Seoul, South Korea · February 19, 2023

Park Bistecca House

Hanwoo ribeye at Park Bistecca House, on a quiet Sunday afternoon in Seoul.

4.0 / 5·$$·Hanwoo ribeye
A plate from Park Bistecca House in Seoul

We came to Park Bistecca House on a Tuesday because the calendar was kinder than the weekend. The room was three-quarters full and somehow more honest for it.

The room is exactly what you want it to be: Gangnam tower, white-glove service. We were seated near the back, given menus we hardly needed, and brought a small bowl of olives without being asked.

We started with burrata with peaches and basil, which set the tone — generous, unfussy, and confident enough not to crowd what was coming. With it we ordered a Burgundy that arrived too cold and rewarded patience, and were glad of both.

Then the main event: hanwoo ribeye, the dish that puts Park Bistecca House on every short list. There was a thumb of butter melting into the cross-hatch, and a single sprig of thyme on top, and not one thing more. The signature touch — Korean beef at its highest grade, dry-aged in-house — is not a gimmick; it is the reason to come.

For sides we asked for fried okra and a dab of remoulade and pommes Anna. Both arrived hot, both arrived early, both were exactly large enough to overdo it. We overdid it.

Dessert was a wedge of chocolate cake to share, fork divided, mostly because the waiter raised an eyebrow when we hesitated. He was right to.

A perfect Sunday lunch, which is what I came for.

Wood fireTableside

Filed by Walter Halligan