Vinho (*), Seoul

Our first fine dining experience in South Korea. Vinho was an almost random pick, based on availability, booked a few weeks in advance.

The menu cost 250.000 Won (around 150 Euro), wine pairing would have been 220.000 Won.

I cannot write an in depth review since some explanations were hard to understand and I did not want to ask repetitively. But we enjoyed the experience and can definitely recommend going there.

First course (after the amuse bouche) was an ice cream made of oyster, definitely an interesting course.

2nd and 3rd (vegetables and mackerel) were beautiful dishes, my kids‘ favourites.

The chicken was prepared sous vide, so texture and colour were unusual when you‘ve been exposed all your life to chicken cooked through and through. Taste was a bit bland, but good.

Egg plant was aged, with a sauce of fermented apple. This was the weakest dish, just not a lot of flavour.

The abalone was excellent. Also the hairtail was very good.

The duck as the main dish was very well made. It went along very well with the overall rather subtle flavours. I feel that duck, in a fine dining setting, can sometimes be too powerful in flavour. But this one held back, it was very good, but not punchy in an unpleasant way.

The two desserts finished up the menu very nicely, the first one fruity, the second one nutty. Both a nice display of technique, and very good desserts. So the menu really didn‘t fall off in the end.

The atmosphere in the open kitchen was very pleasant, staff seemed focused, but relaxed. And we found the plating to be aesthetically quite pleasing.

That‘s it, I can recommend the place, as stated above.