I dropped by elbon the table on Garosu-gil in Sinsa-dong over lunch, a place that’s hugely famous right now because a certain charismatic chef runs it. I’m not really into the star-chef thing – ingredients make up at least 70% of how food tastes, so I get more satisfaction out of finding places that source good ingredients well or handle special ones than out of caring who the cook is. Desserts excepted.. – so however popular it was, I wasn’t interested, but since it’s this famous and everyone seems to go at least once, I went to check it out too.
Table
The usual white-balance check shot. Setting aside the charismatic chef strutting back and forth like a model in the open kitchen, the interior and service here are definitely top-notch. For this kind of modern style, there’s hardly anything to fault. I tried to remember whether Korea had a place like this before, but nothing really comes to mind. (Places like Boutique Blooming or Mi Piace aren’t modern.) I didn’t take a picture of the building, but it looks seriously impressive. It shares the building with some clothing shop. Same entrance, then you go in and up to the second floor.
Bread
Maybe because every restaurant pays attention to its bread these days, this place also brings out bread filled with gooey cheese. Ah.. the calories..
Salad
We ordered the lunch course and the pasta lunch. The steak course was 50-something thousand won, and even the pasta lunch was close to 30,000 won. Not a price you could ever call cheap, and then when sloppily made food like this comes out, it’s a bit annoying. If it comes out like this, how is it any different from Il Mare.. Did prices in Korea go up while I was away?
Pumpkin soup, I think
Well, this one was just so-so..
Pickles
I don’t really eat pickles. Honestly, when I make a point of going to a restaurant and get food with no care put into it, I end up thinking this place must be having a hard time as a business. I’m willing to pay more, so please just serve only tasty things. That’s probably why these days I more often go to an izakaya and eat only what I’m craving.
Somen noodles.. no, cold pasta
I guess they brought out such thin spaghettini because it’s hot out. I’ve had very little cold pasta, so maybe that’s why I don’t know, but is it supposed to come out this mushy and clumped together with no bite at all? Could somebody tell me what the difference is between this and janchi-guksu.. (apart from being made of durum semolina..)
Sorbet
The taste is so-so, but bringing out a refreshing palate cleanser before the main is proper service. I really have almost no complaints about the service and atmosphere here. Seen from the point of view that the chef doesn’t just cook but also runs the business, maybe in some ways he’s doing well.
Five kinds of salt
It’s not about the fun of choosing -_- but a small bit of showmanship. Steak is all about the flavor of the meat, so how much can it matter which salt you use? Still, this kind of touch is fun and sticks in your memory, so it’s a good thing.
Tenderloin steak
This is the steak I ordered. They say it’s the house signature dish, and as befits a signature, it was nicely cooked, crisp outside with juices running inside. But the meat itself isn’t that great quality, so the taste was just so-so.. the garnish was so-so too.. The thought crossed my mind: do I really have to eat this for 50,000 won? For that money I’d go to Daedo Sikdang and have sirloin. Or, for a similar concept, go to Trattoria Molto and order a Hanwoo steak.
Striploin steak
This one was a bit tastier than the tenderloin.
Pasta
This is the pasta from the pasta lunch, and this isn’t TGI Friday’s – I have no idea how a spaghetti like this can end up in front of a customer. I get that lunchtime is busy, but eating a meal like this doesn’t leave you in a good mood. Maybe it’s better if you go in the evening.
Dessert
A simple dessert. It’s not bad in its own right, but again, considering the level of the interior and service, it falls well short on effort. Given the Garosu-gil location, the lavish interior and the 50,000-won price range, serving better food than this is probably close to impossible, but even so, I don’t want to go back on my own money to a restaurant that compromises on taste.