Seoul Eats: Christmas in Seoul: Part 3

More articles by Daniel »

Written by: Daniel
Tags: christmas 2009

I would like to thank 10 magazine for helping me put this article together. If you would like a hard copy, you can find it in Friday’s issue of the Korea Herald.

Dan

Christmas is right around the corner and although it is a western holiday; it is one of Korea’s busiest holidays. And I should probably add that it is Korea’s top date holiday. Most of the hotel restaurants and fine dining establishments are already filling up. If you do not make reservations now, you’ll have a very upset girlfriend (or boyfriend) on your hands. Trust me. I am a cautionary tale. I spent my first Christmas with an immaculately dressed girl at a galbi restaurant. She never called me back.

Here is a list of recommended restaurants divided by region for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner. I wish you all a Happy Holidays.

*Note: Many of the prices exclude VAT.*

Itaewon

Chef Meili will have Christmas specials from Thursday to Saturday by reservation only. Chef Meilinger will have a traditional turkey dinner with pumpkin soup and chocolate nougat: 3 course dinner for W36,000 and 4 course for W42,000. He will also offer a Kobe sirloin roast with green peppercorn dinner: 3 course for W46,000 and 4 course for W53,000. 02-794-7024.

Dragon Hill Lodge on the Yongsan Military Base has full turkey and ham dinners with all the fixings for pick up. You must pick this up at one of the military gates. It costs $94.95 American Dollars. 02-738-2222 ext 6989.

OK2 Kitchen will have a Christmas Eve tasting course at 6 and 8pm for W60,000 and an 8 course Christmas day dinner (open reservations) for W60,000. The Christmas day course will feature foie gras and English trifles. 02-797-6420.

Rocky Mountain Tavern will have a turkey buffet all you can drinkw Cass and house wine from 3-6 on Christmas Day for W45,000. 010-5775-2327.

Suji’s in Itaewon and Bundang will have a Christmas Buffet for W55,000. The buffet will have Turkey, Ham, stuffing, pumpkin pie, eggnog, and lots of other Christmas favorites. 02-797-3698.

Tartine Bakery and Café will be offering large (20cm- 8 inch) pies for Christmas. They have Pecan Pie, Cherry, Chocolate Cream, Apple, and Pumpkin Cream Pies for your holiday dinners. 02-3785-3400.

Toque near Hangangjin Station has a six course dinner on Christmas Eve at 6:30pm and at 8:30pm for W40,000. They have a Turkey Christmas Day Buffet for W40,000. Reservations are for 11am, 1pm, 3:30pm, 6pm and 8:30pm. Whole and half turkeys are available for pick-up by reservation. 02-794-3834.

Wolfhound Pub will have a charity turkey buffet dinner on Christmas Day at 5pm for W40,000. Proceeds from the dinner will go to Myongdo Services for People with Disabilities. Email for reservations at wolfhoundpub@gmail.com 02-749-7971.

Gangnam

Big Rock Beer will be having a Christmas Buffet to go along with their award winning beer. They will have turkey, roast beef, ham, with all the fixings from 6:30-9pm for W30,000. Big Rock is near Gangnam exit 7. info@bigrockbeer.co.kr 02-539-6650.

Sinchon

Beer O’Clock has Christmas Day buffet with wine starting at 3pm by reservation only. They also have eggnog all month long. 02-333-9733.

Le Quartier Latin is having a French Christmas dinner with an oyster platter, chicken stuffed with garlic, cumin pork, cheese platter and apple pie for W39,000. 02-333-9874.

Yaletown Burgers and Bar will have a Turkey Christmas buffet with all you can drink draft beer. Get stuff on turkey starting at 7pm for 25,000. yaletown.seoul@gmail.com 02-333-1604.

Hotels

Hotels are very popular for Christmas Dinners but can be expensive. Dinners start at W80,000 and can go to W180,000 and up. They are the place to go if you are looking for a luxurious, romantic Christmas.

Pierre a Seoul at Lotte Hotel in Myeongdong will be the place to get the most sumptuous Christmas feast. 02-317-7181.

Oksan Buffet at the Ritz Carlton. You can get a large spread of Christmas dishes and desserts. 02-3451-8474.

Seven Luck Casino is always a fun place to hang out if you are looking for friends and food. Locations throughout Seoul. www.7luck.com

Starlight at the Walker Hill Hotel has a champagne dinner from 6-9pm on Christmas day. 02-455-5000.

Table 34 at the Grand InterContinental Seoul is having a sumptuous coursed feast with lobster, wagyu beef, and caviar. 02-559-7631.

Daniel Gray works for O’ngo Food Communications. You can follow his food adventures at www.seouleats.com

Click here to submit your review.

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. Daniel can be found at the links below or at Google+.