“Kaiseki cuisine†refers to Japanese course meals served at banquets since the Edo period. At the time, it was a light meal served with a tea ceremony, but it changed to a colorful banquet dish when many people gathered together to eat drinks and snacks, sing, and play. The order of kaiseki cuisine, in which food in small bowls is served sequentially, varies from ryokan to restaurant, but starting with the appetizers sakizuke and zensai, followed by suimono (soup), otsukuri (sashimi), yakimono (grilled), nimono (stewed), agemono (tempura), snowmono (pickles), musumono (steamed), shokuji (meal), and mizugashi (dessert).
All dishes prepared as kaiseki use seasonal ingredients, and tableware is also prepared according to the season. Furthermore, it is characterized by balancing sweet, bitter, sour, salty, spicy, and savory flavors with the five colors of white, black, green, red, and yellow, grilled, stewed, steamed, deep-fried, and pickled. Kaiseki cuisine where you can fully feel the spirit of “Ichigo Ichie,†which treats customers with the utmost care, with the mindset of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Let's enjoy the traditional taste and style of Japan with heavenly dishes created by the gods.
Japanese dining specialising in Seoul kaiseki cuisine include Cheongdam-dong Juan, Mooney, Uminohi, Sinsa-dong Goryoriken, Tensho, Dosan Park Romantei, Apgujeong Sakeria Ikkon, Serosu-gil Mirai, Garosu-gil Negi Dining Lounge, Dogok-dong Nihon Shubashuto, Samseong-dong Ranjuku, Yeouido Shuchiku, Kumar, Seolleung Sougetts, Mapo Goryoriya Haruka, Yeonhui-dong Nanahachi, JW Marriott Hotel Tamayura, The Plaza Hotel Murasaki, Shilla Hotel Ariake, Hyatt Seoul Kauri, Chosun Hotel Sushi Jo, and Lotte Hotel Momoyama are famous. Famous places for kappo cuisine include Seoul's Gappoaki, Gappo Healing, Gappo-san, Mozu, Gappo-Hosan, Negi, Gapponan-woo, Ichie, Gappo-Eden, Gapporei, Gappo-Tano, Hikari, Odoru, Shuming Hwamiko, Kaisen, Fangnoji, Waraku, Kaden, Dusara, Bundang Gapoai, Ulsan Gapoichi, Songdo Tenmei, and Jeju Seomun Fisheries. Let's meet a new Japanese dining restaurant that specializes in kaiseki!
1. “Ranjuku†in Samseong-dong, with a rich flavor of straw fire
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Image source: 1010_sysy's Instagram
Image source: noh_ko's Instagram
“Ranjuku†is a Japanese-style straw grill and warayaki specialty store. Run by the owner of a sake sommelier, this place has a variety of types of sake and Japanese shochu. The store space is prepared with tatami seats with tatami flooring along with bar seats. The tatami seats are divided by partitions, so it's a great place to enjoy a private meal. The signature menu is “Nuta Unagi Kabayaki,†made from wild eels seasoned with homemade raya oil, grilled over a straw fire. Eel, which stimulates appetite even with its rich aroma of straw fire, has an attractive, chewy texture. In addition to grilled dishes using Korean beef oxtail, kumtae, and freshwater eel, a variety of dishes are also prepared, including sashimi, shabu-shabu, tempura, and meals. Please note that the “Today's Recommended Menuâ€, which is prepared with fresh ingredients brought in every day, is prepared separately.
[Shikigami Tip]
â–²Location: 31, Bongeunsa-ro 82-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
▲Opening hours: 18:00 — 02:00 every day, closed on Sundays
â–²Price: Nuta Unagi Kabayaki 38,000 won, Kimtai Charcoal-grilled 24,000 won
â–²Review (Shikigami Giant Baby): The space was separate, so I was able to have a private meal:) If you don't know what to order, you can choose from today's recommended menu! A restaurant that never fails! I highly recommend it as a meeting place!
2. “Mooney†in Cheongdam-dong, the essence of kaiseki cuisine
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Image source: mood0103 on Instagram
Image source: mood0103 on Instagram
“Mooneyâ€, located near Cheongdam Intersection, was newly opened by Chef Kim Dong-wook from Tokyo, who went through Kikunoi in Tokyo, Ozen in Samseong-dong, and Hatakaseptember in Shinsa-dong, which is famous as a kaiseki specialty store. The interior of the store is eye-catching with its tone-down red interior and tidy tableware. The name “Mooney†comes from “one and only,†and is said to have the meaning of serving customers with excellent Japanese food as an unrivaled space in the world. The signature menu is “Mooney Omakase,†where you can enjoy authentic Japanese kaiseki cuisine. Every ingredient is meticulously managed, from the first soup dish being prepared to cooking with a water softener. Next, dishes that give a glimpse of the chef's creativity, such as pickles, sashimi, tempura, and sushi, are prepared one after the other. The most popular meal menu is kamameshi prepared with golden rice.
[Shikigami Tip]
â–² 16 Dosan-daero 72-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
▲Business hours: 18:00 — 02:00 every day
â–²Price: Mooney omakase 119,000 won, Mooney sake course 49,000 won
â–²Testimonial (eating or drinking): A place where you are overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the restaurant and the chef's attitude towards the food. As the name of the restaurant suggests, it is a place where you can have a unique gourmet experience. I was thrilled to feel that nothing was neglected…! I liked every part.
3. Yangjae “Nihon Schubashtoâ€, a mecca for sake lovers
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Image source: Joeykimmyseoul's Instagram
Image source: Joeykimmyseoul's Instagram
“Nihon Shubashuto†is a place where you can enjoy omakase offered at reasonable prices and over 150 types of sake. Omakase's signature menu is made using seasonal ingredients, which is limited to 15 servings a day. The omakase at this restaurant is prepared with two courses: Japanese-style sunomono, steamed abalone, sashimi, cream cheese, charcoal-grilled fish, lotus root manju with crab meat sauce, and “dinner omakase,†which is served in that order, and “dinner omakase,†which includes charcoal-grilled Korean beef sirloin and suji nikkomi udon. Please note that if you do not order a drink, you will be charged 5,000 won per person. A “sake omakase,†which pairs sake with food, is also available, and can be ordered when ordering omakase.
[Shikigami Tip]
â–²Location: 23, Gangnam-daero 48-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
▲Opening hours: 18:00 — 01:00 every day, closed on Sundays
â–²Price: Dinner omakase 55,000 won, cooking omakase 45,000 won
â–²Testimonial (I'll give you shikigin gyoza): Everyone praised it for being delicious, so I went there with great anticipation.
4. A feast of fluffiness and elegance! , “Tensho†in Sinsa-dong
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Image source: lesoleilflower's Instagram
Image source: y_sabrina_m's Instagram
“Tenshoâ€, a high-end Japanese tempura specialty store, is managed by Chef Park Kyung-jae of Kojima, famous for sushi restaurants in Korea, and Chef Choi Ji-young from Shilla Hotel Ariake. The signature menu is “tempura omakase,†which is offered as a single course for each time. This place, which has all the bar seats surrounding the open kitchen, puts fresh, prepared ingredients in one corner of the kitchen. As the course progresses, it's fun to watch how the ingredients are soaked in oil one by one and deep-fried until golden brown. It is characterized by using flour imported from Japan. Rather than the crunchy texture, it recreates the fluffy feeling unique to Japanese tempura. Starting with deep-fried shrimp heads and eel bones, prawns, asparagus, hanchi, shiitake mushrooms, lotus root, scallops, and seasonal fish are prepared one after the other, and it ends with a deep-fried rice bowl prepared as a meal menu and green tea ice cream that cleans the palate.
[Shikigami Tip]
â–²Location: 15-6, Eonju-ro 152-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
▲Opening hours: 12:00 — 22:00 every day, B/T 14:00 — 18:00, closed on Sundays
â–²Price: Lunch omakase 70,000 won, dinner omakase 150,000 won
â–²Review (Shikigami Saturday Night): This is a place where you can enjoy tempura as a course! The atmosphere was quiet but casual. The tempura is delicious no matter what you fry it, but the tempura here had a strong feeling of being clean. I recommend it if you want to experience a new style of course meal.
5. A watercolor painting, “Goryori Ya-Haruka†in Yonggang-dong
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Image source: nolgiqueen's Instagram
Image source: nolgiqueen's Instagram
“Goryoriya Harukaâ€, located near Mapo Station, is a place where you can enjoy authentic Japanese omakase. The small space, which can accommodate about 10 people, is prepared with bar seats only. The signature menu is “Appetizer omakase.†Starting with homemade tofu, which is a bite-sized appetizer, hotson, sashimi, and meals packed in a 24 cm diameter wooden box with a diameter of 24 cm are prepared one after the other. In particular, the hotson in this house is characterized by a variety of plating that captures the colors of the season. Furthermore, it makes full use of rich flavors such as sweetness, sourness, and bitterness. Please note that customers visiting after 9 o'clock can also order à la carte dishes, and they do not sell domestic alcoholic beverages, but only Japanese alcoholic beverages such as beer, sake, and barley soju
[Shikigami Tip]
â–²Location: 114-19 Yonggang-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
▲Opening hours: 18:00 — 24:00 every day, closed on Sundays
â–²Price: Snack omakase (60,000 won per person)
â–²Testimonial (Romeo by Ona Shikigami): Great value for money. Thanks to the fresh ingredients, of course, the taste is so beautiful that it feels like a work of art. It's a bit of a pity that they don't have Korean sake, but it's also a place where you can enjoy Japanese sake and Japanese feeling. In particular, the food in the wooden box feels like a work of art.