SEOUL | Maple Tree House Korean BBQ in Itaewon

If I’m being fully honest, a huge reason why I selected Maple Tree House Korean BBQ was in large part because of its close proximity to our hotel. It took a good amount of effort, most of it mental, to leave the warmth of our cozy, heated room and venture out into the frozen Seoul night in search of something delicious to eat.

“Are you sure you want to go out?” I asked Sly with pleading eyes, hoping for the tiniest hesitation or suggestion that we should order delivery instead. As we walked through the revolving hotel lobby door, the threshold between warm comfort and arctic blast, we knew there would be no turning back.

The details of our 20 minute walk were as you would expect: legs numb, face frozen, nose running, and jumping in place at every red light. We crossed paths with a young girl dressed in thin see-through tights, mini skirt, an open jacket, and heels and we each gave the other a knowing glance. It remains a mystery to me how people in Korea seem to dress for warm weather when its freezing cold and for cold weather when it’s hot and humid. 

Thankfully we found Maple Tree House easily enough and spared no time rushing inside and shaking off the cold. The 15 minute wait gave us just enough time to defrost before we were led to a booth in the back corner.

We ordered a small portion of high quality aged beef, an order of jumbo prawns, and a couple orders of veggies.

Our server brought out the hot coals and filled the table with various banchan, or Korean side dishes. A different server, this time a kind older lady, cut up a plate of tender aged beef (with scissors, or course), added it to the grill and began cooking our meal. Is there anything better than the anticipation of eating something that has been sizzling over a hot, crackling flame?

Mouths watering and wasting no time, we dug right in.

come to mama

scrumptious

Once we finished our melt-in-your-mouth portion of beef, out came the veggies and jumbo prawns.

We gobbled up everything as quickly as it came out and asked for about a million refills on the side dishes. 

Sitting around a flaming grill sharing a delicious meal with good company ranks high on my list of favorite things to do in Seoul on a cold winter’s day. Anything cooked while huddled around an open flame and that makes you smell like burnt charcoal for the rest of the evening is bound to be a memorable meal.  

DETAILS

Maple Tree House Korean BBQ | CUISINE: Korean BBQ | COST: Moderate | LOCATION: Itaewon, Seoul | DESCRIPTION: Higher end/priced Korean BBQ restaurant that seemed to be aimed at a more international foreigner crowd, which is expected given the neighborhood. I chose this restaurant because it offered high quality meat – Jeju black pork and high quality aged beef. This is mostly a bbq place but there are other non-bbq Korean dishes on the menu. In addition, they have something of a wine list, which isn’t something you often find at a Korean restaurant. | VERDICT: While a bit pricier than a traditional Koran BBQ place you get what you pay for: higher quality beef and better cuts. I would definitely take visitors here, or friends or family that were nervous about trying Korean food.