Just a Glass of Wine: Best Wine Bar in Gangnam
I like wine (well, to be honest, I like pretty much any kind of alcohol), but getting into wine is quite tricky. First of all, you have to consider the country, grape variety, vintage, flavor, and tannin levels, which all feel like some sort of math formula. It's so difficult that it feels like you can only say you know a bit about wine if you can already taste it in your head. It's annoying enough that drinking it is hard, but the wines recommended at most restaurants are also quite expensive. Plus, since the main reason for drinking wine is usually a date, guys often find themselves agonizing over whether it's okay to decline the recommendation and choose a cheaper bottle.
Drinking wine—something that is 'difficult, expensive, and even bruises your ego'—requires a fair amount of adventurous spirit in Korea. But my foodie mentor kindly took me to a place with great, affordable wine once again.
The interior is very clean and neat, making it a relaxing place to be. Since it's located between Gangnam Station and Yangjae Station (a busy office district in Seoul), it's a bit quieter on weekends when the offices are closed, allowing you to better appreciate the interior design the owners envisioned. If you come during the week, it's bound to be fully booked and bustling, so weekends are better for taking in the calm, white-toned decor.
If you ask the owners to recommend food that pairs well with wine, they will suggest several combinations of wines that are perfect to drink right now. They aren't just reciting memorized facts; as you listen to them, you naturally find yourself saying, "Just recommend anything. Whatever you pick will be great." Seeing them use French and explain the wines in connection with their regions makes me think they must have lived in Europe for a long time. It has nothing to do with the taste of the wine, but it builds a strong, inexplicable sense of trust. Both of them have this charm that makes you think, "Wow, this place is really nice," no matter what is served.
Unusually, you choose your menu on an iPad. If you go to the link below, you can find the menu and a short blog written by the owner. Seeing that every table also has a QR code, it seems they are quite interested in IT. Or maybe they used to work in a related field.
Compared to the atmosphere and the menu, the prices are really cheap. Of course, it's more expensive than soju, but they sell pretty good wine for under 50,000 KRW. You don't have to order a whole bottle; you can order by the glass. You can try a glass, and if you think, "Oh, this is quite good," you can order a bottle instead of just a glass. Honestly, since I don't know much about wine, I'm not sure if this is expensive or cheap. But after hearing from a wine lover about the price difference when drinking the same wine at other places, I almost worry if they're making any profit. When you order a wine, they give a brief explanation of it, tell you what points to focus on when tasting it, and explain well how it pairs with the food. So it's a very unique and fun restaurant that makes wine enjoyable for beginners like me, who are clueless about wine but can still say, "It tastes good when I drink it."
The food isn't as flashy or as varied as other restaurants. But unusually, it really feels like a home-cooked meal. Both the Bolognese spaghetti and the steak feel like something you'd make at home. They aren't dishes you marvel at because of fancy or rare ingredients; they are very everyday foods that seem to have a lot of care put into them. As I mentioned earlier, if you pick a dish, they recommend a suitable wine. If you choose your menu and a wine price range, they will put together the absolute best combination for you.
It might be a bit tough for office workers, but it would be really nice to come during lunchtime and have a glass of wine with some spaghetti. Or, on the way home from work, it would be great to order some 3,500 KRW olives, drink a glass of wine, and zone out looking out the window to wrap up the day.
Whatever the case, I'm really glad to have found a place where a wine newbie can get a friendly guide and fully enjoy mealtime without feeling ripped off at all.