A Delightful Birthday Fine Dining Experience at Touber in Sinsa-dong
Hello!
It was my birthday last week, and my partner surprised me with a reservation at Touber, a fine dining restaurant in Sinsa-dong!
They booked this special place for my birthday, and I was so impressed with the atmosphere, food, and service that I wanted to share my experience with you all.
Touber
Location: B1, 31-10, Dosan-daero 11-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Transportation: About a 6-minute walk (397m) from Sinsa Station Exit 8
Hours: Daily 12:00 - 22:00 (Break time 14:00 - 16:00)
Reservation: Via Catchtable app
Reservations are made through Catchtable, and the deposit for dinner was ₩40,000 per person.
The deposit was immediately refunded upon entry, and the payment was made separately at the restaurant.
We made our reservation 3 days in advance!
Touber is located on Serosu-gil, down an alleyway from Garosu-gil.
You'll find Touber in the basement when you go down the stairs.
The interior was luxurious, with black walls and a harmonious blend of green moss. (But doesn't the sculpture on the island table look like a giant enoki mushroom...? ㅜㅜ)
The atmosphere was dim, but the lighting was bright enough to create a calm and lively ambiance, perfect for a special occasion!
Touber offers a Japanese-French course menu that changes seasonally! When I visited, I was able to enjoy the opening anniversary dinner course for ₩69,000 (discounted from ₩85,000).
Opening Anniversary Special
Lunch: ₩50,000 -> ₩39,000
Dinner: ₩85,000 -> ₩69,000
Dinner Course (₩69,000 per person)
Dinner Course
(Amuse-bouche → Cold appetizer → Hot appetizer → Pasta → Cleanser → Fish → Main → Risotto → Dessert)
Upon entering the restaurant, we were immediately shown to our seats! They provided us with a course guide and a drink menu.
Drinks are optional, so you can order according to your preference! We didn't order any drinks.
It was fun to watch them prepare the dishes in real-time.
Now, let me show you each course! Please note that taste preferences may vary.
Amuse-bouche
Watermelon jelly, ricotta cheese, pistachio / Jambon sweet potato salsa, carrot leaves / Anago, sansho béchamel, brioche bread
We were told to eat them in the order of bottom left, bottom right, then top.
The Amuse-bouche is the first impression of the course, and it looked very fancy, so I had high expectations.
But the taste...!! To be very honest:
1) Watermelon jelly, ricotta cheese, pistachio - It wasn't to my taste. The watermelon jelly was surprisingly starchy(?).. I thought it would be better to just eat watermelon..????
2) Jambon sweet potato salsa, carrot leaves - It wasn't bad, but I didn't really taste each ingredient very well. I was a little disappointed because the jambon flavor wasn't what I expected.
3) Anago, sansho béchamel, brioche bread - Surprisingly, this was quite delicious! I thought there was too little eel, but when I ate it, it was quite thick. It went well with the crispy brioche, which I liked.
It's cute, and the taste is more diverse than I thought
Personally, I only liked this one!
Still, the combination of ingredients was fresh enough to whet my appetite.
Cold appetizer
Herring sashimi and salad
I was surprised how much I liked the cold appetizer.
The unique flavor and freshness of the herring went well together, and the savory taste of the aged herring was impressive.
It seems to be napa cabbage salad, and the sauce tasted like yogurt.
The fish bone-shaped cracker on top was surprisingly delicious
It was a good refreshing start.
Hot appetizer
Ginger sous vide chicken breast
I really liked this menu too!
There was caramelized onion inside,
But I don't like onions, so I took it out.
(But my partner said the onion taste was a little strong ㅠㅠ)
The chicken breast was rolled into a circle and covered with chicken skin again.
The skin was crispy,
The cooking order and idea were new and creative, so it felt fresh.
The chicken breast was so tender that I wondered if it could be so tender,
There was a very subtle scent of ginger.
I like soft chicken breast, so I was satisfied!
Pasta
Konbu Uni Pasta
Personally, I thought it was the highlight!! It's Konbu Uni Pasta.
I didn't have high expectations, but I was surprised how much I liked it.
The sea-scented uni and konbu met to create a truly creative and unique taste.
I hadn't eaten a lot of cold pasta, but it was really good!
I didn't mix it all at once, but ate the toppings on top little by little.
The noodles themselves were thin like somen noodles, so the sauce was well absorbed,
Radish, uni, and seaweed pesto all went very well together.
The radish went really well when I kept adding it in small amounts like wasabi.
The texture, flavor, and taste were all excellent, making it the most memorable menu item!
Cleanser
Plum Cleanser
It was a taste that refreshed the mouth in the middle of the course.
Rather than being very special, it felt like plum + carbonated water?
It wasn't overly sweet and the carbonation wasn't too strong, so it was okay,
It washed away the strong taste of the pasta, so I felt like I was neatly prepared for the next course!
Fish
Mitzba croaker and Pil-Pil sauce
This.. wasn't really to my taste.
I don't really enjoy fish dishes in the first place!
There were greens inside the croaker,
You can eat it with the young radish on the side.
In the case of croaker, it was cooked a lot to maintain its shape,
It was more crumbly than moist, so unfortunately it wasn't to my taste ㅠㅠ
Eating it with the moist young radish was okay,
I thought the combination of the bitter taste of the greens filling the croaker and the dill sauce was too unique, so it wasn't very good.
Main
Korean beef tenderloin with beef jus and shishito pepper pesto.
But the meat doesn't disappoint...
The tenderloin was really tender and moist.
Thanks to properly cooking the inside without overcooking the outside,
I was able to feel both the savory and the unique rich meat flavor of the tenderloin.
The burdock tasted slightly bitter, but it was good to eat as a side,
The tangy taste and aroma of the shishito pepper pesto went well with the meat.
There are two pieces of tenderloin, and I liked that the bigger piece was more tender and moist.
Risotto
White Jade Domi Risotto
From the way the White Jade Domi Risotto was prepared,
Oh.. I thought it was too big??!
But they showed it to me first,
After asking how much I wanted,
They mixed it well and divided it.
I liked that I could request the amount I wanted.
You could choose between 'small' / 'normal' / 'a lot',
I chose 'normal' and my partner chose 'a lot'!
This is the amount of 'normal'.
I was surprised at how much came out!
Kimchi comes out with two sheets at first,
They asked me if I needed more in the middle.
I could taste and feel the texture of the white jade domi, and the texture of the rice was so good.
However, I personally felt that the taste of onion was a bit strong, which was a shame haha
Actually, the taste was really good, and it's just that my mouth is wrong..
It was a satisfying dish that gave me a feeling of fullness to finish.
Dessert
Black bean sherbet
Black bean sherbet for dessert!
It felt like black bean soy milk made into gelato.
This is really.. completely completely completely delicious..????
It was subtly savory and sweet, which I liked,
The butternut squash crunch(?) underneath also went really well.
I told them in advance that it was my birthday,
They put a cute bear candle on it,
I was able to have a cuter and happier ending
My personal ranking is as follows.
1) Pasta: Konbu Uni Pasta
2) Dessert: Black bean sherbet
3) Main: Korean beef tenderloin with beef jus and shishito pepper pesto
4) Hot appetizer: Ginger sous vide chicken breast
5) The rest
Tips ✨
Reservations are essential! Be sure to make a reservation in advance on Catchtable!
If you tell them in advance when visiting for an anniversary or special occasion, they will prepare a sensible dessert event.
The amount of risotto can be adjusted, so we recommend adjusting it based on how full you are in the second half of the course.
Overall Review & Recommendations
Price: ★★★★☆ (Reasonable compared to course quality)
Food Quality: ★★★★☆ (Creative composition, use of seasonal ingredients)
Atmosphere: ★★★★☆ (Dark and luxurious mood, but the basement may be hit or miss)
Service: ★★★★★ (Friendly explanations and anniversary sense)
Recommended for these people!
Those who want a nice dinner for a special occasion such as an anniversary or birthday
Those who want to experience fine dining at a reasonable price
Those who want to have a stylish meal in Sinsa Garosu-gil
The course changes every season, so I wanted to visit again next time with a different seasonal menu.
It was a place that made me feel good because they were so friendly.
Above all, I think it's worth recommending because it's excellent value for money!
If you have any questions about Touber, please feel free to leave a comment!
I will do my best to answer to the best of my knowledge.
Thank you for reading~
See you next time
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