Last week one of my very best friends, David, turned 40 years old. To mark this momentous occasion I wanted to take him out for brunch. As luck would have it, a new Aussie style brunch cafe called Sunday Arvo had opened up in my neighbourhood of Gyeongridan, and with David being a Kiwi he was tickled pink at the thought of having a decent down-under style brunch for once.
Sunday Arvo is located a little off the beaten track, it is up on a hilly side street, just off the cafe and restaurant road located behind the police station in Gyeongridan. The place is very simply decorated but has a fresh and airy feel to it. The menu has a good mix of brunch dishes, and one hell of a deal between 10am-12pm on weekdays, a long black plus a breakfast platter for only 8,000. Since we visited on the weekend, and long after 12pm we took a seat and had a gander at the regular menu.
You can’t have an Aussie brunch without a Flat White 4,500, and luckily they had a really nice one on the menu. We also got a Long Black 4,000, and Honey Lemon Ginger Ade 5,500. There is also a selection of teas and two bottled beers. What they are really missing is a good Bloody Mary, but sadly most brunch joints in Seoul do not offer the traditional day drinking cocktails. In any case, I’m pretty sure my lemonade would have tasted even better with a splash of vodka if you wanted to bring your own.
I have to say that the menu is pretty enticing, there were a lot of items and it differed nicely from my other favourite Aussie brunch joint in the neighbourhood, Summer Lane. As a mushroom lover I could not resist getting the Mushroom Benedict (15,000). Two portobello mushrooms were stuffed with ricotta and kale, topped with two poached eggs, and smothered in a brown butter hollandaise. I have never seen portobello mushrooms here in Korea, so was thrilled that someone had got hold of some, even if they weren’t as big as the ones we get back home. The eggs were perfect and the brown butter hollandaise was orgasmic. It was lick the plate clean delicious. I couldn’t have been happier.
My Chubby Hubby will rarely turn down a chance to eat salmon, so ordered the Rucola Salmon Sandwich (13,000). The salmon came stuffed inside a very large toasted ciabatta style bread roll, along with rucola (rocket), olives, red onion, and caper french sauce. He was immediately impressed by the hearty size of the sandwich, and found it very filling. The salmon was very fresh, and paired well with the dressing, though if he was being picky he would have liked a tad more zing. But overall we thought it was great for the price.
Lastly the Birthday Boy ordered the Shrimp Benedict (14,000). This dish was advertised as a ‘Monthly Special Benedict‘, which I thought a great idea as it is easy to get tired of eating the same thing if you become a regular customer. These poached eggs were sat atop toasted English muffins, drizzled with a basil hollandaise, and topped with pan fried shrimp. I tried a good bit of this and thought it made a refreshing change from the traditional benedict. The basil added an interesting flavour to the hollandaise, though I’m not sure it could quite compete with my brown butter hollandaise. Again the eggs were cooked to perfection and the shrimp were juicy and tasty.
Overall I was very impressed with Sunday Arvo. The food was absolutely delicious and prices are on the right side of 15,000, which is rare these days. The dishes also came out in a timely manner considering it was a such a small kitchen. One piece of advice, be sure to go before 1 on weekends. When we arrived at 12:30-ish there were a couple of spare tables but by the time we left there was a queue.
Sunday Arvo is located at 52-43 Hoenamu-ro, 13-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. To get there take a train to Noksapyeong station (line 6) and come out of exit 2. Walk straight until you come to the stairs and an underpass. Go through the tunnel and take the stairs on the left. Keep walking straight and follow the road around until you get to Well Being Mart. You should see that the road forks, cross over and take the left side. Keep walking straight, past Pizza School, and past the Ace Mart, then take the road that turns right directly after Ace Mart. There are lots of cool bars and restaurants along this street. Keep following the road until you reach Kahlo Diego and take a left. Walk up the street and you will see Sunday Arvo at the top of the hill on the right hand side. For more information you can call them on They are open from 10am- 8pm on weekdays (Closed on Tuesdays), and 9am – 8pm on weekends