Chaegundaam 채근담 - Seoul

I made a reservation in advance for a birthday dinner through email, arrived on the scheduled date and time, but the restaurant was closed. If they had informed us earlier, we could have made other plans. This is very disappointing customer service.

Save room before you go. There is a significant amount of food that comes, and it is all fantastic and would be a shame to waste. Definitely a memorable meal out, and worth the price.

I visited this restaurant in March 2013. They offer both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, and their English-speaking staff showed me two sets of 15-course vegetarian menus for dinner. The prices range from 40,000 to 50,000 won. The meal includes salads, mushrooms, vegetables, rice, kimchi, porridge, and dessert. I would rate the food a 5 out of 10. It was a unique fine dining experience in Korea, but if you are looking for excellent food, this may not be the best choice. For more information, you can visit the following link [hidden link].

In August 2010, we dined at a restaurant in Seoul that is conveniently located only a 10-minute walk from the COEX Samseong subway stop. To get there, you can take exit 3 and walk straight for about 7 minutes, passing 150 meters, until you reach a crossroad on the hill top side. From there, turn right into a small street/alley just after the Mercedes Benz building, and you'll find the restaurant downstairs on your left. This upscale establishment offers delicious food and excellent service, so it's recommended to make a reservation if possible. While they do offer some menus with fish, we opted for one of the 3 fixed-course vegan menus available. The staff speak some English, but we also used our vegan passport to ensure our dietary preferences were understood. The mid-priced menu we chose was a great value, with the courses coming in waves and surprising us with additional dishes throughout the meal. We also tried Makgeolli, a Korean fermented beverage similar to beer, which we enjoyed. Like many other vegetarian-friendly restaurants we visited in Korea, the owner took pride in the food and the establishment, eagerly sharing information about the dishes. Overall, this restaurant is definitely worth the trip and was the best meal we had in Korea.

Eating here is good. some very interesting and unique dishes. a great temple food. a little expensive. a court had a garnel that hid in the middle. the waitress warned us what was good, but I guess there is confusion about what vegetarian means (let them vegan alone, as we clearly ordered a vegetarian meal and the waitress informed that we were vegan.