Bover Lounge (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★★☆

Myeongdong is an area best known for its shopping and less as a gourmet destination. Apart from its casual eateries (mostly Korean) and street food, it has very little to offer when it comes to upscale fine dining restaurants and gourmet bistros. But Bover Lounge changes all that. Well, not all but at least some of that.



Opened in 2014, Bover Lounge is a cozy French bistro located on the ground floor of the State Tower Namsan. It's comfortably sitting at the edge of Myeongdong facing Namsan and just a nice 5-minute walk from the subway exit. The modern European setting is one reason that attracts me here but there's more than what meets the eye. The ceiling-to-floor windows, a simple but exciting food menu and a special lineup of desserts all make this decision (of coming here) a lot easier.



We started things off with a simple kale salad (₩19,000) that included some bacon, apple and goat cheese. Refreshing start.


 
Next up was supposedly their signature dish - omelette soufflé (₩19,000). The soufflé came with a small bowl of sauce that looked and smelt like a lobster bisque. But it's not.



Our server cut the soufflé into four equal portions before carefully pouring the hot sauce in there. This was very nice. The soufflé was light and fluffy with tiny bits of ham and mushroom inside and the cream sauce with exotic spices was the catalyst here, helping to elevate the dish to a different level.



This is supposed to be another signature dish here. Linguine tossed in a light tomato sauce and served with a shrimp blanc mousse (₩24,000). From this angle, I couldn't really see any linguine and tomato sauce but just some garlic roasted prawns, confit tomatoes and dashes of tomato pesto. So where's my linguine?

But as soon as I dug a little deeper, there it was. A nicely cooked linguine with a Japanese style sweet tomato sauce. By now I was mixing every ingredients together with the exception of the prawns. This was seriously good. I love the sweet flavors from the sauce. The linguine was lovely as it was tasting like my favorite spaghetti bolognese but a tad sweeter.



After being spoiled by two excellent dishes, time for a bit of regression. Avocado salmon risotto (₩23,000) was just OK. As an avocado lover, I'd love a little more avocado purée in the risotto.



As I mentioned a little earlier, Bover Lounge's sweet menu features a special lineup of desserts and that includes macarons from La Boîte, a famous local brand that specializes in French confectionery.



They also carry a small selection of gourmet cakes from Glamorous Penguins who is a hearty little cafe in Itaewon well-known for their cakes, puddings and cookies.



Glamorous Penguins's earl grey chiffon cake (₩11,000) has always been my favorite. It's as usual light and airy.



This is a very good combination of food and ambiance that they've got here at Bover Lounge. Something that is very unique in Myeongdong.

Food Rating: 6/10 

Price: ₩₩₩

Address: G/F State Tower Namsan, 1-1 Hoehyeondong 2(i)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: Myeongdong
Tel: +82 2-6020-5755
Website: www.boverlounge.com


French bistro cozy myeongdong Seoul Korea