Pierre Gagnaire à Séoul (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★☆☆

It has truly been an up-and-down couple of years for the French masterchef's Seoul outpost. The restaurant was shut down due to unknown reasons a few years ago and when it finally re-opened in September 2018, they didn't have to wait long for their two Michelin stars to arrive. What an interesting turn of events!



From what I've read and seen so far, Pierre Gagnaire à Séoul 2.0 looks more or less the same as its older version. They welcome back chef de cuisine Frédéric Eyrier, who's been with the restaurant since 2012 with open arms. Similar food menu. The quirky décor didn't change a bit and so was the incredible view from 35th floor overlooking Namsan.



I can't believe it's already been 10 years since I was last here. Jelloman and I both agreed that the dining room could probably use a facelift. Perhaps I need one too, while I was in Seoul.



The best thing about Pierre Gagnaire à Séoul comparing to other fine dining restaurants in Seoul is the fact that, it opens seven days a week for lunch and dinner. At lunch service, the restaurant offers three different set menu including Menu Allegro (75,000 won), Déjeuner Pierre Gagnaire (3-course at 90,000 won and 4-course at 120,000 won) and "Le 6 Balzac", their degustation menu. The 3-course Déjeuner Pierre Gagnaire was the one we picked on the day of our visit.

I have to admit, I wasn't all that happy with the service coming in. While we were still trying to figure out the clothes to be checked in, our server was already troubling us with our selection of sparking or distilled water. I haven't even sat down! That's not what I call attentive service.

But things slowly got better as our afternoon went on. First, we were offered some canapés to start off the meal. The wheat cracker topped with radish, pickled spinach and lime juice was decent but uninspiring. Same goes for the ginger and almond cookie with a hint of sea salt. The mini choux pastry with truffle cream was the only one with a passing score (just barely). Those didn't look like they came out of a Michelin starred kitchen.



After that, some country bread while we waited for our starters.



Langoustine - My starter was butter poached langoustine served on a bed of mixed vegetable salad. I remembered having a similar dish at S.T.A.Y. by Yannick Alléno, not in terms of presentation but more about the ingredients. It's a salad consisting of diced vegetables and fruit that tasted very much like a Russian salad (with fruit). I was a little surprised it was served at a French fine-dining restaurant.



Abalone - More encouraging was the other starter, abalone served with petite pâte and spinach. A nice Korean twist with all the local ingredients, capped off by an interesting jujube (Korean dates) sauce. This wasn't bad and I have said it a zillion times, I love the use of local ingredients prepared with French cooking techniques.



Swordfish - This was surprisingly tasty. The grilled swordfish fillets caught me by surprise with their fatty texture.



It meshed well with the fresh herb purée and toppings of green onion and cress.



Turkey - When they said poultry (from the menu), turkey was the last two-legged creature I could think of. They made these citrus flavored turkey blanquette out of it, paired with crispy bacon, baby cabbage and shallots. Jelloman didn't like it but I thought it was reasonably good. Just not as good as my grilled swordfish.



Chocolate tower - Not the most sophisticated dessert in the world but it was a great one to end the meal on a refreshingly sweet note. The chocolate cylinder which came with a hazelnut praline centre, was served with a vibrant mandarin sorbet and some mandarin compote. It was finished off with some extra heat and acidity from a chilled orange ginger sauce.



I love the smooth and creamy hazelnut praline providing a welcoming coolness and a pleasant level of sweetness which was matched well by the lovely acidity of the mandarin and orange.



A much better petite fours comparing to the amuse bouche. Whoever the pastry chef is, he or she is doing a fantastic job!



I decided to enjoy an iced cappuccino together with my petite fours.



With my relatively low expectation coming in, I have to be happy with the results from some of the dishes (abalone, swordfish and chocolate tower). But in my opinion like some of these Michelin starred restaurants in Asia, the cooking here just isn't consistent enough to be warranted a star (or in this case two stars).

Food Rating: 6/10
Price: ₩₩₩₩
Address: 35/F Lotte Hotel Seoul, 81 Namdaemun-ro, Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: Euljiro 1-ga
Tel: +82 02-317-7181
Website: www.pierregagnaire.com/restaurants/pierre_gagnaire_seoul