Quality French and European Dining in Seoul
You might want to visit these restaurants if you crave authentic French food during your Korean trip. Situated in Hongdae, this amazing Korean-owned bistro pub offers classic European dishes such as Buffalo Capprese, Ratatouille and Dauphinois Potatoes. The owner and chef Aly (Jiyeon Jeong) trained in Korea and Australia and the skills and deftness of touch are evident here in a menu full of treats and pleasures.
The Caprese salad with Buffalo is a meaty and robust starter with powerful flavours from the basil, balsamic, full-blooded tomatoes and cheese fighting for your palate’s attention, although giving nine servings to a hungry table of five may in other circumstances have resulted in a fist fight.
Succulent and Perfectly Cooked Meats
Some people may lose sleep over a medium cooked pork steak but we had, and have, faith. The key here is quality of ingredients and this porker was not merely organic, but fed on organic vegetables, the crispy succulence of the porcine umami playing perfectly off the sweet astringency of the blueberries.
The lamb didn’t stand a chance as our group began to resemble humanoid fork wielding jackals. The polenta was cooked in duck fat, full of warmth and depth; comfort food for gastro-junkies. A cuddle in a puddle.
Fish & Vegetable Heaven
There’s no room here for descriptions of all the dishes we tried but honourable mentions must go out to the gorgeous Broccoli with Cream & Cheese, the dreamy Dauphinois Potatoes Gratin, enough-to-make-me-consider-vegetarianism Vegetable Ratatouille and a light and steaming Vietnamese catfish Fish and Chips. Mere Picon grow their own herbs right there by the street and you can’t beat that just picked freshness. The beer selection needs to be improved; Hug Me beer is fine, but 9000 for a small glass is, as the man says, too damn high. It didn’t spoil our evening but keeps this place as special-occasion only type venue for now. But what a deliciously special occasion that’s going to be.
To get there, go out Sangsu Station Exit 4, double back, take a left, then a right, and a right again.
Mere Picon
Address: 324-10 Sangsu-dong, Mapo-gu
Phone: 010-4810-1835
Hours: 5:30 pm – 2:00 am
If your taste buds are more into Korean food, here is a list you might find helpful: 11 Popular Korean Foods To Try in South Korea