As the first western restaurant to be established in the country in 1925, this restaurant has history. Located inside the Seoul Station (back then it was called Gyeongseong Station), it has remained in the same spot since its first opening. Unfortunately, the food they served was not as memorable as its history may suggest.
The hamburg steak and tonkatsu come with complimentary sides including soup, salad, coffee and drinks. The soup (made from chestnuts and cheese) was quite nice, but the hamburg steak and tonkatsu, overall, didn’t offer anything special even with the crispy batter with juicy pork inside. Moreover, it was served cold. Especially considering the higher price range for tonkatsu (13,500 won), the taste was not at all up to standard. The service was a problem, too. The group of elderly waiters seemed as though they were constantly observing the restaurant, ready to be of help, but they went too far as to asking if I was done and taking dishes away even before I was done. At this oldest western restaurant in Korea, it was disappointing to realize that the level of sophistication (which I somewhat expected from its history and pride) was nowhere to be found.