Dim Window Sitter · 6 stories

Dim Window, Seoul and Gyeonggi

Writes about cafes, restaurants, and bars found around Seoul and Gyeonggi. · Writes about: Restaurants · Bars · Cafés

Yeouido Station gyukatsu restaurant, garlic-sauce steki lunch: Izawa

Izawa Yeouido Direct Store is a gyukatsu and Japanese restaurant on the 2nd floor of Yeouido Jonghap Sangga, right next to Exit 5 of Yeouido Station in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul. Back for lunch after falling for the gyukatsu, the writer ordered the steki set (striploin, 18,000 won) and a friend ordered the tontoro-don (pork jowl rice bowl, 13,500 won), grilling the meat themselves on a mini grill. With meat so tender the writer forgot to take photos, a memorable garlic sauce and solo seats, Izawa Yeouido Direct Store is a reliable Japanese lunch spot by Yeouido Station.

Written Nov 15, 2026Sponsored

PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Pre-show yakitori dinner near Mapo Arts Center: Yakitori Shomong

Yakitori Shomong (야키토리 쇼몽) is a yakitori izakaya on the Gyeongui Line Forest Park trail between Gongdeok Station and Daeheung Station in Mapo, Seoul. Before a show at Mapo Arts Center, the writer came at weekday opening time and had a set of two 6-skewer courses, abalone pot rice and salted caramel ice cream for ₩81,600. The chicken heart and pelvic meat skewers were the best, and Yakitori Shomong is worth recommending for a filling pre-show dinner.

Written Apr 21, 2026Sponsored

PlaceYeongdeungpo, SeoulRestaurants

Italian office lunch in Yeouido: hanwoo gorgonzola pasta, Cuisine R

Cuisine R (퀴진 알) is an Italian restaurant on the 2nd floor of the Baeksang Building, near Exit 5 of Yeouido Station in Seoul. On a weekday lunch break, the writer ordered the Gorgonzola Manzo cream pasta with hanwoo 1++ beef (27,000 won) and the Bottarga Rosé pasta topped with myeongnan (pollock roe) (23,000 won), and was happy with both the tender beef and the saucy roe rosé. Cuisine R is worth recommending for a quick office-worker lunch or a Western-food date in Yeouido.

Written Jul 5, 2026Sponsored

PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Ilsan Lake Park sushi with Mom: crab and aged kimchi omakase, Hwangje

Hwangje Sushi Ilsan Main Branch (황제초밥 일산본점) is a sushi restaurant on the ground floor of a shopping arcade on Baengma-ro, near Ilsan Lake Park in Goyang, Gyeonggi. After a workout on a Sunday evening, the writer and Mom ordered the signature omakase sushi (15 pieces) and enjoyed the gejang (marinated raw crab) sushi, the aged kimchi sushi wrapped around fish and side dishes such as abalone-innards porridge. Hwangje Sushi Ilsan Main Branch is the Ilsan sushi spot to remember when you want to try many kinds of sushi in one meal.

Written Jul 30, 2026Sponsored

PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Dumpling hot pot finished with rice porridge in Siksa-dong: Arirang

Arirang Gaeseong Son Mandu Siksa Branch is a Korean restaurant serving mandu (dumpling) hot pot and beef shabu-shabu on Dongguk-ro in Ilsandong-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi. On a weekend lunch with my parents, we ordered the shabu mandu hot pot with half meat and half kimchi dumplings, beef shabu-shabu for two, and finished with rice porridge cooked in the deep broth, which was the best part of the meal. Leftover dumplings can be packed to go, so Arirang is worth a return trip for an autumn family meal.

Written Sep 27, 2026Sponsored

PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Yeonnam-dong weekend lunch: salmon belly don, ebi tempura udon, Jongno

Jongno Donburi Yeonnam is a basement Japanese rice bowl restaurant in Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, a 10-minute walk from Hongik University Station Exit 3. On a weekend lunch with a friend, we ordered the staff-recommended salmon belly don for 20,000 won, ebi tempura udon for 11,500 won and an onsen tamago add-on for 1,500 won. The salmon belly was thick and fresh, and a stroll along the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail afterwards makes Jongno Donburi Yeonnam an easy lunch date course.

Written Sep 26, 2026Sponsored

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