Korean Job Discussion Forums

[seoul101]

My GF and I's 100th day is coming up, can anyone recommend a good Italian or Japanese restaurant to go to? Could also be Japanese, but I can't imagine a Japanese restaurant being very romantic...

[mt01ap]

The Sortino in Itaewon, lil pricy but great quality Italian food.

[definitely maybe]

sortino is pretty good. in fact, there are a few places in itaewon that are good these days. you just have to decide if you really want to celebrate with dinner in itaewon. before i get dubbed an itaewon-hater, i will admit i love the place. just not necessarily for important or romantic occasions.

my pick for a night like you have in mind is Wood & Brick. there are two locations: 1 in gwanghwamun and 1 in samcheong-dong. both are great, but the samcheong-dong one is a bit more romantice in my opinion. rest assured, both are infinitely more stylish and romantic than sortino. they are, without question, more expensive than sortino too. check the links:

http://woodnbrick.com/

http://www.seoulstyle.com/seoul-wood-and-brick.htm

if my suggestion is too expensive, there are some really neat little spots in samcheong-dong. one of our favorites is Harue, which is way down towards the end of the area. it's on the right at a bend in the road. if you've reached jazz story, you've gone too far. good luck!

[KYC]

Nova Italiano. Really classy atmosphere, good food, cheap prices.


Go to Hoegi station. Exit 1...go down the stairs bear left. walk until you see coffee bean. Turn right and walk toward Olive Young. It's tucked in the corner, above Nobu something (a japanese restaurant). Highly recommended.

[orosee]

Casa Antonio, Itaewon
Sortinos, Itaewon
Antonios, Itaewon

One that's not in Itaewon but in Omokgyo: Behind the Hyundai department store is a high rise building, the restaurant on the 43rd (or 42nd?) floor has a great surround view of Seoul and the food is good. Live music, decent prices. Reservation recommended if you want a window seat, but the view is good from the other tables as well. I think the name of the restaurant was "43" (or "42"), don't have their card with me.

[Papa Smurf]

I like Jenny's cafe in Hongdae. For 50 clams, you can get a 3 course set for 2, with a glass of wine each. Food is tasty, you can see the kitchen. Cosy little place. Chocolate cake rocks.

[DeLaRed]

[Rteacher]

I found a very nice Italian restaurant with great atmosphere in Insadong, but I can't remember the exact name ("Pasta" something?)

It's about a block off the main Insadong street (to the right coming from Anguk station) and you can see the sign for it from the main drag.

Has anyone else been there?

[movybuf]

There is a Japanese restaurant at the Grand Hyatt Hotel that has great food and amazing views - very romantic.

[cedarseoul]

i second the grand hyatt, or any of the luxury hotels if you're looking for something *truly* romantic. they actually hire executive chefs who AREN'T korean, and the quality compares with at least 3.5 star dining back in the states / canada.

i like sortino's well enough, but i find myself making excuses for most foreign restaurants in seoul. not so with the hotel restaurants; they are (for the most part) spot on.

and pricey. but hey - you could get one of those dinner/suite deals and make it a magical evening.

[emilylovesyou]

There are a lot of nice places in Cheongdam (Olive green line). My boyfriend and I went there and walked around the main street (where all the fancy places are like Prada, Louis Vuitton, Omega, Vera Wang, etc.), and there are a bunch of places tucked behind the stores. They're pricey, but the Italian place we went was phenomenal. I'd say check out Cheongdam!

[aeiou]