Areas · 10623 stories

Seoul

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

Mapo, SeoulRestaurants

Sushi restaurant near Hapjeong Station, Seoul: VIP set at Sushi Sakaba

Sushi Sakaba Hapjeong is a sushi and aged-sashimi restaurant on the second floor of the izakaya alley by Hapjeong Station in Mapo, Seoul. Ordering the Hap Sushi Set and the VIP Sushi Set side by side showed that the VIP set adds sweet shrimp, abalone and octopus plus a mini kaisendon (seafood rice bowl) to everything in the Hap set. Sushi Sakaba Hapjeong is a good choice when you want solid sushi in a relaxed setting rather than an elaborate omakase.

Written Sep 15, 2026Sponsored
Gwangjin, SeoulRestaurants

Guui Station pork belly restaurant with self-serve greens: Ssamchae

Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal is an iron-lid pork belly restaurant on Jayang-ro in Gwangjin, Seoul, a short walk from Guui Station. The writer ordered samgyeopsal (pork belly) and kkeopdegi (pork skin), which staff grilled at the table, and ate them with wrap greens and side dishes from the self-serve bar plus doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew). With a wide dining room and a well-stocked self-serve bar, Ssamchae Sotttukkeong Samgyeopsal is an easy choice for grilled pork with friends or a larger group.

Written Sep 15, 2026Sponsored
Yongsan, SeoulBars

Hannam-dong izakaya with open-kitchen sashimi tartare: Hannam Tatsu

Hannam Tatsu is an izakaya with an open kitchen on Hannam-daero 20-gil in Hannam-dong, Yongsan, Seoul. At Hannam Tatsu the order was assorted sashimi tartare, eaten wrapped in gim tae (dried seaweed sheets), and an eel rice bowl topped with four thick cuts of eel, with sake pairings to match. Between the bar seats and the table seats, Hannam Tatsu works well for group dinners, dates, or a first meeting.

Written Sep 15, 2026Sponsored
Gangnam, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Gangnam Station lash salon: volume add-on, no mascara needed — Lashdol

Lashdol Gangnam Station is a lash extension studio near Exit 4 of Gangnam Station on the Sinbundang Line in Seoul. At Lashdol the writer had human-hair CC-curl lashes with LED extensions plus a volume add-on, which gave fuller eyes without looking overdone, and found a 10% first-visit discount along with 2-week and 3-week retouch deals. It is a good combination for anyone who finds dramatic extensions too much but wants to fill in sparse lashes.

Written Sep 15, 2026Sponsored
Gangseo, SeoulRestaurants

Gimpo Airport mall dinner with a kid: bossam set for 3 at Hantiok

Hantiok Lotte Mall Gimpo Airport (한티옥 롯데몰 김포공항점) is a Korean restaurant in the B2 dining floor of Lotte Mall Gimpo Airport in Gangseo, Seoul. Ordering the bossam set for 3 with an elementary-school child, the meal courses were picked separately as two gukbap (rice soup) and one guksi (noodle soup), and tofu and mandu (dumplings) filled out the table. Hantiok seated the group with no wait even at dinnertime, making it an easy choice for a family meal.

Written Sep 14, 2026Sponsored
Songpa, SeoulCafés

Songni-dan-gil roastery café for laptop work in Seoul: Sese Coffee

Sese Coffee is a roastery café on Songni-dan-gil in Songpa, Seoul, a short walk from Songpanaru Station. With time to spare before a weekday lunch, the writer took a laptop in, ordered hazelnut vanilla pound cake, orange pound cake and a coffee as big as a bowl, and finished editing a YouTube video thanks to an outlet at every seat. Quiet, with single seats and a bar table, Sese Coffee is one of the better Seoul coffee shops for working alone.

Written Sep 4, 2026Sponsored
Mapo, SeoulBars

Hongdae speakeasy bar with Valheim cocktail and Balvenie 14: Bitters

Bitters is a speakeasy cocktail bar in Mapo, Seoul, a 440-meter walk from Hongik University Station Exit 9, where you push open a bookshelf door in the basement. Of the 12 book-inspired signature cocktails at Bitters, the Valheim with dill, lemon, honey and pickle brine costs 22,000 won, alongside a melon jamón plate at 23,000 won and a Balvenie 14-year on the rocks. With 3.5-meter ceilings, jazz playing and bartenders who ask what you like, Bitters works just as well for a date as for a drink alone.

Written Sep 15, 2026Sponsored
Yongsan, SeoulRestaurants

Samgakji curry lunch special at Bogumjip, a Yongsan Korean BBQ spot

Bogumjip Yongsan Main Branch is a Korean BBQ restaurant near Samgakji Station in Yongsan, Seoul, that serves a Japanese-style curry simmered for more than 6 hours as its lunch special. On the way to Yongsan I-Park Mall, the writer ordered the kaburi katsu (pork collar cutlet) curry, the shrimp cutlet curry and steamed egg, which came with sorbet-chilled radish salad and kimchi jjigae included. The rich curry with tender pork collar cutlet makes Bogumjip an easy lunch pick around Samgakji.

Written Sep 15, 2026Sponsored
Jongno, SeoulRestaurants

Charcoal beef grill in Jongno, Seoul: jingalbisal for two at Yukrab

Yukrab Jongno is a charcoal-grill restaurant for beef and lamb on the third floor of a building on Youth Street in Jongno, Seoul, a 2-3 minute walk from Jonggak Station Exit 4. Two servings of jingalbisal (beef rib finger meat, 120g each) cost 56,000 won and a steamed egg 3,900 won, and the thick-cut meat grilled over charcoal came with sauces including wasabi and whole grain mustard. With a black-toned interior and private rooms for 5 to 18 people, Yukrab Jongno works just as well for a date as for a group dinner near Jonggak.

Written Sep 15, 2026Sponsored
Gwangjin, SeoulRestaurants

Jayang-dong Seoul taco spot, corkage-free fish tacos: Teolbone Taco

Teolbone Taco (털보네 타코) is a Mexican restaurant that has reopened in Jayang-dong on Dukseom-ro 23-gil, near Konkuk University Station in Gwangjin, Seoul. The writer ordered pork tacos, fried fish tacos, a chimichanga, chili fries, a quesadilla and loaded Doritos, and the fried fish taco was the clear winner of the night. With corkage free if you ask ahead, Teolbone Taco is an easy pick for tacos with whatever you want to drink.

Written Sep 15, 2026Sponsored
Songpa, SeoulRestaurants

Group dinner course at Jamsilsaenae sashimi restaurant Namhae Fish

Namhae Fish Jamsilsaenae Branch is an aged sashimi (hoe) restaurant on the 2nd floor of a building inside the Jamsilsaenae dining alley, a 5-minute walk from Exit 4 of Jamsilsaenae Station in Songpa, Seoul. The sashimi omakase course starts with pre-meal porridge and mulhoe (chilled raw fish soup), then runs through a spread of aged sashimi, sushi and futomaki, fried food and pasta, and a hot soup at the end — so generous that we could not finish it. With a spacious hall and comfortable seating, Namhae Fish Jamsilsaenae Branch works well for group dinners and larger gatherings in Jamsilsaenae.

Written Sep 15, 2026Sponsored
Gwangjin, SeoulCafés

Gwangjin bakery with Seoul's #1 croissant and pain au chocolat: Stack

Stack Bakery is a French-style pastry bakery café in Jayang-dong, Gwangjin, Seoul, 609m from Exit 5 of Konkuk University Station. At Stack Bakery the order was four pastries — croissant, sausage pastry, pain au chocolat and hazelnut kouign-amann — eaten upstairs on the second floor with a café latte and a coconut latte. The croissant arrived warmed and its butter flavor was good enough to call a lifetime-best croissant, so Stack Bakery is saved for a repeat visit.

Written Sep 15, 2026Sponsored