Restaurants, Bars, Clubs and Nightlife in Seoul, Korea

It’s a fact…

..there are three types of Chinese food – authentic (go to China(town)), Koreanized (check your stack of local carry-out flyers), and Americanized (HOLY CHOW).  Now if only there was a restaurant that offered all three.  I didn’t mean to get your hopes up, but if you do come across one, please…share.

Until then

A friend of mine recently recommended MAO in Itaewon, and if you’re in the mood for Peking Duck, this is the spot.

The duck is grilled nice.  Crisy on the outside, juicy below the skin.  The small order is fine for two, but not filling.  And at a price of 35,000won, it’s not wallet-friendly either.  Besides their famous Peking Duck, you can expect Korean-style Chinese food.

But for some of us foreigners and expats, when it comes to Chinese food, we imagine General Tsao’s / Kung Pao Chicken, Mongolian Beef, etc. just like we had back home.  You can find some great places in Itaewon and Gangnam, but after all the hype about Holy Chow, I gave it a shot. And I wasn’t disappointed.

When in doubt, at Chow’s, check out their Set Menu.

Both of these franchises have locations in Itaewon and Chungdam so definitely visit.

I’m sure by now you’ve grilled everything from meat to seafoods, but make sure you add clams to that list.  Here’s another typical style of Korean BBQing and you can check it out at Nonhyeon, a hotspot for this type of cuisine.

Visit 갯벌의진주.  You can expect lines during peak dining hours and weekends, but dont worry, there are two locations about a 100 meters apart from each other on the same street.

This is a Guest Article from Jisu of Lonely Traveler

I have no idea why Lord Sandwich isn’t the most popular restaurant in all of the Ewha University (or ‘Edae’) area by a landslide victory. As of now, it’s a favored lunch date spot for professors, older female students or business meetings that have run over late, but I sincerely suggest that anyone with a deep appreciation for good food come try it out.

Read the rest of this entry »

Makino Chaya

There are sushi lovers, and then there are sushi buffet lovers. Hidden away between Gangnam Station and Yeoksam Station is Makino Chaya, a decently-priced seafood buffet offering a wide array of fresh and cooked seafood and non-seafood items.

One of SeoulGrid’s friends, Gregory Curley, over at CNN and hermithideaways.com, has written a great little piece on clubbing in Seoul in which he has interviewed our own Richard Choi for the picks. The article can be found here. Thank you Gregory!

Pictures used in this post is from Club Eden’s official website.

Naengmyeon, a common Korean noodle dish, is an excellent example of the creative nature of Korean food. When I first tired naengmyeon, I thought, “How did they think to put these ingredients together? The noodles are iced!” Naengmyeon is as popular as it is creative. Yookssam Naengmyeon, a naengmyeon joint in Hongdae, not only serves this unique dish, but they have also tried to recreate the galbi/naengmyeon experience.

Read the rest of this entry »

I was wandering around Hongdae with a friend, searching for a unique restaurant. We wanted to go somewhere out of the ordinary — not a common chain, hof, or café. Nothing seemed to fit the bill. Just as we were about to give up on our hunt, we stumbled upon Dallyeora Jogaegui Pocha (달려라 조개구이 포차), a seafood restaurant located in the heart of Hongdae. As luck would have it, Dallyeora Jogaegui Pocha was everything we wanted and more.

Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most famous (or infamous) Korean dishes is bovine intestines. We grill ‘em, stir-fry ‘em and even put ‘em in a spicy soup along with other ingredients.

One place worth checking out when you’re feeling extra gutsy is Woobojeong near Seolleung station (line number 2 or the green line).

The restaurant offers daechang (large intestines) and makchang (end portion of intestines) for grill order. As soon as an order is made, fresh charcoal is brought in to grill all of your intestinal goodies, which not too much later will end up in your intestines. Makchang and daechang look and taste similar, though makchang is a little chewier.

Read the rest of this entry »

Heavily salted, dripping with oil, and often slightly stale street food is still one of the most popular and, arguably, most delicious Korean cuisines. Yet, even when a serious sodium craving hits, the local street food stall doesn’t always satisfy. In fact, street food doesn’t have to equate with low quality, unhealthy ingredients. At Gukdae Tteokbokki in Hongdae, traditional Korean street food gets a makeover.

Read the rest of this entry »

For the past year, SeoulGrid has been looking for a quality pizza joint, but we kept coming up short. Although there are some very expensive Italian restaurants that serve quality pizza, few people are willing to pay 30,000KRW for a pizza that barely feeds one person. So the SeoulGrid team had a recent discussion, and we unanimously agreed that Costco has the most bang for the buck.

Read the rest of this entry »