Where to begin on this dining experience. Hmm I guess lets start with the name. Is Richard Copycats not the stupidest name ever!!! What are you copying Richard??? All American Diner was just fine, really summed up you and what you do.
As some of you may be aware RCC’s has recently moved. Instead of being by Mcdonald’s it’s moved premises to the other end of of Itaewon. The new premises are a former night club. They clearly like the vibe and have decided to keep the decor. When I first arrived I thought it was quite cool. Who doesn’t like white leather sofas and faux palm trees?
However as we waited for our menus we started to look around a bit and found that all the glass was smeared and dirty and various fixtures had broken, come apart or been set on fire. Yes there was evidence, no I didn’t take a picture a la Trip Advisor. Maybe when this was a night club the dark cover of night hid these things well, but it’s daytime, you’re serving brunch and the tables are in need of a good clean. Perhaps Richard should invest in some Windex and ask his waitress to stop playing Candy Crush, and clean the tables. As you can see from the photo the place was empty so I’m sure she had ample time.
On to the food. We perused the menu filled to the brim with all American classics. We placed our food orders and tried to order a Bloody Mary, but our waitress told us they don’t serve alcohol until 6! WTF! It’s brunch, we are in a nightclub sitting on white leather sofas, listening to hiphop blaring out the stereo and you want me to do this sober, really? I was very upset, you know Fat Girl likes a cocktail with breakfast, especially when she is hungover. If it was a diner like space I could live without the Bloody Mary but it’s a club, and they could seriously cash in on the day drinking crowd, as it’s a huge, light space which would be ideal for drinking on a summer’s day. Also drunk people would care less about the smudged glass.
On to the food. My dining companion (Mat from food blog Restaurants of Korea) ordered a strawberry smoothie when informed there was to be no booze. He didn’t like it and thought it was very artificial, personally I enjoyed it though. But it’s more of a milkshake than a smoothie. I just had a coke, 4,000 but its refillable.
I ordered the Bacon Cheddar Burger (15,800), nothing off the breakfast menu was jumping out at me, so I figured you can’t go wrong with a cheeseburger. A couple of years ago it was also often featured in the Top 5 burgers lists so I wanted to give it a try for that reason alone. Presented nicely enough and a toasted bun I ate, I chewed, I swallowed. It was fine, but really nothing special. Kind of like a frozen one you would buy at home. At best a 6/10. The fries were again fine but just the frozen ones from Costco. I don’t think it justified its 16,000 price tag. I can get a real gourmet burger from Left coast, Burger B , or Brooklyn Burger for less than that, and all 3 restaurants have a hell of a lot more ambiance.
My dining companion went for the Farmers Breakfast (14,100). Gravy and biscuits, bacon, sausages, scrambled egg, and country fried potatoes. This one again was fine, the potatoes were good and so were the herby sausages. The eggs needed more seasoning and neither of us enjoyed the biscuits. They just tasted like margarine, but so do the ones at KFC so maybe I have unrealistic expectations of what biscuits should taste like. The gravy wasn’t like anything I had tried before. If you are more familiar with american style gravy it could be a little bit more up your alley.
All in all I didn’t leave Richard Copycats with the same enthusiasm that I came in with. Although on using the 50% discount coupon that’s available until March 31st I only paid 10,000 for my dinner, which is about what it was worth. Had it cost the 20,000 it was supposed to I would have been pissed off. The food is over priced for what is, just mediocre diner food. Maybe if you are craving that kind of taste of home then you will be happy but I just felt let down. Years ago when they opened and dining choices were limited this was probably a great place, but Itaewon has boomed since then and we have restaurants galore and your 20,000 can buy you a damn good breakfast. With the mixed messages of the alcohol free club like atmosphere I can’t see too many customers queueing up for this place. Though if you are set to have a taste of home, go before March 31st while it’s still half price and just show this picture.
Richard Copycats is located at 736-9 Hanam-dong, Seoul. To get there take a train to Itaewon Station (line 6). Walk straight out of exit 3 and keep going straight. Cross the street and keep on going. Richard copycats is just past Rocky Mountain Tavern on the 3rd floor. You can call them on 02-790-0411 or checkout their website for more details.