Jongno Korean restaurant for a Gwanghwamun date night: Modam Dining

A date-night dinner at Modam Dining Gwanghwamun

On Friday evening, after enjoying a date around Gwanghwamun for the first time in a while, we stopped by Modam Dining Gwanghwamun for dinner. On cool days like these, it is the kind of season when even simply walking around endlessly makes the scenery feel like a painting.

Modam Dining Gwanghwamun is on the first basement level of Deoksugung D-Palace, conveniently accessible from Gwanghwamun, Gyeonghuigung, and Deoksugung. It is a good location whether you are having dinner after a date around Gwanghwamun or looking for somewhere to eat with your parents.

As soon as we entered, it felt a little cleaner and more put-together than a typical Korean restaurant. It was neither overly formal nor intimidating, yet calmer than an ordinary restaurant, making it easy to focus on the meal. It seemed well suited not only to dates but also family meals with parents, birthdays, anniversaries, and meals with important guests. There are both a dining hall and private rooms, so it is also ideal for hosting a private gathering.

Modam Dining Gwanghwamun menu and our order

There were two of us.

Modam Dining Gwanghwamun had options such as a bulgogi set meal, but we ordered the abalone tteokgalbi and the abalone soy-marinated shrimp with butter rice sets.

Abalone tteokgalbi set ₩40,000 Abalone soy-marinated shrimp and butter rice set ₩40,000

For important occasions such as a meeting between families before marriage, the Modam royal table setting would be a great fit. It requires advance reservation, so please contact the restaurant first.

What were the dishes before the mains like?

First, salads arrived before the main dishes. The mustard greens salad with pine-nut sauce stood out for its nutty sauce and the freshness of the greens. The seasonal salad with yuzu dressing had bright, refreshing vegetables that were perfect for awakening the appetite.

The Cheongyang water kimchi came with Cheongyang chili peppers, so it had a delicious heat. We got a refill and ate it twice. The seasonal porridge was buckwheat-based, gently warming the stomach before the meal. Its texture was smooth too, so it went down without feeling at all unfamiliar.

For the Modam fritter, they served fried shiitake mushrooms. The large mushrooms were fried whole, so we had to cut them ourselves. The perilla-oil capellini was an unusual noodle dish of thin wheat noodles tossed in perilla oil.

Seasonal raw fish and pickled-vegetable ceviche!

With the starters before the main course laid out like this, it was time to taste them.

Perhaps because the large shiitake mushroom was fried whole, it had a great texture. Taking one big bite made it feel as though the whole mushroom filled your mouth. Seasonal raw fish with a refreshing sauce! What a lovely start.

As people who love somyeon (thin wheat noodles), we really enjoyed this dish: the thin noodles with perilla oil and whole sesame seeds were so nutty and delicious.

Because the sesame seeds were added unground, biting into them as we ate released an indescribably wonderful nuttiness.

Abalone soy-marinated shrimp butter rice and abalone tteokgalbi

Once we had finished all the pre-meal dishes, it was time for the mains, right?

This set pairs savory, umami-rich soy-marinated shrimp and abalone with rice. The nuttiness of butter made the familiar flavor of soy-marinated seafood gentler and fuller. The shrimp alone would be enough for a bowl of rice, but with abalone too, I think seafood lovers in particular would be very satisfied.

It was almost worthy of being called a seafood platter, with abalone, shrimp, mushrooms, egg, and more. My personal top pick among them was the garlic scapes in the center.

The shrimp and abalone were of course delicious, but when eaten with rice and then alongside the tteokgalbi, the crisp garlic scapes seemed to bring the whole balance together beautifully.

The soy sauce was not too salty either, so it was delicious simply mixed into plain white rice.

Since this menu lets you enjoy both abalone and tteokgalbi (Korean grilled minced beef patties), it is an easy choice if you like both meat and seafood.

Rice and beef radish soup came with it, along with anchovies, kimchi, and salted squid as side dishes. We used the butter they served to make butter rice. With all that rich buttery flavor, mixing in every last bit of soy sauce full of shrimp innards and taking a big bite—now that is happiness! Could this be a high-end version of soy sauce egg rice?

The appetizingly grilled tteokgalbi was moist and properly meaty. With the abalone alongside it, it definitely felt a step more luxurious than an ordinary tteokgalbi set.

Tteokgalbi is a dish that tends to please all ages, so I would also recommend it to anyone looking for a good restaurant to visit with their parents.

Adding abalone made the meal even more satisfying, and it was great to enjoy as a complete Korean spread with rice and side dishes.

The tteokgalbi was delicious already, so just imagine how good it was with abalone served alongside! The final plum tea completed a perfect meal.

A place to eat before or after a Gwanghwamun walk

It was so lovely to take a leisurely walk along the Deoksugung stone-wall road after a Friday dinner at Modam Gwanghwamun, wrapping up the week. We visited after enjoying a Friday Gwanghwamun date, and personally, one of Modam's greatest strengths was the dining atmosphere. Delicious food matters, of course, but on a date, an atmosphere where you can talk comfortably matters too.

It was not too casual, but not excessively formal either, so it worked well for a special-date or anniversary dinner. It is also great for a walk around Gwanghwamun, Deoksugung, or Gyeonghuigung after your meal, making it a good dinner choice on a Gwanghwamun date itinerary.

Korean food itself appeals across generations, and I think people come here because the food is neatly presented while the atmosphere has a degree of formality. It would be good for a slightly special occasion such as a parent's birthday or family meal, and it also seems well suited to a meal with someone important. In particular, a meeting between families before marriage requires attention not only to food but also to atmosphere and accessibility; with that in mind, it is a place worth considering for anyone looking for a Gwanghwamun Korean dining venue for such a meeting. The range of prices and menu choices, from course meals to set meals, is another reason it is easy to choose according to the nature of the gathering.