I was staying with a friend who lived in a district in Seoul called Itaewon. Itaewon was once known as a shady district but has recently been revamped and now known more as the foreigners district. When I first heard that Itaewon was the foreigners district, I was not too excited. I imagined foreigner districts like Lan Kwai Fong, Hong Kong; where there was dirty bar after dirty bar and streets full of westerners being ridiculously drunk (yes, I might have been one of them).
Instead I was greeted by tasteful bars such as "Mixtures" which had a lounge atmosphere and a DJ spinning hip hop beats, and Magpie brewery which usually has a few taps of their own brews plus some imports like Rogue from my hometown. The crowd definitely seemed like more foreigners, but there was a good mix of locals as well. Overall I would almost equate what I saw of Itaewon similar to a Pearl District in Portland or Culver City in Los Angeles. Not super ritzy, but nice and up and coming. Read on for the meals/spots I felt were worth mentioning.
As mentioned above, underground hiphop vibe, usually not too crowded (most likely due to its location off the main strip and down some shady stairs). Classy atmosphere, drinks are a little more spendy on average for the area. $7 USD for an Erdinger beer, about $8-9 USD for Jameson on the rocks.
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| Drinks at Mixtures |
Down some stairs in a basement, and well, it looks like you are in the basement of a private brewery. Their own beers sell out fast and are about $5 USD a pint with imports being a little more. Great place to hang out with friends over some beers.
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| Representing Oregon Ducks with friends at Magpie |
Recently became famous for having good tacos in Korea, and recently rated #1 new restaurant in Seoul by CNNgo. I will state this now: it has nothing on San Diego, but do you really expect it? Great way to get your Mexican Fix, I would recommend getting their Korean fusion tacos since, well, Korea is known for their Kalbi and Bulgolgi right? $10 USD for 3 tacos
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| Bulgolgi and Kalbi tacos |
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| Kimchi Fries, like Ooey-Gooey Fries from Chegos |
BeneCafe:
Went here with "acquired new friends #1 and #2", and a friend from the states. This was the chain to go to for Bingsu, Korea's version of ice dessert. $10 USD which easily fed 4, Location: All over.
Random hole in the wall restaurants:
These are my favorite experiences, wander around until you find a place you don't know what you're ordering. I couldn't tell you directions, or how much it was. Just go try to find one yourself.
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| Kimchi Jigae, awesome. |
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