For the past few weeks, one of my absolute favourite cocktail joints in the city has been offering a vegan brunch on Sundays. This is due to one of the owners recently becoming vegan. They have a hell of a rooftop and whilst I love brunching in the sun, it wasn’t until they started offering all you can drink mimosas into the mix that I couldn’t resist going along to give it a try. If the weather isn’t quite so perfect they also serve in the main bar so don’t have to miss out if it is raining.
The brunch menu is made up of a collection of vegan dishes. While I like vegan food as much as the next gal, it was the cocktails that were luring me in. The All you can drink Mimosas are 20,000 or 30,000 if you aren’t eating. Either way it’s a hell of a deal. They also have a handful of other cocktails on the menu including an incredible Bloody Mary which are pay as you go.
We kicked off our afternoon of fun in the sun with the BBQ Bloody Mary (13,000). This Bloody Mary was epic, I am a very picky customer when it comes to these babies and very few places get it right. This smoked BBQ version was all kinds of delicious, and had the perfect balance of smokey flavour and spice. It was very drinkable and it wasn’t long before we were sinking our second round. At our table none of us were in the mood for an all you can drink day, so we didn’t get on the mimosa bandwagon, however my friends at another table (along with the rest of the bar) were on it like a car bonnet and slipped me a sip of one of theirs. It was pretty decent for the price, and if you plan on drinking 4 or more you are getting quite the bargain.
For the food I didn’t have particularly high hopes, it’s not that I don’t enjoy vegan food I just like to splash out with something a bit more unhealthy at the weekends. However after looking around at what everyone else was eating we were quite impressed. We kicked off with the Life of Pie (14,000) a BBQ jackfruit pizza with vegan cheese, garlic aioli, red onion and parilla leaves. We quite enjoyed this, I’m not saying it compares to a summer day or a real cheese pizza, it was more like a topped flatbread. We all agreed this was probably our favourite of the dishes, as we loved the garlic aioli and bbq jackfruit combo. it was also pretty filling, though you might not want to share it.
For our second choice we got the “Huevos” Rancheros (12,000). This dish consisted of fried corn tortillas with refried beans, pico, vegan egg, and chipotle salsa. I’m always a fan of refried beans and it was a good combo with the crunchy tacos. We were very intrigued to taste the vegan egg which was made out of tofu and tumeric. The texture was there, but I think I’d prefer a hearty heap of guacamole than a faux dairy product. However I appreciate their ingenuity. Our table also ordered the Taco Dubu Love Me (2 for 8,000). I didn’t try them but they were soft tacos topped with tofu scramble, pico, chipotle salsa and crispy tortilla.
Overall I thought the brunch was decent. They are absolutely spot on with the drinks and the location is fabulous. While I enjoyed what I ate this time round, it wouldn’t have me coming back week after week so hopefully they will add a few non vegan items to the menu. Rumour has it, that they secretly offer their Southside burger if you ask the right person. Either way its a step in the right direction for the all you can drink brunch community.
Southside Parlor is located at 4F 527 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. To get there take a Noksapyeong Station (line 6) and come out of exit 2. Walk straight until you reach the underpass, go through and exit using the stairs on the right hand side. Walk straight and you will see Southside Parlor just up ahead on the left hand side. It is located on the 4th floor above Taco Chili Chili. For more information you can call them on 02-749-9522 or visit their facebook page. the bunch runs from 12pm-3pm on Sundays. And the bar and usual menus runs from 6pm – late Tuesday -Sunday.