I tried to make advance booking at The Lounge last week but only to discover that they don't take reservations unless you're taking their afternoon tea set which would cost a fortune (150,000 won for two). I guess I rather try my luck walking in.
Showing up without a reservation on a Sunday afternoon turned out to be a really bad idea. We were told by the F&B Manager that the waiting list was long and it would take at least an hour to accommodate us. An hour? Not a problem since my little one was asleep at the moment.
So while we waited for our turn, I took some quality time to check out the "famous stairs" between the 79th and 81st floor of the hotel.
It's one of the most instagrammable places in the entire hotel thanks to the jaw-dropping view from the windows. Of course, I had to take a couple of selfies with Lotte theme park and city view in the background.
I also got to check out Pastry Salon, a tiny pastry corner besides The Lounge, where they offer a small selection of French pastries all prepared by the team behind Michelin 3-Star chef Yannick Alleno (actually behind the hotel's French fine-dining restaurant S.T.A.Y.).
Looks like their eclairs were already sold out but at least we had their lemon meringue tarts, cheesecake and others as our fallback plans.
Half an hour has passed but there's still no sign of us getting our table. I was about to call it quit but that was when we finally got the good news that a table was ready for us.
This is like a private dining room! And with the same stunning city view too...
I was really excited about these pastries given the team's strong pedigree.
Coco Mango (16,000 won) - The exterior (glaze) didn't look all that smooth but the combination of flavors certainly lived up to the lofty expectation.
A simple and unassuming dessert on the outside with very plain decorations. It composed of coconut cream (like a mousse), peach and banana compote and fresh mango. A very refreshing dessert for the summer indeed. I love the way the toasted almond sable worked with the softness of the coconut cream and fruit compote on top of it. Yeah, it didn't look pretty enough for me but nevertheless very tasty.
Cappuccino (19,000 won) - It came highly recommended by a friend of mine who knows 1000% more about food than I do so of course, I gladly took his recommendation.
This was really nice. The infused coffee beans cake with arabica chocolate sponge and milk chocolate came with various degree of sweetness and bitterness. It's kind of like enjoying a nice cup of cappuccino in the form of a pastry. Very nicely done.
Costarica Tarrazu RFA (21,000 won) and Hot Chocolate (18,000 won) - I'm not a coffee expert so I will simply copy the description straight off the drink menu here. Costarica Tarrazu RFA, a rainforest certified coffee known for its caramel, milky sweetness, light bitterness, medium body and overall creamy and smooth flavor, sits on the left there.
Medium body is probably the right word to describe it but I didn't get the caramel, milky sweetness nor creamy flavor. At least not with every sip.
The hot chocolate, on the other hand, was quite satisfying. The "coffee art" on top was a bit messy but the richness of the chocolate was right on the money for me.
I got enough time to check out their highly touted restroom too and it was definitely worth the visit.
It has got to be the restroom with the best view in town, especially around sunset.
This is truly a remarkable facility unmatched by anybody in the business. Now if the hotel could throw in a few more restaurants and cafes, I may actually consider staying here (but for now, I prefer the brand new Andaz Hotel scheduled to open in early September).
Food Rating: 6/10
Price: ₩₩₩₩₩
Address: 79/F Lotte Signiel Hotel, 300 Olympic-ro, Jamsil 6(yuk)-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: Jamsil
Tel: +82 02-3213-1212
Website: www.lottehotel.com/seoul-signiel/en/dining/the-lounge.html
Opening Hours: 11:00am - 11:00pm daily
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