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
Fresh juices – these were so delicious!
Chicken panini – very delicious and the meat was very tender
Salmon Benedict – I have a weakness for a benedict of any kind and this one was spectacular.
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 – 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
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
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
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!
OMG! You basically captured my four year experience in Korea in a post. The food was simply amazing!!! This makes me very hungry.
Haha awesome! Looking back at these photos is making me hungry again too 😀
Oh my! Everything looks so good 🙂 I tried dakgalbi when I realized I couldnt find another thing on the menu that suited my vegetarian diet when I was out for dinner for a friends birthday. It’s sooo good 🙂
And the bibimbap, that’s another favorite. The pizza…nomnomnom
Yes, dalkgalbi is my favorite. I miss eating it so much now that I am back Stateside 🙁
I’ve eaten in Seoul before at Holy Chow (in the Hamilton hotel) but it’s not Korean food, more like American Chinese food.
Your pictures though… this food looks DEEEEE-LICIOUS! Makes me want to go try all of these places this weekend lol
Haha, you definitely should! I have never heard of Holy Chow, was the food good?
As a foodie I love learning about foods of other cultures. It is interesting that in many countries they enjoy eating foods from other countries like the pizza! The pasta dishes and eggs Benedict look so delicious!
I find it very interesting too, the meshing of cultures around the world. Everything was so delicious! 😀
I knew monster pizza would be on this list! The pizza there is great and I don’t understand why there is so little places that are similar to it. It seems like you ate a lot of great food in Seoul! I hope you got some good BBQ as well. I know a really awesome spot in Sincheon that sells some awesome beef and duck for relatively cheap!
When I return to Korea again, I will definitely contact you for your place in 신천. I miss eating duck in Korea 😀
I just recently, last weekend, discovered Korean food. My neighbor took me to an amazing spot in Abu Dhabi. It’s frequented by many Korean expats so it must be on par.
I would love to try Korean food in Abu Dhabi!