It’s not every day that you can come to Seoul and dine in the same space that the last emperor of Joseon did. But at Congdu… You not only feel like a king; you eat like one too.
Once located in the prestigious Seoul Museum of Natural History, the beloved Korean restaurant has moved into even more wow-factor digs: the former residence of the era’s last king’s grandmother.
Famed for invigorating the city’s culinary scene by dishing up reinvented classics with a molecular French twist (they called it ‘neo-Korean cuisine’), the haute kitchen turns out refined a la carte as well as prix-fixe menus nightly, with quality local ingredients that owner Vivian Han herself traipses around the country to source.
And though many of the dishes here have a certain fusion slant, they house-make all of its basic staples in true, old-fashioned hospitality, from soyu to kimchi to doenjang, and boy do they star on the plate. We suggest getting well acquainted with the 48-hour, slow-cooked Jeju pork shoulder with aged kimchi…
Congdu, 116-1 Deoksu Palace-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, +82 2 722 7002.
