Filling My Seoul

During my last trip to Seoul, I told myself that I only was only going to eat Korean food during my entire stay.

Many of my Korean friends had other plans however, and insisted that we eat anything but Korean food when we hung out together, which meant that I ended up eating a lot of non-Korean foods.

Even though I did not stick to my Korean-only food rule, I was certainly not disappointed with all of the other dishes that I tried. If you find yourself in Seoul, try to stop by a couple of these places – you will not be disappointed.


Farm Fresh Food at Able in Garosugil

Cafe Able Seoul

Fresh juices – these were so delicious!

Cafe Able Seoul

Chicken panini – very delicious and the meat was very tender

Cafe Able Seoul Salmon Benedict

Salmon Benedict – I have a weakness for a benedict of any kind and this one was spectacular.

Cafe Able Seoul Pasta

Steak pasta – I died and went to pasta heaven. Literally. It was just that good.

ABLE (also referred to as Cafe Able) serves delicious farm-to-table foods in the upscale shopping district of Garosugil.

I met up with a couple of friends at the cafe/restaurant for a delicious brunch and we ordered plate after plate of savory food. This is a place I will definitely go to when I visit Korea again and that I highly recommend.

Location: Able Cafe – 547-6, Sinsa-Dong, Gangnam-Gu (강남구 신사동 547-6, 신사동)


Dakgalbi at Dakibong Dakgalbi in Jongno 

Dakgalbi

Dakgalbi – for whatever reason, this dish is hard to find outside of Korea, which is why I made sure to eat this dish a couple of times before leaving the country!

One of the Korean foods that I did eat a few times during my stay in Seoul was dakgalbi.

Dakgalbi, one of my favorite Korean dishes, is made with chicken (dak), rice cake, noodles, hot pepper paste (gochujang) and a green leafy vegetable or cabbage. I found Dakibong Dakgalbi’s food to be very delectable.

Location: Dakibong Dakgalbi (닭이봉 닭갈비) – I cannot find an accurate address, but you can find it on the bottom floor of the building on this map.


Bibimbap at Alchon in Shinchon

Bibimbap Alchon Seoul

Inexpensive and tasty bibimbap

Another one of my favorite dishes is bibimbap, which is one of the staple foods in the Korean diet and is comprised of vegetables, an egg, and a meat of your choice (or no meat for vegetarians).

Alchon is famous in the Shinchon area for their bibimbap, which costs only ₩3,500 (around $3.40 USD). I was surprised that I found their bibimbap to be so delicious despite the inexpensive prices.

Location: Alcohon – 56-57 Seodaemun-gu, Daehyun-dong near Ehwa University (서대문구 대현동 56-57 (이대직영점))


Pasta at Seoga & Cook in Gangnam

Seoga and Cook Gangnam

When I lived in Korea, I had heard of the affordable but delicious restaurant chain Seoga & Cook, but I never had the opportunity to try it.

One of my friends suggested that we meet at the Gangnam location for lunch. I originally hesitated saying that I really wanted to eat Korean food, but my friend assured me that this restaurant was a place that I wanted to try at least once before I left the country, and he was right.

Location: Yeok-sam 1 dong, Seoul, 135-907 (강남구 봉은사로6길 39 (강남CGV점))


Monster Pizza (몬스터피자) – Hongdae

Monster Pizza Seoul

One slice of pizza, that is all I could afford at their prices

I went to check out Monster Pizza  during a night out in Hongdae and after hearing about how good their pizza was.

The pizza shop has been gaining popularity in Seoul with both foreign residents and Koreans. What makes the little shop so popular is that their pizza is similar to New York style pizza, with a thin and crunchy crust and can be ordered by the slice. It is also the total opposite of Korean pizza, which generally has corn or some other interesting creation baked into it.

The only thing that I did not like about Monster pizza was the price for a cheese slice, which costs ₩4,000 ( about $3.85 USD), higher than many slices in NY!

Location:  Monster Pizza – 73 Waoosan-ro, Seogyo-dong (마포구 와우산로 73)


Interested in Korean BBQ? Check out this post by my friends With Husband in Tow who share their experience about eating bulgogi (beef) and the popular samgyeopsal (pork belly) when they visited Seoul!

Have you ever eaten in Seoul? What are some Korean (or non-Korean) places that you enjoy?