Quiet Gangnam bar for shabu-shabu and conversation: Seolleung Dowon

A Seolleung bar with both great food and atmosphere

I first heard about this place because a coworker had gone there for a company dinner recently and said the menu was varied and delicious! I visited this time through a review group, and just as my coworker said, the food was tasty and the bar atmosphere was lovely, so I was pretty happy with it :)

There are seriously so many bars in Seolleung, and honestly, because there are too many, I tend to go mainly to places people who have been there or people around me recommend. Everyone kept praising the food here, so it was somewhere I really wanted to try!

And with a bar, atmosphere is more than half of it, right? This place had a nice atmosphere, plus the food quality was good, so it was perfect for having a drink with something delicious. Once I went myself, I could see why my coworker recommended it haha.

• 486 m from Exit 1 of Seolleung Station
• Mon–Wed 17:00–24:00 / last order 23:30
• Thu–Sun 17:00–02:00 the next day / last order 01:30
• Parking: first 60 minutes free; ₩3,000 per additional 30 minutes; maximum ₩3,000

By the way, Seolleung Dowon (선릉도원), this Seolleung bar, is on the second floor of the building, and there was this huge staircase. But the stairs looked kind of intimidating;; They’re red and insanely massive... A little daunting, honestly... My friends and I were like, what is this? lol

Made it to Seolleung Dowon, the Seolleung bar!

A quiet interior that was great for conversation

The interior was spacious like this, with plenty of space between tables, so it was quiet, you know? Such a good bar for conversation... Other bars are really loud and packed, right? But Seolleung Dowon was nice because it was quiet.

They also have hangers where you can hang up your outerwear.

Seolleung Dowon menu and our order

Seolleung Dowon menu

Here’s the menu at Seolleung Dowon, the Seolleung bar :) There really were so many options! But we’d eaten so much at our first stop that we had no appetite left... So the menu we agreed on was Dowon Shabu. It seemed to be their signature dish, you know? Next time, I’m going to try a wider range of dishes too...

• Dowon Shabu ₩36,000
• 2 Zero Colas ₩6,000

Generous Dowon Shabu and complimentary snacks

The potato salad they gave us as a complimentary snack! It wasn’t overly sweet and had a clean, mild flavor, which I loved. I found myself scooping it up without even realizing it... ^^ My friends also raved about how mild and delicious it was. Such thoughtful complimentary snacks~

And Zero Cola~ We did drink alcohol at the first place, but these days my friend says they don’t drink... And I don’t like alcohol either because it tastes bad. Zero Cola really is the best, I think.

Dowon Shabu was plentiful, and the presentation was seriously amazing. It looked pretty and there was so much of it too... Packed with meat.

It had loads of different vegetables inside too, including mung bean sprouts and mushrooms, and it was really generous, you know? Honestly, if I hadn’t already been full, I would’ve ordered rice too... ^^

The mung bean sprouts were generous too, and there was really a lot... It seemed perfect as food to have with drinks... Easy to keep scooping up without thinking, but somehow like it wouldn’t make you gain weight, mung bean sprouts... ^^%

It was a bit like kongbul, spicy stir-fried pork with bean sprouts, but not spicy! It made me think of kongbul for the first time in a while and brought back old memories... The bean sprouts were plentiful, and with the meat, it was basically shabu-shabu.

It was even tastier dipped in the sauces. There were two sauces, and I preferred the chili sauce!

A quiet Seolleung bar I want to revisit

As I was leaving, I noticed they’d thoughtfully set out phone chargers, gargle, candies, and more in front of the register.

I’d recommend Seolleung Dowon, this Seolleung bar, when you want a good atmosphere and a quiet conversation. The place was quiet, the tables were well spaced, and the seats were really comfortable, so it’s a bar I’d recommend when drinking in Seolleung. Haha!! If I have plans to drink in Seolleung again, it’s somewhere I’d like to revisit ><