Restaurants, Bars, Clubs and Nightlife in Seoul, Korea

When you order a cheeseburger do you expect cheese to be an option? When you go hunting for a new car, do you expect to pay extra for four wheels and a steering wheel? When you go online shopping for a laptop, do you add special instructions with your purchase requesting a keyboard and a working screen? I am hoping your answers are no.

Expectations are a funny thing.  What molds our expectations?  I would say information.  We know what to expect because of the wealth of information at our fingertips.  You know that cheeseburgers have cheese.  Someone way back decided to put cheese in the burgers and then told everyone around them that this new invention was called a cheeseburger.  Eventually information got passed around to the greater public. That’s how it is done and it became standard.

Read more after the jump.

You know that all cars have wheels and a steering wheel and you know that all laptops come with keyboards and screens as standard. It’s what we expect. We all have prior knowledge or information about what the standard car or standard laptop looks like. What about the standard mojito?

In my attempt to find a decent mojito in Seoul, I had a most unfortunate experience in terms of expectations. I was casually walking the streets near Gangnam station when I just happened to notice a blackboard with the words “Summer Mojito 6,000” scribbled on it.  The sign grabbed my attention and perked my interest.  I stepped into SOMETHING L’s expecting to taste the cool refreshing “Summer Mojito” just like the sign had advertised but what I got was not even worthy of being called a cheap imitation.  I had visited the café / bar establishment before with good results for brunch with a friend of mine not too long ago.  I was surprised they were serving one of my favorite summer drinks.  I was expecting a repeat performance with their mojito. SOMETHING L’s was really something else!

Let me draw your attention to Figure A.  That’s what I expect when I order a standard mojito.  Now let me show you SOMETHING L’s “Summer Mojito”, Figure B.

Do you notice a difference? They didn’t even get the basics right.  It was not in a high ball glass.  It did not have any limes.  I could not taste the alcohol.   It was not clear in color!  It didn’t even have any mint!

Instead I got a tall lopsided glass container filled with what I can only say is Mountain Dew mixed with undissolved crystals of sugar.  The drink was effervescent like soda pop!  Liquors like rum or vodka do not effervesce.  I would be very surprised if someone told me the drink contained any alcohol because I didn’t even get the slightest tinge of any white rum or vodka on my epicurean tastebuds.

Soju would have been the smarter choice here.  It only costs 2,000 won.  This monstrosity cost me 6000 won! I really wanted to get drunk. I would have liked to have drowned my disappointments in the pseudo cocktail I was drinking but the damn thing didn’t have any alcohol to begin with.  The yellowish hazy dirty urine appearing concoction just tasted sweet. A sickly sweet taste lingered in my mouth as the liquid coated the surface of my tongue. It was as if someone had poured fur down my throat and then made me lick the back of a shaggy dog.  It was a sheer utter disgrace.  It was akin to using ketchup as spaghetti with tomato sauce!

Was it all doom and gloom?  Well what did they get right? Not much. They knew I ordered something to drink and not something to eat so the waiters were competent. They served my drink and garnished it with a bendy straw and a plastic mixing spoon to dissolve the clearly visible sugar crystals. Unfortunately there were no limes or mint or any other garnish in sight.  I purposely spilt mine on the table but the good bartender offered me another one on the house! He made it in the exact horrible way.  I commend the bartender’s memory to be able to serve the same mistake twice!

Their only saving grace is that I had been there before for brunch which was much better.  The club sandwich I ordered last time was not missing important bits like the bacon or the bread! The coffee was good and strong.  The atmosphere was relaxing and cozy.  I digress.

SOMETHING L’s is actually a nice place for an afternoon cup of tea or quick and hearty meal with friends. When I visited it was an hour before closing time or midnight and the place still had quite a few customers.  Obviously the patrons found something there they liked. In hindsight though, I remember not one of them was drinking a mojito.

Where is it? Do you really want directions? Is it worth the risk? SOMTHING L’s is located two blocks away from the Gangnam CGV movie complex.  Walk up the hill and walk past the Seven Eleven on the corner.  Keep walking in the easterly direction for about another 30 meters and you will see SOMETHING L’s big yellow sign on your right.  It is a single story white building and resembles a quaint country home. Outside there are oversized cardboard cutouts of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe that will greet you as you walk up the wooden stairs. Inside you will find lots of wooden furniture. Go for the brunch. You can expect it to be decent. Go for the coffee. You can expect great tasting Americano here with refills. Go for whatever you desire but do not expect a good mojito. If that’s what your craving for go someplace L’s.