Chef Ahn Sung-jae's Michelin 3-star Mosu Seoul hints at reopening this month

Reservation slots for Mosu appear on restaurant reservation platform Catch Table

Exterior view of Mosu (Mosu's Instagram)

Star chef Ahn Sung-jae's Mosu Seoul appears to be reopening later this month in Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, after a yearlong break. The reservation calendar for the contemporary fine dining restaurant appeared on restaurant reservation platform Catch Table on Wednesday afternoon.

Although reservations have not opened, observers believe the Michelin-starred restaurant will likely open March 22, as the platform's page for Mosu Seoul showed possible booking dates starting that day. It remains unclear when reservations will open. A Catch Table official said more information would be "available soon," refusing to comment further.

According to the app, the restaurant will only offer dinner, with a tasting course priced at 420,000 won ($289.36) per person. The corkage fee is set at 200,000 won and limited to one bottle of wine.

In a recently uploaded video on Ahn's YouTube channel, the chef briefly showed the construction site of the new Mosu location on Namsan, near the Grand Hyatt Seoul. "I chose a location that is not in a busy or crowded area with a lot of foot traffic," Ahn said in the video.

Also, in an interview with Esquire Korea in October last year, Ahn said Mass Studies, an architecture studio led by award-winning architect Cho Min-suk, is handling the restaurant's design and construction.

Chef Ahn Sung-jae in "Culinary Class Wars" (Netflix)

Ahn opened the first iteration of Mosu in San Fransisco in summer 2015 and was given a one Michelin star in its first year.

Michelin awards three stars to restaurants that offer "exceptional cuisine worth a special journey." Two-star restaurants serve "excellent cuisine worth a detour," while one-star restaurants serve "high-quality cooking worth a stop."

Just two years on, Ahn's Mosu relocated to Seoul, opening in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu with investment from Korean food giant CJ CheilJedang. The restaurant was awarded a one star in 2019, two stars in 2020 and became South Korea's only Michelin three-star restaurant in 2023 and 2024.

Mosu Seoul, however, temporarily closed down in February last year after Ahn decided to end the partnership with CJ CheilJedang. Ahn said the decision was made due to differences in business goals.