Eat and Drink Your Way Through Seoul

If there’s one word people consistently use to describe Seoul, it’s fast. Fast construction, fast Internet, and, of course, fast food. In this city of millions, trends catch on like wildfire. It’s not uncommon for hyped-up restaurants to have lines around the block one month and shutter the next. “There’s so much experimentation going on right now, there are a lot of head-scratching dishes,” says Joe McPherson, founder of the food blog ZenKimchi and author of the e-book Seoul Restaurant Expat Guide. “But even the traditional restaurants are improving—using better ingredients and better preparations.” To do Seoul right, travelers need to balance glorious classics like Daegu-style short ribs and crispy mung bean pancakes with newer, zanier concoctions (whipped cream and beer, anyone?). Instagram everything and don’t forget the emojis—in this Wi-Fi–crazy place, they’re the ultimate compliments to the chef.

The Hot List

From radical barbecue to a buffet that’ll make you retract every mean thing you’ve ever said about buffets, these restaurants are a must. (P.S. To tell your beef from your pork, download the free Waygo character-reading app before eating out; it works for Korean, Chinese, and Japanese—and without Wi-Fi.)

Doramu
At this new-wave Korean barbecue, you want the pork neck—snipped up tableside, grilled to a dream-inducing state, and dipped in pink Himalayan salt to finish. You also need the marinated pork, which is folded in sheets of seaweed with spicy herring roe ssamjang. (320-3 Omok-ro, Yangcheon-gu; +82-2-2061-1292)

Jungsik
Both local and overseas media have dubbed chef Jung-sik Yim the king of new Korean cuisine. And like his Manhattan outpost, the Seoul flagship runs a tight ship. Everything from the biblically thick wine list to the formal-but-not-fussy service to the plating of delicate dishes like pork belly with pickled gomchwi is exacting. Coursed tastings are the way to go and reservations are encouraged. (83-24 Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu; 02-517-4654)

The Beastro
Despite its location in hip Hongdae, a neighborhood crawling with university students, this three-story eatery feels all grown up. The kitchen focuses on new American standards like fried chicken and biscuits with hot honey and bagna cauda, but it isn’t afraid to get wild (see the pork fat–roasted chicken gizzard sandwich with kale slaw). (358-32 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu; +82-2-334-2500)

Hansik Olbaan
Forget everything you know about buffets; this isn’t that kind of place. Even Koreans, who are notoriously skeptical about paying for food they can make at home, are flocking to this smorgasbord for its seasonal ingredients, regional specialties, and sheer plenitude. If you’re short on time, there’s no better overview of Korean cuisine than this. (Famille Station, Banpo-dong 118-5, Seocho-gu; +82-2-6282-2213)

OKitchen 3
Yonaguni Susumu is a Japanese chef who trained in French restaurants in England and New York and now cranks out smart-casual Italian. (Got all that?) His kitchen is run by students from his cooking school, and dishes have a savvy local influence (e.g., linguine with grilled mackerel and perilla-leaf pesto). (The K-Twin Tower, Jong-ro 1-ga, 50, Jongno-gu; +82-2-722-6420)

Sanchez Makgeolli
Want a wild night out? Grab a corner table in this dimly lit basement spot decorated with glowing Santa ornaments; drink pine-nut makgeolli (think Korean sake) late into the night. Soak it up with potato pancakes with fried eggs and cheese dust. (B1, 26 Yunboseon-gil, Jongno-gu; +82-2-735-0723)

Eating Itaewon

This once-seedy neighborhood—long popular with American expats—is now a funky food destination.

Vatos Urban Tacos
The trio behind this kitschy Mexican haunt is credited with kick-starting the Itaewon revival. Find out why with kimchi-carnitas fries, short rib tacos, and makgeolitas (makgeolli + margarita). (181-8 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu; +82-2-797-8226)

Linus’ Bama Style Barbecue
Boy from Birmingham, AL, brings real-deal Southern barbecue (juicy pulled pork, mounds of brisket, slider buns for D.I.Y. assembly) to smoked meat–loving Seoul. (56-20 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu; +82-2-790-2920)

Rye Post
Two words: bulgogi cheesesteak. Better than the Philly original? We think so. (117-3 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu; +82-2-792-9991)

Magpie Brewing Co.
Chatty bartenders pull crowd-pleasing beers like The Ghost, a tart and salty sour ale. (691 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu)

Southside Parlor
Serious cocktails meet Tex-Mex at this mellow cantina. The smoked queso and chicken tacos are essential. (4F, 527 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu; +82-2-749-9522)

Casablanca Sandwicherie
Spicy lamb and potato fritter Dagwood! (44-7 Yongsan-dong 2-ga, Yongsan-gu; +82-2-797-8367)

The Booth
Graffitied walls, craft beer, and stellar pizza. Popular with the kids. (705 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu)

Volstead
More cocktails and more deliriously good tacos. Yep, Mexican food is having a moment in Seoul. (B1, 116 Bowang-ro, Yongsan-gu)

Fast Food Nation

Nobody burns through food fads like trendy Seoulites. Here, an abridged list of recent absurd-but-weirdly-tempting dining gimmicks:

1. Whipped Cream and Beer
We’re not kidding. Some bars even add ice cream, sprinkles, and chocolate shavings.

2. Animal Cafés
Yes, there are places where drinking coffee with live cats, owls, and sheep is a thing. At that last one, Thanks Nature Cafe (486 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu; +82-2-335-7470), the joe ain’t half bad.

3. Koreanized “Pizza”
Squid, Camembert, corn, egg tarts—no combo is too bonkers for the oddball pies at Mr. Pizza and other copycat spots. (For locations, go to usmpk.mrpizza.co.kr/en.)

4. Honeycomb Ice Cream
Soft-serve vanilla with a nugget of chewy honeycomb on top. Wildly popular until it was discovered that some chains were selling fake combs.

5. Churros
When Instagram revealed its Food Capitals list earlier this year, it turned out more #churros hashtags were in Seoul than Valencia, Spain. Get ’em hot at Churro 101 (#crunchy). (328-15 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu; +82-2-70-8625-0331)

6. Honey Butter Chips
These impossible-to-find honey-flavored buttery potato chips led to a nationwide craze. Artificial scarcity or greatest snack ever invented?

7. Fruit-Flavored Soju
Grapefruit, blueberry, and pomegranate styles are sweet and mild but still do the job in a soju bomb.

8. Brown Rice Ice Cream
For a sweet finish to any meal, nothing beats the soft-serve at Sobok: a swirl of brown rice ice cream topped with dried persimmon, grain syrup, pumpkin, and chrysanthemum. (58 Eoulmadang-ro, Mapo-gu; +82-2-6014-0861)

Beyond Bulgogi

The five time-honored foods every first-time visitor should seek out (and the best spots for digging into them).

Galmaegisal
Pork sizzled over charcoal with a ring of egg around it. The resulting “omelet” is the star.
Eat at: Mapo Jeong Daepo (183-8 Dohwa-dong, Mapo-gu; +82-2-3275-0122)

Bindaetteok
At food markets, you’ll find ladies frying up mung bean pancakes as thick as books.
Eat at: Gwangjang Market (88 Changgyeonggung-ro, Jangno-gu)

Galbijjim
Beef short ribs braised into fiery, garlicky submission. Goes well with saucer-size pork pancakes.
Eat at: Dongin-dong (511-5 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu; +82-2-516-5765)

Naengmyeon
Buckwheat noodles jumbled in a bowl of chilled beef broth with brisket, hard-boiled egg, and radish.
Eat at: Eulji Myun Oak (177-1 Yipjung-dong, Jung-gu; +82-2-2266-7052)

Yukhoe
Beef tartare seasoned with sesame oil, soy sauce, and sugar and served with raw egg and pear for dipping.
Eat at: Jamaejib (14 Eonju-ro 115-gil, Gangnam-gu; +82-2-543-0729)

Body & Seoul

Three edible ways to atone for all the fried chicken, churros, and soju.

Teahouse
Experiment with unusual flavors like date plum, lotus leaf, and wild pine mushroom at Cha Masineun Tteul, a traditional Korean teahouse and garden. Menu descriptions tout each elixir’s healing properties; an order of the steamed pumpkin rice cake cures everything else. (26 Bukchon-ro (11 na-gil), Jongno-gu; +82-2-722-7006)

Ttukseom
This sleepy residential neighborhood is home to Seoul Forest (think mini Central Park) and Sobang Life, a coolly minimalist eatery offering just two set menus per day—one with meat, and one without—and don't miss the crunchy, spicy banchan. (9-16 Wangsimni-ro 5-gil, Seongdong-gu; +82-2-6268-0778)

Temple Cuisine
At Balwoo Gongyang, Buddhist nuns serve 10- to 17-course vegan tastings. Masterful execution makes for a thrilling parade of small plates, each showcasing local and seasonal ingredients like wild deodeok root with pine nut dressing and bean “bulgogi.” (71 Gyeongji-dong (56 Ujeongguk-ro), Jongno-gu, 5F; +82-2-2031-2081)