Seoul releases list of city's must-try eateries, bars ahead of Taste of Seoul week

Ahead of the 2023 Taste of Seoul week next month, the Seoul Metropolitan Government released a list of 100 restaurants and bars in the city selected by food connoisseurs.

Geumdwaeji Sikdang in Jung District, central Seoul, is one of the 100 eateries and bars in Seoul included in the list released by the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Tuesday. [JOONGANG PHOTOS]

Ahead of the 2023 Taste of Seoul week next month, the Seoul Metropolitan Government released a list of 100 restaurants and bars in the city selected by food connoisseurs.

Thirty industry experts, including scholars and journalists, created the list considering the venues' topicality, professionalism and ability to combine domestic and global aspects into their dishes.

A new list is compiled every year. This year marks the third one, and it includes 21 Korean restaurants, 25 Western restaurants, 12 Asian restaurants, 10 grill or barbeque restaurants, 10 vegetarian restaurants, 11 cafe and pastry shops and 11 bars and pubs.

Restaurants like contemporary Korean fine dining restaurants Mingles and Onjium, Pyongyang naengmyeon (cold noodles) restaurant Woo Rae Ok, Western contemporary dining Muoki, Korean traditional dessert cafe Mrs. Kim and Korean traditional rice wine bar Baekgom Makgeolli have made it into the list for three consecutive years.

Twenty-eight venues newly joined this year, including Korean contemporary restaurants Solbam, Roda and Exquisine; Chinese restaurants Yu Yuan and Jungsim Myeongdong; French fine dining restaurant Pierre Gagnaire à Séoul; Korean barbeque and naegmyeon restaurant Gwangpyeong; vegan restaurant Monk's Butcher; Korean traditional teahouse Suyeonsanbang; and Gelato shop Zenzero.

Seoul Metropolitan Government also released a separate list of plant-based eateries comprised of 50 locations.

"Considering that vegetarianism, a major trend in global gastronomic tourism, is well implemented in Seoul's traditional food and temple food, we additionally selected 50 vegetarian dishes in Seoul," it said in a press release on Tuesday.

The lists can be found on Taste of Seoul's Instagram. The English version of the list is set to appear on Taste of Seoul's official page from Sept. 8 at 5 p.m.

"We expect that the 100 Best Seoul Gourmet Foods will become like an encyclopedia of restaurants in Seoul, containing various flavors of the city, including Korean food such as cold noodles and barbeque, as well as Western food, grills, and desserts," Kim Young-hwan, director general of the city's Tourism & Sports Bureau, said. "As Seoul's representative gastronomic festival that all citizens and foreigners can enjoy, we will prepare to showcase the unrivaled value of Seoul's gastronomy."

The Taste of Seoul week will take place from Sept. 16 to 22, mainly on Nodeul Island in Yongsan District, central Seoul.

The poster for the Taste of Seoul 2023, hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]