Jokakbo, Andaz Seoul

When foreign friends visit and ask where to experience Korean food for the first time, this is always where I take them.

As interest in Korean culture continues to grow globally, more visitors are seeking out traditional Korean cuisine. But Korean food can be an unexpected challenge for the uninitiated. Unfamiliar ingredients and a level of spice that catches many people off guard can turn a first encounter into a disappointing one. Walking into the wrong restaurant at the wrong moment is an easy mistake to make.

Jokakbo, located on the second floor of Andaz Seoul, removes that uncertainty entirely. The space is modern and refined, yet Korean sensibility is woven throughout in ways that reward a slower look. An onggi jar display beside the open kitchen, a stone pot set quietly in the corner of the cooking line. These details are never decorative for their own sake. They are part of how the restaurant understands what it is. The menu shifts with the seasons, drawing from local produce and regional ingredients to reflect what is best at any given time of year — which is precisely why returning here never feels repetitive.

This summer, the kitchen introduced an octopus samhap and grilled eel, both worth ordering. Octopus is most commonly encountered abroad in the form of polpo, but here it is prepared in the Korean tradition — blanched and served alongside bossam. It is a combination that feels entirely natural once you try it, and one that is difficult to find presented with this level of care elsewhere in the city.