Last night the wife and I ate at the new-ish Hongdae restaurant Beastro, and I must say that place is just excellent. The food was superb — the cocktails and menu were both playful and extremely tasty — but even more than that, the ambience was just right, the prices were extremely reasonable, and the service was excellent.
I mention the ambiance because, while Hongdae has a lot of great places, they often have a bit of an amateurish or shabby-chic vibe. This place felt grown-up. For the quality of the food, prices were probably about half of what you might pay in Itaewon or Cheongdam-dong.
But I was especially happy with the service. Because, let’s face it, service is often the weak link at even the nicer restaurants in the fancy parts of Seoul. Not at Beastro, though. Great attitudes, very attentive, very knowledgeable about the food and friendly.
Plus Beastro is a very good size (two levels inside and a roof), so you can usually get a seat.
Actually, it has been a good spell for food in general in Hongdae, with plenty of good new places opening up all the time. Maybe I’ll write about more of them from time to time. But for now, Beastro is definitely at the top of the list, as least in my part of Seoul.
