Jung, Seoul Korean restaurant lunch buffet with steak: Hotel Kukdo Patio

Where is Hotel Kukdo Patio?

I visited Patio on the second floor of Hotel Kukdo in Euljiro during my husband's lunch break. It was about a two-minute walk from Exit 10 of Euljiro 4-ga Station on Lines 2 and 5, and the hotel exterior looked neat.

Up on the second floor, I found Patio, the buffet restaurant. It operates as the hotel's breakfast restaurant in the morning, and it seemed to draw nearby office workers at lunch.

The same floor also had the hotel front desk, restrooms, and a fitness center. There was a notice saying parking is available, but the lot is small and public transit is recommended.

What are the lunch prices and main-dish choices?

The menu was divided into the Kukdo flat iron steak set for ₩55,000 and the chef-recommended buffet for ₩29,800. I was told that the Kukdo flat iron steak set must be reserved at least two days before visiting. Lunch runs from 11:30 to 14:00, and Naver Booking is also available.

We chose the chef-recommended buffet at ₩29,800 per person. Each person selected one main dish—flat iron steak or seafood tomato pasta—and could freely enjoy the Asian cuisine buffet. Since we both preferred meat to pasta, we ordered the steak.

What food was on the buffet?

I first looked around the salad, fruit, and tteok (Korean rice cake) section. I could add mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, olives, and more to the vegetables, while the oranges and grapefruit were good palate cleansers during the meal. There were also two kinds of juice.

The food centered on Asian dishes, including Korean and Japanese cuisine. Rather than simply increasing the number of options, it felt like they had a sensible selection of dishes people would eat often.

There were futomaki, grilled eel, kushikatsu, mulmegi, chicken teriyaki, buta kakuni, abalone shrimp, stir-fried udon, and more. It was easy to put small portions on one plate and try several dishes.

There was also plain white rice, seasoned seaweed, and five side dishes. It was not on the scale of a large hotel buffet, but I liked being able to taste each dish slowly rather than facing too many options.

How was the flat iron steak included with lunch?

What I liked most was that each person received a separate main dish. The flat iron steak we chose also arrived plated separately.

The steak came with mashed potatoes, green beans, and tomatoes. When I cut into it, it was around medium with some pink remaining inside. With the sauce, it was not dry and was fairly tender.

It was not a steak to compare with the thick steaks at a specialist steakhouse. Still, I was satisfied considering it was a main included with the buffet, and the mashed potatoes and steak sauce paired well with it.

Among the buffet dishes, I kept going back for the futomaki, kushikatsu, and udon. Eating small portions of different foods and adding a warm steak made it feel like a substantial meal.

Are noodle dishes and drinks available?

The noodle station had Japanese ramen, cold soba, and udon. It was a useful selection when I wanted some broth after eating buffet dishes.

In addition to coffee and juice, I could freely have matcha and sake. Since we were looking for something other than coffee, we were glad to have several choices.

After the meal, I rested over a cup of warm tea. It was a relaxed finish, without feeling the need to move immediately to a nearby café.

Is the atmosphere suited to family meals or group lunches?

At the entrance, the sake and wine glasses displayed on the wall caught my eye. Inside, there were high ceilings, chandeliers, and wood-tone furniture. The tables were relatively well spaced, and sunlight came in through large windows along one wall.

I did not take a separate summer vacation this year, but having lunch slowly in the quiet hotel briefly made me feel as if I were traveling. The staff were generally kind, and I also used the clean, gender-separated restrooms inside the hotel.

There is group seating, with capacity for up to about 80 people. I have not visited as part of a group, but after dining as a pair, I felt it could work for lunch with parents or a gathering with work colleagues.

If you expect a grand, large-scale buffet, the size and number of dishes may feel lacking. I liked that for ₩29,800 per person, I could have a separate main, Korean and Japanese dishes, noodles, and drinks, then rest in a space with large windows.