Okay… eww, no. This place has gone downhill. The owner/management has decided to use stock ingredients that taste really cheap-o while jacking up all the prices. For example, the chocolate sauce just comes out of a can. Most of the food now tastes like it came out of a box, package or can. Not to mention, many of the best items from the past are now no longer on the menu. I’m attaching my previous post for reference as to how good it once was. But please save your money and time by going elsewhere.
It’s been two weeks since I first went to this restaurant and I can’t help but go back multiple times. One of the Seoulite’s friends almost eats one meal a day at this restaurant. For the original post click here. Here are some additional dishes that were sizzlingly fierce. Right above is the Croque Monsieur.
Potato Bacon Cream Soup. I haven't had a soup this textured and varied in over a year.
Burger and Fries. Very interesting marinade on the patty. It definitely had the chef's touch... but he tried just a tad too hard with the flavors. There was one too many. But it shows he knows how to work the taste. It's almost like a Father's Office burger in LA. I think he was trying to impress us because we keep bringing him new customers.
The crispy fries showed lots of ingenuity. Halfway between chip and fry.
Tomato and Vegetable Panini. The roasted vegetables are sauteed in olive oil after being grilled. Cheese is great. And the panini is just like the type you get at a UK sandwich shop. Now, only if they could make a red curry panini with that bread!
The Rosti Potato Pancake. By far one of the Seoulite's favorite dishes. We're so scared he will take it off the menu because it takes 20 minutes to prepare and a lot of elbow grease. They shred the potato from scratch. Such good warm comfort food. It's also only served as a dinner side item. But they made an exception for us. So appreciative.
The Affogato. Haagen Dazs ice cream and Illy espresso. So great on their own, but mixed together as it's supposed to... you get a watery mess. Don't get this. But the esperesso drinks are amazing. And of course the flourless chocolate cake is where it's at.
French Blue
Seoul, Gangnam-gu, Daechi-dong, 897-8, First Floor
Seolleung Station Exit 2. Make a left after the Burger King. French Blue will be on your right within the first block.
02-566-7940
Open 10AM - 2AM
The Seoulite is expanding his online offerings… now all kpop fans can unite… and date each other! Tired of so-gae-ting? Want to find someone new? Need to just waste some time online by flirting with fellow kpop fans? Well, well, well… go to my new website: www.kpopsingles.com.
Everything is free. You can chat, send messages, do video conferencing and even browse through the kpop zone. We’re just getting started so if anyone wants to volunteer to update the kpop pages with more recent stars, let me know. I only put up my favorites from back in the day…!
Mmmm…. looks good, huh? Well, look but don’t touch. Tartine is a new pastry shop tucked in an alley in Itaewon. The tarts in the window look delectable and the interior gives off a cozy glow. But be warned… the service is a sour cherry tart!
Att-i-tude. The chef, who is the co-owner and always on site, seems to like barking as much as he likes baking. If there’s an empty table for four and there’s only two of you… they will make you wait until another table opens up… which shouldn’t be too long because there is a one hour time limit for your stay (it’s clearly marked on the table as 1 hour and 8 minutes to be precise). If you make protestations… the chef will come to your table… not to apologize, but to scold. In front of the entire restaurant, he’ll say it’s bad manners to put someone down in public.
Looks so good... but the pastries lack a warm soul.
Perhaps he had a bad day. Perhaps he’s not a smart businessman. Perhaps he should open up a fast food restaurant instead. Or perhaps he got a paddle whooping like this and needs another. Mess with the Seoulite’s friends and you got one coming! Except he might enjoy it too much. Ew.
Here’s the website. Try it out for yourself. Let me know what happens if you stay for 69 minutes.
Note: My friends went to relax there over the weekend and relayed their experience. I’ve always wanted to go… but now I will not. Advice to the owner from the Seoulite? Two happy customers will bring two others the next time… filling up your table for four. Or… chop the table in half so it can seat two sets of two people. And put them back together when you need a four-seater. Duh.
Hubris is the most potent and constant threat to success. It brings down many a great man (or woman)… great nations… and of course great bars. Apparently Brix in Itaewon was roaring hot two years ago when it first opened. But now it seems to be running off of the fumes of its former self.
The Seoulite never even heard of Brix but apparently it is a popular establishment for the expat crowd, especially because of its hookah - that’s probably what catapulted it to stardom two years ago. But hookah… is soooo two years ago for Seoul and like so late 90s if you’re from the States. And isn’t it so first millennium AD if you’re from Turkey?
See the hookah smoke reflecting the strange spirits circling about? Actually that's cigarette smoke... but I think the ghosts are trying to tell Matt that flashing signs for the Midwest isn't gonna fly in here. These entities flew in from the westside! Note the upside down W makes the M.
It sure feels like America in here though... and as I found this photo... I was about to say that it had a very San Francisco vibe in particular. Do I have to say any more?
There's a dance floor. It's a basement club. There's something about the place that makes you feel like you've departed from the world above. Maybe that's the appeal. The drinks are weak though. That does not make hades very appealing.
We didn’t smoke hookah but The Seoulite is concerned that many netizens say they’ve gotten sick from this establishment. It seems that it’s not the most sanitary place and that the service is poor. And why should it be? If customers come back regardless of quality… who but saints would try harder. But that’s hurbis. Right when you think you’re so high above the rules… you can’t see how much your foundation has eroded. And down goes the elephant in the room.
Brix in Itaewon
It is located in the alley with all the new restaurants and bars including 3 Alley Pub, Gecko’s Garden and Buddha’s Belly. The door is nondescript and you take a few steps to descend down to its deep dark depths.
I have no phone number. I would never go back there.
It’s one of those places that I can’t understand why people return to over and over again.
There’s no denying that there’s something there there… but not for the Seoulite.
Some places you go because the atmosphere seems cute - even like another world away. I’m sure many Seoulites have noticed the sign for this restaurant - Abbey Road written in the logo of a sign for the London subway. The entrance through a little plant festooned corridor seems very promising… as does the nice lighting and veranda.
But one word of advice - it sucks actually, to be really honest. Or at least the Mojito does. So bad we didn’t drink it and left. Three leaves of mint, white sugar dumped at the bottom of a glass, some kind of low-shelf rum (was it even rum?) mixed with Sprite. That’s 9,000 won.
When politely asked to switch the drinks, the staff said it wasn’t the wrong recipe - it was their own house recipe. Hmmm…. I wonder how they’d feel if they went to a restaurant and order Jja Jjang Myeon and got Spaghetti because that was the ‘house recipe’. Also very bad service here. It was just really ‘off’ for some reason.
The offensive drink.
Too much religion lately led the Seoulite to just pay up and leave peacefully.
Abbey Road
Apgujeong
02-546-9505
Food/Drinks: 0/5
Service: 0/5
Ambiance: 4/5 - Overall pretty nice decor, but the second floor looks like the ugly stepsister.
Hi, I’m Sean Lim, an American expat living in South Korea. This is my blog about becoming a Seoulite.
What is a Seoulite?
A ‘Seoulite’ (서울깍쟁이) is a citizen of Seoul, just as a ‘New Yorker’ is a citizen of New York. Of course the label ‘Seoulite’ doesn’t simply denote a place of residence [...]
