In my first trip to Seoul I aimed high and I had a dinner at La Yeon; regarded as one of the best restaurants of the South Korean capital, it has been repeatedly awarded three stars in the Michelin Guide for South Korea and is on the list of the 50 best restaurants in Asia.
I contacted the restaurant through their web form and after a bit of back and forth they accepted to reserve a table for me (but only at 6pm and near the entrance).
The visit
La Yeon (that I am being told means “celebration” in Korean) is located on the 23th floor of the luxurious Shilla Hotel, along with a French restaurant. The venue offers a beautiful view of the surrounding neighborhoods.
I arrived punctually as always and I was seated in one of the seven spacious tables (yes, near the entrance, but that was not an issue actually).
Upon arrival at the table, I was promptly offered some nibbles: dried dates and some sweet potatoes crackers. I found them quite forgettable and hardly touched them during the meal.
I had a further look at the menu, but I already knew what to order. Actually, choosing was remarkably simple since they only had two sets menus for dinner: one called The Feast and one called Shilla that included some richer dishes, a beef dish and their famed royal hotpot. You could add the hotpot and/or the one (or more) of the beef dishes to The Feast menu for an additional cost.
At the last moment, I decided to add both a beef dish and the royal hotpot to my selection and that was kind of stupid because I brought the cost of The Feast menu slightly above the price of their Shilla menu and lost one dish… I should have opted for the more expensive menu directly. The staff well avoided to advise me on this point…
The initial welcome dish was cold bean curd pudding (tofu) and an iced sauce made with soy and green plum (with a sour flavor). The combination of the flavors was very good.
The first dish of the menu was some sweet red shrimps on a base of cabbage and yuzu flavored soy jelly. The shrimps were really sweet and fresh and was an enjoyable, even if not great, dish.
Then there was a chicken porridge dish with ginseng. This is a classic Korean dish and it was served with some kimchi soup. I was advised to alternate the two. Overall a nice dish, but really nothing special (you can easily find this in Seoul).
The third dish was char-grilled eel with soy sauce and a light touch of red pepper paste. I did not like this dish much as the eel flavor was not particularly well balanced by the dressings.
Next I had a beef dish: a few bites of Korean beef ribeye with some vegetables and salad. The beef lived up to the reputation of high-grade Korean beef and was sensational. The beef was super tender and juicy.
Then I was served the famed royal hotpot. This could feed two people. It came beautifully presented in a small hotpot holder. The royal hotpot is basically a glorified soup with rich ingredients. I could recognize abalone, beef cubes, white fish, a couple of ginkgo seeds, but there was more. The dish is called sinseollo in Korean.
Then the main dish arrived with a contour of small side dishes Korean style. The main was mixed rice and vegetables with beef tartare. I love beef tartare and Korean have a reputation for raw beef meat, but this dish was completely disappointing. Apart from the boring side dishes and the unremarkable rice, the tartare came in the shape of cold strips of marinated beef. They were very cold and that killed the flavor.
The dessert was a scoop of corn ice cream on a base of crème brûlée. It was a nice dessert.
The very last dish was two bites of Korean jelly with cold cinnamon and ginger tea.
The check
Total check was 295,000 WON (around 260 USD). The royal hotpot added 60,000 WON (I have noticed that in the new menu this add on is 80,000 at the time of publishing this review). The basic The Feast menu cost 175,000 WON, while the Shilla menu was 270,000 WON and included a beef dish and the royal hotpot.
I need to agree with Andy Hayler that it is very low value for money.
Overall, my reception of the dishes was mixed. Some were really good, like the beef, but there were also many disappointments.
If you go in this restaurant, shoot for the higher priced menu. It does not make sense what I did (taking The Feast and paying for the add-ons). The Shilla menu has more interesting components.
Shame on me that did not plan well enough (but initially I did not consider to take the royal hotpot and the menu). But also shame on the staff that did not advise me (but their English was not great).
Where in Seoul:
Consult the hotel website for address, current menu and inquiries.
Tip: take a taxi to get to the hotel, it is not practical to go on foot as it is perched on a hill. They do have a shuttle bus from the metro station (Dongguk University) to the lobby, if you go this way, budget some extra time.