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Seoul

Cafés, restaurants and places in Seoul, written by bloggers who went there.

Yongsan, SeoulRestaurants

Mushroom soup and curry pork cutlet in Yongsan, Seoul: Onjeong

Yongsan Donkatsu Onjeong Gyeongyang Sikdang, Yongsan branch is a Western-style pork cutlet restaurant between Namyeong Station and Hyochang Park Station in Yongsan, Seoul. Arriving at 11:45 am meant no wait, and the table shared a rich curry pork cutlet at 13,500 won and a cold soba with one spicy pork cutlet set at 15,000 won, with the surprise of the meal being a mushroom soup that tasted like the one at Outback. Portions at Onjeong were so generous there was no room left to use the self bar, making it a strong value lunch.

Written Sep 16, 2026Sponsored
Gangnam, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Cheongdam hair salon keratin clinic instead of perm, ₩150,000: Beorn

Beorn Hair Cheongdam is a hair salon a 5-minute walk from Exit 4 of Gangnam-gu Office Station in Gangnam, Seoul. A layered cut and perm were the plan, but after a consultation with designer Yumin the damage level led to an inner keratin clinic instead, down from the regular price of 250,000 won to 150,000 won with the 40% first-visit discount. Heat treatment, moisture care and a scalp massage in the spa room left the hair calm enough to comb through easily again.

Written Sep 16, 2026Sponsored
Mapo, SeoulRestaurants

Hapjeong Indian restaurant with onion fritters a la carte: Mandala

Mandala Indian Lounge is an Indian restaurant on the 3rd floor of a building on Dokmak-ro 3-gil in Mapo, Seoul, between Hapjeong and Sangsu. Visiting alone after the lunch rush, the writer ordered chicken makhani, garlic naan, cheese naan and onion fritters a la carte, and found the floor-to-ceiling windows and bar table far sleeker than a typical curry house. The naan at Mandala Indian Lounge was thin rather than heavy, making it an easy recommendation for a good-looking meal near Hapjeong Station.

Written Sep 16, 2026Sponsored
Mapo, SeoulRestaurants

Boneless cheese jjimdak at Hongdae Station Exit 9: Ongdarae Jjimdak

Ongdarae Jjimdak is a cheese jjimdak (braised chicken) restaurant on Yanghwa-ro in Mapo, Seoul, a short walk from Hongdae Station Exit 9. The order here was a boneless cheese jjimdak in S size at regular spice level, with Ongbap (a scorched-rice bowl) instead of plain rice so the leftover sweet-salty sauce could be mixed in, and the wide flat noodles and crumbly potatoes kept the balance right. With a wine display, a wood-tone room and free snacks, tea and coffee, Ongdarae Jjimdak works for a date or a tidy group meetup.

Written Sep 16, 2026Sponsored
Jongno, SeoulRestaurants

Daehangno Nepali-Indian restaurant, vegetable pakora: Meono Kkameona

Meono Kkameona Daehangno Branch is an Indian and Nepali restaurant in Daehangno, Seoul, a 3-minute walk from Hyehwa Station Exit 3. On a quirky date with a friend, the order was Set B — green salad, tandoori chicken, curry, naan and lassi — plus vegetable pakora, and the tandoor-baked butter naan with the thick plain lassi was the most memorable pairing. With its exotic interior plus private rooms and group seating, Meono Kkameona works for both food-focused dates and larger gatherings in Daehangno.

Written Sep 16, 2026Sponsored
Nowon, SeoulRestaurants

Nowon Culture Street jokbal restaurant for a couple's dinner: Gwihan

Gwihan Jokbal Nowon Branch is a jokbal (braised pig's trotters) restaurant on Nowon Culture Street, a 2-minute walk from exit 1 of Nowon Station in Seoul. On a couple's dinner date the writer ordered the half-and-half jokbal platter for 45,000 won with soju at 5,000 won, and the table filled up with free dried pollack and bean sprout soup, hedge tea and fresh fruit makguksu (cold noodles). One half-and-half platter was plenty for two, and two bottles of soju disappeared fast.

Written Sep 16, 2026Sponsored
Jung-gu, SeoulRestaurants

Chungmuro Station noodle restaurant with roe kalguksu: Nagwon-ui Soba

Nagwon-ui Soba Bossam Kalguksu Chungmuro Station Main Branch is a soba and bossam kalguksu restaurant on the second floor of a building on the main road by Exit 1 of Chungmuro Station in Jung-gu, Seoul. Over dinner with a sibling, the order was pollock hoe makguksu (cold buckwheat noodles with seasoned raw pollock), alttang kalguksu (knife-cut noodles in spicy fish roe and milt broth) and freshly boiled bossam (boiled pork), eaten with two kinds of kimchi and wrap greens. With a wide hall that handles solo diners and group dinners of 12 to 20 alike, plus a kind owner, Nagwon-ui Soba is an easy value pick near Chungmuro.

Written Sep 16, 2026Sponsored
Mapo, SeoulCafés

Seoul coffee shop with a bean tasting zone in Mangwon: PICT Roastery

PICT Roastery Mangwon Branch is a roastery café right by Mangwon Market in Mapo, Seoul, a 5-minute walk from Mangwon Station Exit 2. At the tasting zone you smell the beans before ordering, and this visit meant two americanos — one acidic bean, one nutty bean — plus the 24-hour aged French toast. The acidic bean kept a hand-drip level aroma, so PICT Roastery is a good place to work out your own coffee taste.

Written Sep 16, 2026Sponsored
Yongsan, SeoulBars

Mackerel bong sushi with potato salad at Kuroiya, an Itaewon izakaya

Kuroiya is a low-lit basement izakaya in an alley in Itaewon, Yongsan, Seoul. Sashimi cost 50,000 won and the renewed mackerel bong sushi (pressed mackerel sushi) made with potato salad cost 25,000 won, with ankimo gimbap thrown in through a Naver review event. Swapping rice for potato salad makes Kuroiya's mackerel bong sushi go down far more smoothly as a drinking snack.

Written Sep 16, 2026Sponsored
Geumcheon, SeoulRestaurants

Hanwoo hot pot and yukhoe mulhoe for two in Gasan, Seoul: Yukhwang

Yukhwang Gasan Digital Complex Station branch is a hanwoo (Korean beef) restaurant on the 1st floor of Hallla One&One Tower Building A, about a 5-minute walk from Exit 8 of Gasan Digital Complex Station in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul. Two of us ordered the beef hot pot (small), yukhoe mulhoe (chilled raw beef soup) and a bottle of Saero, going back and forth between the steaming hot pot finished with knife-cut noodles and the cold mulhoe finished with somyeon noodles. For an evening where you want one hot dish and one cold dish on the same table, Yukhwang's pairing worked well for two.

Written Sep 16, 2026Sponsored
Mapo, SeoulRestaurants

Hongdae sushi restaurant serving wasabi on the side: Yu Iksang Sushi

Yu Iksang Sushi is a sushi restaurant in a Seogyo-dong alley within walking distance of Hongik University Station in Mapo, Seoul. Two people visited on a Saturday at 4pm for a late lunch and ordered the Couple A set for 52,000 won, which came with soup, salad and fried shrimp. The long-tail sushi, with fish draped well past the rice, and the wasabi served separately so you add as much as you want made the meal stand out.

Written Sep 15, 2026Sponsored
Gangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Coex mall curry restaurant: ₩40,000 Set C for two, India The Durbar

India The Durbar Samseong Station Branch is an Indian curry restaurant on the basement floor near Samseong Station in Gangnam, Seoul, a 10-minute walk from exits 3 and 4 and close to the POSCO intersection. On a weekday visit at 8pm, the Set C for two (₩40,000) brought chicken mushroom soup, six pieces of boneless tandoori chicken, two curries (butter chicken and chicken tikka masala), rice, plain naan and a drink, with an extra butter naan ordered on the side. The plain naan turned out chewier than the butter naan, and the spread is generous enough to make India The Durbar an easy value pick near Coex.

Written Sep 16, 2026Sponsored