Laid-back nights of beer spiked with pictures of soju, Korea’s beloved liquor distilled from rice or different starches, are the norm in Seoul. However more and more, it’s town’s cocktail scene, distinguished by amiable hospitality, atmospheric interiors and an abundance of native substances, that’s garnering consideration.
Take Soko Bar, going sturdy within the Hannam-dong neighborhood since 2017. Dimly lit, it transports friends to a different time—particularly, the Twenties, when town, then often known as Gyeongseong, was underneath Japanese rule.
“It was a interval when traditional tradition was at its peak,” says proprietor Soko Son, who was wanting to seize that heady period by way of mixology.
At Soko Bar, the menu options advanced cocktails like Behind Wooden, a nod to the primary picket radios available on the market, which mixes whisky, matcha and inexperienced tea cordial, and chamomile chilly brew. The sprawling bar, accompanied by the sounds of John Coltrane and the pristine grapes served in glass bowls, all reinforce the subtle but nostalgic ambiance.
For Son, Seoul’s bars stand out due to how close-knit the group of bartenders is. “We deal with each other, provide assist each time wanted, and proceed to develop collectively,” he provides. Odd Strandbakken, head bartender of Charles H. on the decrease stage of the 4 Seasons Resort Seoul, agrees that inviting solidarity is an asset. “The Seoul bar group is extremely various with tremendous area of interest expressions of hospitality, however everybody helps each other—that’s true group, for my part,” he says.
This collective confidence manifests in attentive service to patrons. Fried hen and a gin-vermouth-sherry Velvet Martini brightened with liquid hallabong zest at Charles H. turned much more alluring, for instance, when chatting with the pleasant barkeeps. Charles H., which debuted in 2015, is a glamorous area adorned with mahogany and metalwork, however when the event requires it, there’s the newly opened H. Bar, a futuristic laboratory-style boîte tucked within the again. Right here, simply eight friends sit in opposition to a smooth backdrop of quartz and inexperienced lacquer as Strandbakken presents a number of programs of experimental cocktails. On the omakase-style menu, full with bites, there are drinks just like the Twin Daiquiri, mixing a mix of rums with nectarine and a pop of bokbunja (Korean black raspberry wine). Such concoctions, provides Strandbakken, invigorate the acquainted by “showcasing unimaginable Korean produce and flavors by way of a world lens.”
Others make an impression, too. Cham interprets to oak in Korean, and the wooden aptly swaths the soulful cocktail lair of the identical title in Seoul’s Seocheon neighborhood. On weekends, there’s a no-reservations coverage at Bar Cham, so the revamped hanok (conventional Korean dwelling) elicits lengthy queues of imbibers ready for a seat to sip drinks starring Korean spirits, similar to apple brandy and mint-infused gin.
Close by, near the Anguk subway station, Gong-Gan places the highlight on Korean flavors—leftover cocktail substances are superbly upcycled into accompanying bar snacks—and tradition. Take the Wind Bell, a sweet-sour tipple that brings collectively Calvados, pomegranate, black sesame and egg white, paying homage to a sound prevalent since historic instances, or the Related Circle, that includes soju, sherry and pineapple tepache. “To me, Korean substances are usually not simply elements; they’re a language that carries our every day life, recollections and seasons,” shares co-founder Willy Park. “Gong-Gan was created to deliver deeper Korean flavors and new narratives to Seoul’s cocktail scene.” Like Cham, Gong-Gan is housed in a former hanok, however painted a creamy white; it has a decidedly Scandinavian vibe, full with an eye catching courtyard.
Within the posh Gangnam district, on the south facet of the Han River, enterprising bartender Terry Kim opened subterranean Alice Cheongdam in 2015 as an ode to Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. He had labored in lodge bars beforehand, and this time round, he craved a distinct viewpoint. “I needed to construct a bar the place individuals may take off their daytime masks and return to who they are surely,” he explains. “The world of Alice in Wonderland helped me form that imaginative and prescient—a spot the place creativeness turns into energy, the place bartenders may be inventive, and the place friends can chill out, open up and revel in cocktails in their very own method. That spirit of freedom was what I hoped to deliver to Seoul.”
A decade later, Alice nonetheless impresses with its fusion of madcap and class. Ensconced in lounge chairs on the bar, friends select between such whimsical libations off the taking part in card-themed menu because the earthy, nutty Foggy Fongo, melding bourbon, shiitake mushroom, PX sherry, macadamia and frankincense, and the silky dessert-like Okie DOK, with soju, strawberry gochujang (purple chile paste) and rice ice cream.
Alice is positioned on Dosan-daero Avenue, conveniently throughout from Le Chamber, a speakeasy from mixologists Dohwan Eom and Jaejin Lim, which has considerably knowledgeable the Seoul ingesting panorama since its 2014 debut. Hiding behind a bookcase, the luminous lounge setting is bolstered by stay piano music and cocktails just like the natural Ginseng Martini and quenching Scarlet Fizz highball, marrying tequila with tomato
Additional down Dosan-daero is Zest, which beckons sustainably-minded patrons with its daring zero-waste method to drink-making. Based in 2020 by Demie Kim, Noah Kwon, Jisu Park and Sean Woo, the minimalist area is crafted from soothing clay, stone and wooden, its glowing backbar lined with house-made spirits. At Zest, bottled tonics are shunned in favor of from-scratch variations to alleviate extreme packaging. Employees don aprons produced from recycled cloth, and farm-sourced produce shines in cocktails. One to attempt off the latest menu: the C’orn Star Martini with roasted candy potato soju, corn and tomato brine, passionfruit and chervil.
This ingenuity can also be on full show at Kiez, a comparatively new arrival that debuted in 2024. Neighboring Alice, it’s a moody, Bauhaus-style dream with punches of purple, a vinyl assortment, and creative but unfussy cocktails that nod to co-founder Dongyeol Shin’s roots in Hamburg, Germany. The Rice and Shine, mixing mezcal, scorched rice, coconut
