• Drink
• Food
• Decor
• Service
• Atmosphere

Oo, this place was a bit of a suprise. It was our first outing to Samchongdong; the area behind the Gyeongbukgung palace. As you walk behind the palace to the right hand side you will see lots of galleries. After the road curls to the right and it turns into a beautiful road of traditional houses and trendy shops and eateries. We carried on about 10 mins and found Cheongsujeong on the left hand side of the street.

It's housed in a traditional house, with low rooms to the front and a courtyard through which you can find more rooms to eat in. With the sliding doors open on a warm winter's evening it's a very picturesque way to enjoy your dinner. The restaurant specialises in mussel fried rice which is something I never tried before. It also has bulgogi and bibimbap on the menu. The real special thing about the restaurant is the quality and number of banchan (side dishes) which accompany your meal. Also the price is quite incredible; the same price as most other meals in the city but not in such lovely surroundings.

I went for the set course which included the mussel fried rice and 19 side dishes to share. The rice was perfectly cooked and the mussels flavoured it delicately. The side dishes are too numerous to review but the large fried crunchy fish were a joy and all the kimchi pickles, fish cake, fried tofu and courgette tasted delicious. I think they must use different oil or something but it really did taste much better than many other restaurants. Also, there is more attention paid to the presentation. Everything comes in wooden bowls which is much more pleasant than the plastic ones you are usually given.

As you can probably tell, I really enjoyed all the food. My dining partners had a few reservations. Apparently the bulgogi was just rice and meat with little taste to it, maybe like it hadn't been marinated. The other issue was that a friend noticed a rat running out of the kitchen. Hm, really not a good sign at all. We also saw the kitchen and noticed somebody didn't wash their hands after handling raw meat and then picked up some vegetables.

The service was incredibly courteous and friendly. We were given service with even MORE side dishes than normal!

I thought the decor of our room a little strange. Obviously we were in a very old building, but there were some touches that didn't evoke the feeling of Korean history. For example an electric cable had been shoved through the wallpaper in the room so the light worked. And there was a very interesting coat stand fashioned to look like a selection of golf clubs. It just seemed a bit weird to us but maybe it isn't.

All in all, a really nice experience in a beautiful building. I'd like to go here again soon.