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Cafés, restaurants and places in Seoul, written by bloggers who went there.
Sutgarak Bansang Masil is an upscale Korean restaurant in Nowon, Seoul, set in a hanok-style building with private rooms and a small garden. The 27,000-won Masil course brought a Yulmu barley and cherry blossom porridge, conch salad, medicinal bossam, Masil tteokgalbi, and mushroom braised ribs, all mild in seasoning. It's a solid pick for family gatherings or parents' first meetings (sangyeonrye) with older relatives.
Schedule Osteria is an Italian restaurant in Jung-gu, Seoul, near Cheonggyecheon between Euljiro and Jonggak, on the 2nd floor of the iM Financial Center. A group shared bolognese arancini, roasted mini cabbage, prime chuck roll risotto, prawn oil pasta and octopus confit potato, with plating so pretty every dish got photographed first. With floor-to-ceiling city views and 5–8 person rooms, it suits a group get-together even better than a date.
Menya Seoul Yongsan I'Park Mall Branch is a Japanese ramen restaurant on the 7th floor food court of I'Park Mall in Yongsan, Seoul. After failing to get into the Pokémon card shop and heading back down, the writer stopped in and ordered a single dongpo pork char siu ramen and a whole pork belly mazesoba set, finishing every bit of the thick yet tender dongpo pork and springy noodles. The failed card shop trip turned out to be the best thing that happened that day.
Seventy Four Myeongdong Cathedral Main Branch is a pasta and risotto restaurant on the first floor of Familia Chapel, right beside Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul. Dining solo, the writer ordered the new bulgogi risotto (₩18,000), the signature Unexpected Eggplant (₩16,000), and a chamomile tea — the barley-mixed cream risotto and the fried eggplant piled with tomato sauce both hit the spot. With a shaded outdoor terrace popular among foreign visitors and evening group bookings filling the place, it's an atmospheric Myeongdong spot worth trying.
Dongnaejeong Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Main Branch is a Korean BBQ restaurant near Exit 5 of Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Station in Seoul, grilling Korean native pork over baekjan charcoal. Staff grilled three servings of jeong-gabri (pork jowl cut) topped with cheongyang peppers, finished with fried rice cooked in the signature melchorim (anchovy stew) sauce and icy Jeju sanbang mul-milmyeon (cold noodles in broth). The thick gabrisal and melchorim combo was especially satisfying.
Yeonnam Jokbal 1987 Jonggak Branch is a Korean restaurant tucked in an alley near Jonggak Station in Jongno, Seoul. A friend and I shared the fried jokbal platter (₩49,000) and Yeosu cockle bibim somyeon (₩22,000) with cold beer, the crispy-outside, juicy-inside fried pork feet balanced by the spicy cockle noodles. With an 'Excellent' hygiene rating and an indoor restroom, it's an easy, comfortable spot for a night out with a friend.
Ssuk's Choco Pie Seoul is a handmade choco pie bakery on Jongno 32-gil in Gwangjang Market, Jongno, Seoul. After a market outing with a friend, the writer packed a boxed set home to share Gwangju Real Choco, Nonsan strawberry, and Udo peanut flavors with her kids. Not overly sweet, it worked well as both a kids' snack and a gift.
Manjok Ohyang Jokbal Hongdae Station Branch is a jokbal (braised pork trotter) restaurant a short walk from Hongik University Station in Mapo, Seoul. The five-spice ohyang jokbal here had chewy skin, moist meat, and almost no gamey smell, and the place stayed busy with Japanese and Chinese tourists plus a steady stream of delivery and takeout orders. It's a solid, no-fail pick when you need a filling meal in Hongdae.
Namsogwan U Yuk Dosakmyeon is a dosakmyeon (hand-shaved noodle) and dim sum Chinese restaurant on Teheran-ro 1-gil near Gangnam Station, Seoul. Over dinner with her mom, the writer ordered yuxiang rousi rice bowl (spicy stir-fried pork and vegetables over rice) for 10,800 won, xiaolongbao for 9,800 won, and shumai for 9,000 won, mixing a rice bowl with dim sum, and the flavors were mild enough to share comfortably with a parent. Seated on the first floor, she also noticed the mix of date-night and work-dinner groups filling the room.
ZERO100 PC Gireum is a 24-hour PC café in Seongbuk, Seoul, a 2–3 minute walk from Gireum Station Exit 6 on the basement level. Working solo on a 3-hour pass, the writer had spam mayo rice bowl with pork belly topping, cheese tteokbokki, and short chicken legs with a chocolate bar for dinner and snacks. The seats are soft and roomy, great for getting work done, and the food was better than expected.
Insadong Jemyeonso Annyeong Insadong Branch is an udon and rice bowl restaurant a 4-minute walk from Anguk Station Exit 6, on the 3rd floor of the Annyeong Insadong culture mall in Jongno, Seoul. On a late weekday lunch, a solo diner ordered steak rice bowl, karaage cold udon set, and handmade shrimp tempura 5p for a total of ₩33,500, enjoying the ice-flecked cold udon broth and a rice bowl loaded with meat. Insadong Jemyeonso Annyeong Insadong Branch is worth recommending to anyone looking for a satisfying, affordable solo meal.
Biorn Hair Apgujeong Rodeo is a damaged-hair clinic-focused salon on the 3rd floor, an easy walk from Apgujeong Rodeo Station in Gangnam, Seoul. The blogger brought her son in for the inner clinic treatment after perm and straightening left his ends split and brittle, going through cleansing shampoo, moisture and liquid protein application, two rounds of heat treatment, oil and keratin supplementation, and cuticle coating. Just blow-drying afterward brought back enough shine and bounce to create an angel ring, and he even got compliments on his hair at school the next day.
