GOLD: HANWOORI
Silver: Sura | Bronze: Damso | Honourable Mentions: Insadong, Seoul Doogbaegi
Perennial winner Hanwoori (Gold) is on top for a reason. Judges noted that tables are packed with Korean expats who know this is solid, homey Korean cooking at its finest. Standout dish: jeyuk bossam (strips of pork belly served with an oyster kimchi that’s all chilled up). “An umami bomb.” Sura (Silver) does for Korean what the Hapa restaurants did for izakayas: it makes things modern and clean, delivering a well-edited menu that’s approachable for tourists yet doesn’t dumb down flavours. Damso (Bronze) was called out as the go-to place for “soak-up-the-cocktail food at 2 a.m.” (Bulgogi burgers do the job well.) Chef is classically trained, and it shows: kimchi foie gras, anyone?
