RE: Suraon and Meals for Special Occassions

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I love getting questions and answering questions. Now, I try and answer all the letters I receive, but sometimes I can’t get to them. There are two options. 1) There is a forum section on the Seoul Eats Facebook Group Page (Click Here) And there is a Seoul Eat’s Forum found on the tab bar above or just click here.

Recently I received this letter from a reader named Daniel:

Hey Daniel,

I was looking at your newest post of restaurant recommendations, and you posted this twice. So it must have been a good experience. Plus I’ve ever had a royal court experience.

I checked out the website, but not a lot of useful information unless I have my Korean friend translate it. Was it an easy place to make reservations, if they even take them. Did you pick your set beforehand? Do they have English menus?

Would you recommend Sura-on for a special occasion? Are there any other restaurants you recommend for a special occasion?

Thanks.

My Response

They have English menus and I don’t really think you’ll need a reservation, but it doesn’t hurt because sometimes they’ll have large parties. I would recommend the restaurant for new tourists and those that want to have a dinner theatre/ food experience. The food is good; but with so many courses, it can get overwhelming. If you have experienced court cuisine before then it’s not going to be something that amazing. If it’s your first time, it’ll be a wonderful experience. For a more authentic Royal Court Meal, I would recommend Jihwaja.

Other places I recommend for special occasions include the hotel restaurants, St. Ex and Zelen in Itaewon, and high end Korean places like Wooriga, Poom Seoul, and Jungshikdang. Keep in mind that Wooriga, Poom Seoul, the Hotels, and Jungshikdang will run close to 100,000 per person for dinner.

For a truly luxurious meal, there is Pierre Gagnaire. Lunches run 80,000 and dinners cost around 220,000 to 300,000 per person.

I hope that helps.

Dan

About the Author

Daniel

Daniel Gray is a Korean adoptee that returned to Korean in 2005 because he wanted to try and find his birth mother and to learn about Korean culture. He started a restaurant review blog in 2007, www.seouleats.com, that became a local and international hit. He and his blog has been featured in the New York Times, Monocle Magazine, The Kimchi Chronicles, Bizarre Foods, Rudy Maxa, Olive Magazine, Euronews and much more. He now is a partner at O’ngo Food Communications (www.ongofood.com), which is a culinary tourism and consulting company that offers Korean cooking classes and restaurant tours to travelers. Their food tours and cooking classes are ranked as one of the top attractions in Seoul according to tripadvisor.

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