8-16 Yejang-dong, Jung-gu
tel. 02/755-8775
HOURS: Daily 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
COST: Entrées less than ₩10,000
SUBWAY: Myeong-dong (Line 4)
Given the visitor traffic the neighborhood enjoys—the cable car to the landmark N Seoul Tower [1] is just steps away—this restaurant should by all rights be a tourist trap, but somehow it remains a welcome taste of rural cuisine in the middle of downtown Seoul [2].
Done up like a mock countryside home, with plenty of wood, farm bric-a-brac, and paper lanterns, it has an intimate, unpretentious air, with patrons and prices to match.
The menu is heavy on healthy, largely organic choices like sanchae bibimbap (a mélange of rice, pepper paste, and vegetables) and boribap (a set meal with barley-infused rice as the centerpiece). Meals can be washed down with dongdongju, a creamy rice wine frequently enjoyed by the country’s farmers.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/seoul/sights/n-seoul-tower
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/seoul/discover-seoul