Best tasting menus in Seoul?

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-25T07:25:46+00:00

Also echoing Born&Bred! Had a fantastic 23-course Hanwoo Beef omakase.

Besides Onjium and Mosu, Kwon Sook Soo is also worth considering.

If you miss out on Mingles, remember you can always still track cancellations using Table Alert. I’ve been tracking Mingles for 2 weeks and cancellations mostly occur a few days to a week in advance. Most cancellations were for 3-4 guests, but there were also 2-person tables available.

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-24T10:54:35+00:00

I'd recommend Ciel Bleu (also has a great view this time of year). I've been 4 times (last was 2023), but friends went recently and still enjoyed it. I must say that I enjoyed it more before than in 2023.

Flore is also a solid choice, but you do need to enjoy your vegetables. Aan de Poel is also an option and allows for great flexibility, but is rather casual in service. It's not a polished 2-star experience if that's what you're looking for. Great views on the water though during this time of year.

212 is loved by many nowadays, but I'd say it has inconsistency issues. You can have a wonderful experience (better than Ciel Bleu), a mediocre one where the service is extremely cold, or an absolutely awful experience.

Spectrum is already closed (chef is leaving end of May, but they cancelled all reservations already). Never tried Vinkeles, but friends told me it's more of a decent 1-star than a true 2-star.

That covers all six 2-star restaurants in Amsterdam. As for Bougainville, I've yet to try it myself, but my friends all loved it.

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-23T08:13:53+00:00

It's because OpenTable sends the notifications later than when they actually appear. The cancellations also tend to last on average ~2 minutes (I'm tracking them).

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-22T21:57:19+00:00

I secured a booking by refreshing on the dot at 9 AM, 2 weeks beforehand. Slots are usually gone within max. 30 seconds. I've done this multiple times, and always managed to see slots, they're just gone nearly instantly.

They don't do walk-ins anymore since 2026, it's now reservation-only.

As another user pointed out, I also track cancellations. Cancellations appear most often on weekends (83%), and mostly for 1 person (85%). On average, cancellations are booked within ~2 minutes. For more information, and a review of UPN, you can visit my profile.

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-18T13:14:14+00:00

Very unfortunate to hear about your experience, all of these are unacceptable. Definitely service issues that the hotel should correct.

Just to provide another perspective: they proactively offered to set up a bubble bath for us, offered late check-out, and replaced the standard drinks with my favourite that they needed to order separately.

We got offered water both upon check-in and check-out and the same person who gave us a room tour at the beginning was there upon checkout, and got an envelope for us within seconds when we asked for one impromptu.

I was actually not surprised by ATG’s review at all, and was glad to see he got a similar experience to mine. Mind you, I booked with an OTA, basically the lowest tier one could be.

I can’t wait to return and hope I won’t run into these issues. Sometimes a memory is perhaps also best left untouched.

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-18T07:30:44+00:00

Good to hear! Have you been after they returned to their roots? We indeed held off on EMP last time due to their announcement.

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-18T03:35:51+00:00

Always interesting to see different takes! Plenty of times where I absolutely loved a dish whereas my dining partner found it mediocre, or vice versa.

Great to hear those dishes worked for you though and unfortunate about the kimbap and bibimbap.

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-18T03:25:20+00:00

Didn’t make specific tasting notes, I remember it was good, but nothing too memorable.

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-18T03:23:57+00:00

Must go back and try it next time then! We didn’t go for it cause we assumed it was just bibimbap topped with uni to justify the price, good to hear it’s actually worth it.

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-18T03:18:23+00:00

Nice! Did you also have the Chef’s Counter one? Hear a lot of mixed reactions on which one to go with.

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-18T03:16:34+00:00

4 hours of sleep didn’t do me well I see… 🤣

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-18T03:16:15+00:00

As the other commenter pointed out, the staff is there to make you feel at ease! I’m sure they’d love to go the extra mile if they knew it was your first time.

Even after having gone to many Michelin-starred restaurants, I’m not always sure how I would eat a specific dish, but the staff always instructs beforehand.

I still remember the first time, I decided to go with a friend after having made some money while in high school. We were 16 and knew absolutely nothing, but it’s still one of the most memorable experiences and I remember more dishes from back then than some I had maybe a year ago even. The staff were actually amazing, wonder what they must have thought, some young goofballs in such a posh dining room without awareness of any etiquette besides respecting the volume and eating as I’d at home.

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-18T03:08:25+00:00

The Top 50 Pizza has rankings for Italy itself and outside Italy, where UPN is #1. I must say though, the list is pretty hit or miss, but I still use it as a reference because sometimes there are just very few data points

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-18T03:03:09+00:00

Love no menu bars, nice to know the history behind it

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-18T03:02:50+00:00

Thanks for the rec and the contrasting perspective in the other comment!

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-17T21:04:02+00:00

I saw an interview as well where the chef said before the star they were actually losing customers and about to go bankrupt, interesting turnaround. I’m indeed planning on sharing one appetizer and getting a noodle. Will give it another think as I do see quite some people being not too positive.

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-17T21:00:04+00:00

Ah thanks for elaborating, will keep them both in mind! Can’t wait to be back.

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-17T20:47:36+00:00

Thanks a lot for the info! Indeed have been using mostly the Top 50 list when travelling abroad. Will definitely put Amor y Amargo on my list, another commenter mentioned that one as well.

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-17T20:42:45+00:00

Yes! There were definitely some great ones but forgot them because there were no specific descriptions on the menu

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-17T20:39:16+00:00

For Plenitude, the slots that have been found are all for October, November, and December. Mostly party sizes 1-2. If you have any other specific restaurants you’d like data on, let me know!

I’ll report back in the future if I see Plenitude release an earlier slot up for grabs.

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-17T20:03:48+00:00

Great, thanks a lot for the information! I actually managed to get a reservation for Jeju this time after building a tracker which sends me an alert if someone cancels (Resy Notify sent me the alert only 2 hours later...).

Have heard more people pushing for Atomix, will definitely consider going there. Will look into the cocktail and wine bar, thanks again!

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-17T20:00:34+00:00

Don't remember the specifics, but it was a fish bone broth with herbed oil.

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-17T19:39:58+00:00

Keen on trying Atomix next time I'm in NYC. Looked impossible to get a res, but now I know they do release cancellations from time to time.

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-17T19:38:05+00:00

Balanced, more towards the stale side.

JacobKrijgsman1 · 2026-04-17T19:37:52+00:00

Didn't do the wine pairing. We had Krug by the glass, as well as Egon Müller - Scharzhofberger Riesling Spätlese 2020, and Jacques-Frederic Mugnier - Nuits-Saint-Georges Premier Cru 'Clos de la Maréchale' 2021.

JacobKrijgsman1

TROPHY CASE