Whenever city life gets too hectic and stressful, I clear my head by taking a road trip to one of the coasts or deep into the countryside. Not wanting to drive all day, my partner and I chose the west coast to a seaside city named Seosan, a pleasant two-hour drive from Seoul and home to one of my favorite restaurants in all of Korea.

The place is called Bomnal 봄날 (Spring Day), and it’s by far one of the best Korean restaurants that I’ve been to in terms of quality, pricing, and taste. What I thought was a simple set meal with tons of banchan for 15,000 won a pop unexpectedly became a course meal with the main dish being this incredible bossam combination. The pork was cooked perfectly (juicy and aromatic), the bossam kimchi was next level wow with thick slices of pear, and the saewujeot (salted shrimp) and fresh lettuce leaves enhanced the dish even more. Eating this alone was heaven and filling, but that was just the start. Some of the other delectable dishes that came our way are as follows: salad, bite-sized guljeolpan, tangsuyuk, miyeokguk, yachae jeon, banchan namul, and sikhye. From my knowledge, most of the jangs (traditional sauces) are made in-house and the namul banchan are either grown or foraged in the nearby countryside. Not only is that reassuring from a health perspective, but it’s clearly evident in food, which was clean, light, and healthy.

Just before leaving, we thanked the kitchen for the outstanding meal and learned that the chef worked in one of the high-end restaurants in Seoul Plaza Hotel for many years. This wasn’t surprising to me as I could sense a high level of refinement in the food and meticulous plating. Unbelievable is how I felt after finishing the meal, akin to being treated to a high-end meal costing over 50,000 won per person while getting away with thievery. Some things are good to be true, but not here at Bomnal.

Food: ★★★★★ out of 5 stars

Service: ★★★★ ½ out of 5 stars

Ambiance: ★★★★ ½ out of 5 stars

Value: ★★★★★ out of 5 stars

Bomnal 봄날

Jisan-ri 1006, Buseok-myun, Seosan City, Chungnam Province (충남 서산시 부석면 지산리 1006)

Phone: 041-663-3115

Hours: Open every day 12:00 ~ 8:00 pm, break time 2:00 ~ 5:00 pm

Click here for an interactive map: http://naver.me/x3g91UOX