I am always a fan of salad bars, and am thrilled that the health food business in Seoul is hotting up. Don’t get me wrong I won’t be giving up burgers or pizzas anytime soon but I love to balance it out with a good salad one in a while. So when one of my friends asked if I would like to go for lunch in Sangsu and explore to see what we could find, I was more than happy when she suggested we eat at Again Refresh, especially since the weather is 35 degrees!
The salad cafe is quite large with plenty of seating. It is decked out with lots of wood, give it a natural wholesome kind of vibe. The menu is quite varied and has a selection of fresh juices, salads, sandwiches and rice bowls. There are eight salads to choose from, though they let you add in extras, and I’m sure it would be possible to create your own.
After a quick look at the menu, I decided to get the Chicken Avocado Salad (10,900). The salad came in a really cute wooden bowl and was filled to the brim with lettuce, chicken, avocado, tomatoes, onion, rice, beans, cereal and bread. The salad came with a creamy dressing. I am not going to lie I was very surprised to find baked beans and a small pile of cereal in my salad, I though it was a bit unorthodox but when it was all mixed up it was quite tasty and I didn’t really notice it. Thanks to the rice and the bread I found the salad to be very filling, so it was well worth the money, though I would possibly go for something else next time.
My date for the day Lizzy ordered the Salmon Avocado Salad (12,900). This salad was a mix of salmon, avocado, ricotta, lettuce, tomato, lemon, kale, and bread. This one came with a pesto dressing. I found this one a lot fresher and lighter than mine, so if I could I would switch the salmon out for chicken. As a salmon lover, she liked it just the way it was though.
Lastly we ordered the Open Sandwich Set (12,900). There were three mini open sandwiches in total, a shrimp and egg, avocado ricotta, and salmon and egg. My favourite by far was the avocado topped ricotta, it was very creamy and I loved the balsamic sauce which gave it a zing. The fish and egg ones were fine but not really anything special. The shrimp one had a spicy sauce but it was hard to eat without a knife and fork because it was so messy. I probably would not order these again, the salads are the much better deal.
Overall I enjoyed my salad and would certainly come again if I was in the area and looking for something healthy, though I can’t say it was special enough to make a deliberate trip for, though according to their Instagram page they have several locations in Mapo and one in Gangnam. However there are plenty of other cute cafes and bars nearby, so it is a good spot to go to if you are looking for a day out. If you want to see more of what we did in Sangsu, you can see my Youtube Video below.
Again Refresh is located at 2F 88-19 Sangsu-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. To get there take a train to Sangsu Station (line 6) and come out of exit 2. Walk straight and take your first left. Keep walking down this street and you will see Again Refresh on the left hand side on the second floor. For more information you can call them on 02-335-2538 or visit their Instagram page. They are open from 11:30am-9:00pm and closed on Sundays.