Ssada Gimbab, Myeongdong Station — Restaurant in Seoul

Japanese culture has always been important to me. I grew up with 🇯🇵 anime and manga, then 🇯🇵 food became popular and I fell in 💙 with it. Korean culture is different. I practically had no contact with it during my childhood. I saw Old Boy and A tale of 2 sisters (which I 💙d ), then a few great series, then I tried some food which I got to like over the time. And without realizing it I became obsessed with 🇰🇷 . I recently had the opportunity to go to Asia on vacation so I had to visit 🇰🇷. I wanted to go to Jeju but it wasn't the best season. So I saved it for my next visit and I focused on Seoul. For our first lunch there, I picked a restaurant that I knew could offer the whole family something to like. See, I knew I would like the food. But I wasn't too sure my son and wife would because they don't like 🌶️ food... Ssada Gimbab (@ssada_gimbab, that's the name of the place) is located a few meters away from our hotel, in Myeongdong, which was ideal after such a long trip. It offers a menu in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 with pictures and it offers some of the most classic 🇰🇷 dishes, like mandu and gimbap. I'm not a big fan of gimbap but this one was OK. I 💙d the other items we ordered, I'm not sure if I did because of the quality or because it was our first meal there. But who cares, we all enjoyed that meal and I found it the perfect way to start our visit in Seoul. 😃 Now, like in many restaurants in 🇰🇷, there's no service and you're expected to return your tray to the kitchen. I initially found that surprising but I guess that's a cultural specificity and this is what you look for when you travel, right? 🤷‍♂️ The place is not the fanciest (looks like a fast food restaurant... which it is, in the end, so...). We paid KRW 26,500 which basically is €20... for the 3 of us! 🙌 Less than what I would pay for 1 person in Barcelona...

Quality & taste: 8/10 Quantities: 9/10 Atmosphere: 5/10 Originality: 6/10 Ratio price / quality: 9/10 Service: 5/10 How I felt...

One of the highlights of my Korea trip. 5/5 for "Homeyness" (Very cosy and hospitable)

I found the Self-service options to be extremely comfortable and easy. It almost felt like a friend's mother's house rather than a restaurant!

There are 2 kiosks to order what you like via card or Google/Apple pay. And if you need a little more help deciding, getting vegetarian options or paying by cash, the friendly staff at the counter will assist.

My partner and I got 1 basic Gimbap and ramyun. There was a delicious free oden soup and sides available .

I personally liked the atmosphere of being able to self serve my own sides, drinks, soups and refill these at my pace. You do need to return the trays but I was more than happy to take a short trip to the counter to return.

If you have mobility issues (Scooter/Wheelchair), the counter does have stairs leading up so you may need assistance from staff.

In review, simple and easy self serve options; plenty of delicious Gimbap, noodles, and other fast healthy-ish foods; cheap and decent portions; definitely...

I'm really surprised by the high ratings.

Is the food affordable? Yes in comparison to many restaurants in Myeongdong.

But is the food that good? So so. Not really

We ordered the vegetable dumplings, cold soba noodle, and chicken curry rice.

The vegetable dumplings- nothing homemade tasting at all. It feels like what you can get in the frozen section at the supermarket. Its bland and mushy.

The cold soba noodle- its ok. The broth isn't very flavorful and I feel it could use more vegetables. Again a victim of blandness.

The chicken curry rice- the chicken is very little but it was the best dish we ordered. It's mostly thick breading and a thin layer of chicken. Again, nothing truly spectacular or special tasting. However, it was crunchy. The curry feels like the boxed japanese curry cubes you buy in grocery stores.

Overall, i think you come here to eat just to fill your stomach and not to truly enjoy the food.

I would recommend it only if you are on a budget and need an affordable...