemyeong-gil in Jongno, Seoul, near Exit 4 of Hyehwa Station. The writer, who had visited the Seongsu branch many times, came for a Hyehwa date dinner with a partner and ordered the Oh! Set (47,700 won), with the sous vide flat iron Omil Steak, spicy seafood oil pasta and crunchy fried corn. Verdict: Omil Hyehwa suits a date dinner, and because dishes can be ordered less spicy, it also works for eating out with a child in Daehangno.

Written Oct 26, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Seolleung Korean restaurant: post-workout bone jjim for one, Haeseonok

Haeseonok Seolleung Branch is a gamjatang (pork bone soup), bone jjim (braised pork bones) and crab stew restaurant between Seolleung Station and Yeoksam Station in Gangnam, Seoul. After a workout, the writer ate alone at Haeseonok and ordered the 16,900 won solo set of charcoal-grilled spicy bone jjim with 6 seafood pancakes, enjoying a spicy sauce that even spice-shy eaters can handle, big chunks of potato and freshly fried pancakes. If you thought bone jjim was only for groups, the Haeseonok Seolleung Branch solo set is the way to enjoy it on your own.

Written Oct 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSongpa, SeoulRestaurants

Jazz restaurant near Seokchon Lake, wedding-prep date night: Allegro

Allegro is an Italian jazz restaurant on the 3rd floor of a building inside the Bangi-dong food alley in Songpa, Seoul, serving pasta and wine with live jazz. A couple busy with wedding preparations ate amatriciana (19,000 won) and sous vide pork neck steak (33,000 won) with glasses of red wine at Allegro, watched the first jazz set, then walked to Seokchon Lake. Food, atmosphere and jazz were all satisfying, making Allegro a great Jamsil date spot.

Written Oct 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangdong, SeoulRestaurants

Cheonho octopus restaurant with radish-mayo wraps: Jjuksami

Jjuksami Cheonho Main Branch (쭉삼이 천호본점) is a jjukkumi (webfoot octopus) and pork belly restaurant at the entrance of Cheonho's octopus alley, near Exit 6 of Cheonho Station in Gangdong, Seoul. On a weekday lunch, two people shared 2 servings of octopus + pork belly (16,000 won per person) and 2 servings of flying fish roe fried rice (6,000 won), and the sauce sat right between sweet and spicy, so it was easy to eat. Jjuksami Cheonho Main Branch suits anyone after a filling meal of perilla leaf, pickled radish and mayo wraps, finished with roe fried rice pressed flat in the pan.

Written Oct 6, 2026Sponsored
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