Zen Hideaway – Seoul, Korea: Zen Hideaway in Seoul, Korea has been touted as the best place for Thai cuisine in the city and during our stay in Seoul it was a place that we knew we wanted to checkout. We booked ourselves a table for 9PM and headed over to Zen Hideaway in hopes of a fun and zen like evening dining on Thai food.

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When we entered Zen Hideaway, we instantly felt relaxed with the zen like decor with its soothing fountains and scenic garden. The decor lives up to the name perfectly. The restaurant itself is built around a garden and its large windows make it so its always within view. The ambience overall was fantastic. If we were rating Zen Hideaway on décor and atmosphere, it would easily score a Bombastic rating.

However, we were here for Thai food and once we were settled in we were told they do not serve Thai food after 9PM. Which was a pity since that was what we originally came for. However, what they really meant is that after 9 they have a very limited menu.

With no Thai in my near future, I scoured the menu and picked a few dishes. I started with Pumpkin Soup which was served in a butternut squash. It was like having a bit of both pumpkin and squash. On paper it looked great, but in reality it had no flavor.

We also had the Deep Fried Shrimp with lemon infused mayonnaise which also looked and sounded great, but alas, it was mediocre at best. Not at all impressive for something that sounded delectable.

For the main course, I had myself the Peppered Steak cooked medium rare – at this point, it was no surprise that it was served rare. My partner had the Spaghetti Arbiata which also was lacking in taste, as if they had run out of spices. The best part of our meal was perhaps the Kim Crawford wine, which was good but a little on the pricey side.

The service overall was terrible. As soon as we were done ordering, our waiter brought us our bill. We should have taken the hint. Between the early bill, the lackluster flavor of the food and my steak being undercooked, it seemed they really wanted us to leave as soon as possible! What’s more, the last we saw of our waiter was after serving our food, no one ever came back to see how we were doing or if we needed anything else.

With that said, we rate Zen Hideaway Between Bombastic and Not (almost a Not Bombastic rating)

What I liked: Great decor, relaxing ambience

What I didn’t like: Horrible service, mediocre food

Rating: Between Bombastic and Not

Address and Telephone Number:
Zen Hideaway
645-18 Sinsa-Dong, Gangnam-Gu (Apgujeong),
Seoul, South Korea
02-541-1461
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