As I wrapped up my Olympic adventure I was invited to one last brunch with my catering crew. It was on the fancy side of town, so I dusted off my Chanel and jumped in a cab over to Seokcho. I had heard little about Tavern 38 before but have since found out they are featured in the Michilin guide and have been awarded one star.
The two floor french restaurant, is elegant and old school in charm. We ate upstairs which afforded us a splendid view of the kitchen. There was something very homely about the whole place, it felt as though we were dining in someones living room. The whole place was festooned with charming decor touches, like the book shaped bottle of cognac.
During the daytime, they offer a 3 course lunch menu, and 3 course brunch menu, both priced at 38,000 per person. For a place in such a boujois neighbourhood this seemed like quite the bargain, though the dinner is significantly more expensive. As there were five of us, we had the opportunity to try most of the items on both menus.
For our starter we all got the french onion soup, we had hoped to try the tomato soup too, but it seemed they had run out, despite the restaurant being very quiet. Luckily for us we all like onion soup, I mean how could you not adore the concoction of sweet caramelised onions and Gruyere. Being a french staple, our expectations were high and thankfully it delivered. Paired with their incredible house made fresh bread. It was a divine way to start the meal.
The main course that I was most excited was the chicken and waffles, you don’t usually think of chicken waffles as being a particularly french dish, so was surprised to see though it, though glad none the less. The waffle and fried chicken came with maple syrup. While I loved the mix of salty and sweet it was a little on the dry side, and could have benefited from another wet ingredient to balance it out.
For the sweet toothed, the Pain Perdu /French Toast was excellent. It came drenched in a creme anglais, and topped with banana and mixed berry compot. The toast itself was crisp and moist and very enjoyable indeed. We also really enjoyed the French Onion Soup Burger with Truffle Fries, though it came with a 16,000 upgrade fee on the regular menu. The only item we didn’t really care for was the Mussels, which one would have imagined would have been one of their better dishes, but both the mussels themselves and the broth were very lackluster.
To wrap things up we had a choice of sorbet or ice cream, most of us opting for the strawberry sorbet which was light and refreshing. Included was our choice of tea or coffee to round out the meal. Being a true Brit I went for tea, and selected the Kir Royal flavour as as it is one of my favorite cocktails. It was a refreshing blackcurrant treat.
Overall we had an enjoyable lunch at Tavern 38,we found the three course menu to be quite reasonable. If you are looking for somewhere a little bit special to go, the place itself was a touch dark for the daytime, but could imagine it being very romantic in the evening.
Tavern 38 is located at 12-12 Myeongdal-ro 22-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul. To get there take a train to Seocho Station (line 2) and come out of exit 4. Walk straight and take the third left following the road around. Keep walking and take the 7th left , you will see Tavern 38 a little way down on the left hand side. For more information you can call them on 02-522-3738.