Bicena provides tasty Korean cuisine available only in Korea in a refined interior.  

Nolboo Yuhwang Ori Jinheukgui Jamsil Branch specializes in yuhwang ori jinheukgui (Grilled Herb and Mineral-fed Duck Wrapped in Mud) and smoked whole barbecue duck served with wine or other types of alcoholic beverages. You need to make a reservation because it takes hours to cook a duck in clay. The restaurant has rooms for group dining.

Itaewon is home to unique restaurants presenting a smorgasbord of various cuisines from around the world. Ali Baba is no exception to the vibrant food culture of Itaewon. With its homemade Egyptian-style cuisine, white walls, eye-catching decorations, and Arabian music, guests will almost as if they’ve left the country.Some of the most popular dishes at the restaurant are the hummus, falafels, and pitas. A variety of meat dishes that have been slightly altered to please the Korean palate are also available. Apart from the delectable cuisine, diners can also enjoy an after-dinner hookah (water pipe) as they sit back and relax with friends.

Yetchatjip is a famous teahouse that has also been used as a movie filming set. It is a great place to stop by for a cup of natural traditional Korean tea, or the traditional summer treat patbingsu, made with the old way with shaved ice and homemade red bean topping.

Operated by a Japanese chef, Aoi Tori is a bakery during the day but transforms into a bar in the evening that serves alcoholic beverages and meals. As soon as one takes a step inside, the open kitchen will grab one’s attention while the sweet aroma of freshly baked goods builds up an appetite.

Palais de Gaumont is a topnotch French restaurant that opened in the affluent area of Cheongdam-dong, Seoul in 2000. The owner, who majored in film, named the restaurant after Leon Gaumont, a pioneer of motion picture technology, and the Gaumont Palace. It aims to spread a new concept of Korean food culture image as fine dining for ten decades of tradition and thus has been applauded as a special restaurant.

Located by several entertainment agencies, Naive Coffee is frequented by many K-pop stars including GOT7’s BamBam and Jackson, Miss A’s Fei, as well as Hyerim, Yubin and Sunmi. Authentic specialty coffees are blended and brewed in-house, daily. Naive Coffee’s signature blends, Oger and Bosanoba, boast a fanatic following, and the caffè latte is extremely smooth and complex with an elegant ratio of coffee and milk. Cold brew coffee packaged in unique beverage cans, is also available for purchase.  

Opened in 1953 by a woman known as Mabongnim, the restaurant takes pride in its 50-plus years of service. As Mabongnim gained popularity, other similar establishments opened nearby, and eventually, formed the now famous “Teokbokki Street.” The elderly proprietor is well known, even starring in a red-pepper paste (gochujang) ad in the 1990's.The secret of this restaurant’s tteokbokki lies in the fact that red pepper paste is mixed with Chinese soybean paste for a sweet and spicy taste, but has now been adopted by other Sindangdong restaurants. Nevertheless, there is something special about this restaurant’s fare. At present, Mabongnim’s daughters-in-law are running the restaurant.

Located on the first floor of Times Square near Yeongdeungpo Station, Namu Gneul (Rest with Book & Coffee) is a book café and art gallery where visitors can tour the gallery or just sit back and relax with a book and coffee or tea. Tea and bread can be refilled free of charge, so visitors can stay as long as they like. The café is directly connected with the Shinsegae Department Store and surrounded by a nice park perfect for taking walks. If you need a break from shopping while at the Times Square Mall, slip away to the solace of Namu Gneul.

Nerd On Earth is a bar which Im Seul Ong, a member of the boyband group 2AM and actor, has opened in Itaewon. The ‘Nerd Bar’ (for short) is located in the deep corners of Itaewon, which shows Seul Ong’s taste in bars; he prefers somewhere dark and comfortable. You can feel a unique vibe from the blue and red lights blending together, with the mystical music playing in the background, and you can dine on various ‘high quality’ snacks as you drink. For example, menu items such as the “Nerd Wrap,” which is a wrap with Argula leaves, dried tomato, and ricotta cheese, and ‘Beef Brisket Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup,’ which has a spicy flavor, with generous portions of beef brisket are the menu items that lots of people order in the Nerd Bar. When you climb the rooftop, you can see the panoramic view of Itaewon. All of the above make it a must-stop location.