Last weekend I finally got around to trying the Brunch at Guilty Pleasure. God knows what took me so long as this place has been open for months and I eat more than my fair share of brunches, in fact I probably eat my fair share of other people’s brunches too!
We arrived to find a half full restaurant and were given the choice of sitting inside or out on the patio. We opted for the outside since it was such a lovely day. They had outdoor heaters on so it was plenty warm enough, and I’ve no doubt that this will be prime brunch real estate once spring rolls around.
The restaurant is decorated in a cute and quirky style. There are lots of adorable design features which can be found throughout the restaurant like the hand shaped door knobs. And personally I can’t get enough of these napkins, or the sharing is caring plates.
In brunch tradition we ordered mimosas (10,000) while we looked at the menu. These were pretty damn good, both the juice and the fizz used were really tasty, and it was probably the best one I have had in a long time. They had a couple of other cocktails on the menu too but no Bloody Mary. I really hope they got on the Bloody Mary train soon, as it’s a major brunch requirement in my book.
After a good look at the menu I opted for the Brunch Platter (17,000). I had wanted to try the Guilty Burger but sadly they only serve it for dinner. The brunch platter consisted of 2 fried eggs, 2 buttermilk biscuits, 3 rashers of bacon(or you can choose sausages instead), 2 pancakes, blueberry cream, maple syrup, and sausage gravy. It was a real mix of savoury and sweet. When I was a child and visited the states I was always kinda grossed out by people pouring syrup all over their savoury goods but now I rather like it.
The pancakes were fluffy and dotted with ricotta, and the bacon crisp and home cured I believe. The eggs were well cooked with perfect runny yolks and the biscuits were pretty good too, though not a patch on the ones at The Beastro. I’ve only had American style sausage gravy once before and hated it, so this one was a big improvement and it added a moist element to the brunch, but I don’t think I’d be too fussed if it wasn’t there. I feel it’s one of those food you have to grow up eating to really love. The platter is a fair whack of food, and I think it would be nice if they offered a smaller savoury version of this with just eggs, bacon, and sausages but overall I was pretty damn happy.
TFB ordered the Eggs Bennedict with Beetroot Cured Smoked Salmon (14,000).
The beet cured salmon really added colour to the plate, though I didn’t try it. Below the salmon was a very flakey pastry like bread, which was a very welcome addition. The eggs were poached perfectly and the hollandaise the right consistency with a good hint of tanginess. A very good breakfast for 14,000, I’d love to try this with bacon instead of salmon.
Elsewhere on the menu they had plenty of sweet offerings like beignets and French toast, but I’d like to see some more non fishy savoury dishes as the choice was a bit limited on that front. We liked what we had though and I will certainly go and try them again.
Guilty Pleasure is located at 1F, 2-10 Itaewon-ro 20-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. To get there take a train to Itaewon Station (line 6) and come out of exit 4. Walk straight until you get to Dillingers and take the set of stairs going down. Turn right and walk straight, you will see for the sign Guilty Pleasure on the right hand side. Walk up to the top of the stairs and go in the building on the left, it’s on the 1st floor. For more information you can call them on 02-794-4332 or check out their facebook page.
