Restaurants, Bars, Clubs and Nightlife in Seoul, Korea

Mix Lounge is arguably one of the best lounges in Seoul when it comes down to both the quality of cocktail and drinks selection.  Located right off a block from the main Garosu Street in Sinsa, Mix boasts 14 varieties of martinis, 7 types of mojitos and 9 brands of vodka (over 16 types of vodka in different variation).  Definitely a cocktail lover’s heaven, Mix remains one of the top hangout spots to all the trendsetters in Seoul.

Read more to view a few colorful example shots of the menu as well as interiors.

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Hongdae is not known to be an area with high class tastes. But, Storm grabbed my attention with its unique windows which have water constantly running through them in order to provide a storm like atmosphere. With this observation alone, I decided to give Storm a few rounds to prove itself.

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Unfortunately, one of my favorite venues at Garosu-gil, Sinsa, has closed down a few weeks ago.  I will miss their food and drinks served at the basement floor.  I only hope another venue just as nice as Tutti Matti pops up soon in its place.

Seoul is one of the largest cities by land mass in the world.  Because it’s so large, there are so many regions to visit for different kinds of people, looking for their ways of fun at night.  In coming series of SeoulGrid, we will cover various regions of Seoul and what each place has to offer.

Each area will be reviewed for 1.) Relative Location in Seoul, 2.) Types of venues 3.) Prices 4.) Accessibility via subway 5.) Demographic of the area, and 6.) Restaurants, Bars, Clubs or Lounges around the area.

SeoulGrid will divide Seoul up into 7 parts, as far as night life is concerned.

1. Itaewon (이태원)
2. Apgujeong-dong (압구정 동)
3. Cheongdam-dong (청담 동)
4. Hongdae (Hongik University, 홍대)
5. Garosu-gil, Sinsa-dong (신사동 가로수길)
6. Gangnam station (강남역)
7. Samcheong-dong (삼청동)

So next time you are looking for a nice hot spot or a new ‘it place’ in Seoul to hang out with your friends for drinking, clubbing, partying or chilling out in Seoul, you will know where to look!

Articles describing each coming soon, so stay tuned!

[Update: April 5, 2010] Unfortunately, I just confirmed last weekend that Serein is now closed indefinitely. We will miss all those mojito selection as well as that overly joyous yellow cat.  We have yet to figure out what that cat exactly is.

Question: How does one test for another’s familiarity of Garosu-gil, Sinsa?

Answer: Serein.

Serein is a cozy bar specializing in mojitos, located off the main street of Garosu-gil, Sinsa.  First floor is a bar and second floor a restaurant.  Retro-styled light bulbs with clearly visible filament emanating warm light extends all the way down to just above your head from the ceiling, with yellow visual warmth bouncing off from the walls tiled with white bricks in differently-patterned spacing.  Hints of artsiness is quite evident, with colorful cushions and chairs, in addition to signs of a yellow cat character that I recognized from other places… (Does anyone know what this character is about??? I think I saw this at Mix Lounge at Garosu-gil as well as in other venues @ Samcheong-dong as well).

More review, photographs of interior and menu after the jump!

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Pics from February First Thursdays Afterwork champagne party at Copacabana lounge in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, with Moet & Chandon Rose.

First Thursdays Afterwork parties started in May 2009, and is hosted by HSK & Nodus every first Thursdays of the month.  The parties featured champagne brands such as Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Mailly, Piper Heidsieck, Louis Roederer and Cristal.  For more information, please email info@afterworkseoul.com

Read more to see a photo gallery.

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Club Heaven is Seoul’s newest megaclub that attracts Seoul’s trendiest clubbers.  Club Heaven stands amongst the top electronic music clubs in Seoul, which boasts one of the highest trend and fashion turnover rate in the world.

Located close to the landmark Renaissance hotel in south of the Han river (“강남”, or Gangnam), Club Heaven is located below right next to Artnouveau City Hotel.  Its rivals include Eden and Le Nuit Blanche, both of which are located to the south of the Han river, as well as Club Volume, located next to Crown Hotel in Itaewon (north side of the river).

Club Heaven sports state-of-the-art laser system as well as sound system to please the most audiophiles.  The club also features a few unique installation such as a confetti set that unleashes paper shower as shown below, and a thumping wooden dance floor, which is designed to make it seem like you’re dancing, even if you just stand on the floor.

Read on to see more club pictures, club reviews, directions and phone number!

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It’s not every day that I get to go over to Hongdae, since it’s a little far from where I live.  But make no mistake, Hongdae has one of the liveliest streets in Seoul.  Hongdae actually is an abbreviation for Hongik University (Daehak, or 대학).  Other universities such as Yongsei and Ewha are located nearby, so Shinchon/Hongdae is the area where the youth controls the scene; restaurants and bars cater to this specific demographic.  Prices are lower, and atmosphere is generally rowdier than your average bar in Cheongdam or Shinsa.

Hongdae also boasts the highest club densities in Seoul.  There are more than 20 clubs located within the area including M2, NB and Harlem, and on every last Friday of the month, there is Club Day, where pretty much everyone comes out to go club hopping.  Essentially, if you pay for cover charge for one club, you get to go into other clubs for free (for participating clubs, that is).  In other words, clubs around the area get so packed to a point where you can’t really dance, since you are squashed in the dance floor shoulder-to-shoulder, but at the same time you can’t quite fall down either.

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First Thursdays Afterwork party is to be hosted on Thursday Feb 4th, 2010 at  Copacabana, a lounge located in Apgujeong/Cheongdam area, previously reviewed on SeoulGrid.  It’s an invite-only champagne party featuring Moet & Chandon Rose at one of the nicest and newest lounges in Cheongdam, Seoul!  If you want to meet some new people, network and socialize, Nodus & HSK’s Afterwork party would be the perfect place for you!

Continue reading for more information and to view the invitation necessary to get in!

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Bliss is probably one of the classiest restaurant/bar in Itaewon.  The place definitely made it to my top hot-spot list in Seoul, and SeoulGrid will cover everything there is for you to know to make your next visit to Itaewon totally blissful!

Former member of Drunken Tiger and celebrity DJ Shine (Mark Yim) runs this place, and he’s usually around his shop making sure everything is operating smoothly.  I met and talked to him on a few occasions and he was a real nice guy, and a good host as well.

So the interior is quite posh, with lighting and classy furniture to make it definitely one of the nicest places in Itaewon.  Bliss also has a nice outdoor patio seats, which I imagine will be very nice in spring, summer and fall.  For me though, I preferred to sit in a corner where I could overlook at the venue.

The inside is actually quite large, easily able to accommodate around 80 or so people.

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