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While there are a countless number of great restaurants in Seoul, when it comes to ‘healthier’ options choices may drop (apart from so-called ‘healthy traditional K-food’). As I was on a diet, this could have been a problem when seeing friends… before I encountered La Ferme, a ‘super food’ restaurant!
How I found it was almost by luck really; I happened to see my friend’s Instagram photo when I was looking up dinner options with other friends. When I first saw her photo, I was attracted by food plating (i.e. Instagrammable). But what appealed to me afterwards was the ingredients used for each dish my friend had. I couldn’t help reading the restaurant’s menu, which convinced me so easily to visit and try. The below is my review about the restaurant including our choice of dishes, general vibes and more.
Location
La Ferme (๋ผํ๋ฆ) is placed between Itaewon and Hangangjin stations (subway line 6), in one of the alleys behind Hyundai Card Music Library. It involves a short walk from Hangangjin Station Exit 3, and the area where this restaurant is, is a trendy spot among young people. Good cafes and restaurants, and small shops have opened here, and it looked relatively less busy (yet). Drop by this area while you’re in Seoul, if you are into finding gems before too many footprints.
Atmosphere
Despite Thursday evening, it became quite packed soon after we sat down. La Ferme was on the second floor (first floor if you’re comfortable with the British way) of the building. The staircase for entering the restaurant divided the inside into 2 areas, making the vibes lively but not too noisy. It had a terrace which weren’t open yet when we visited there.
The interior was full of green plants, as if the owner tried their best to make us think we’re in healthy utopia and would be healed and feel healthier by just being there. As always, the color combination of wood and green worked nicely. ๐
Where we were seated had smaller tables, hence I saw more couple diners. The other side of the restaurant had a table for a slightly bigger group (or small tables were attached possibly), and so sounded chattier. In general, female visitors were the majority, which I guess it is quite predictable.
Menu
We could only check the menu on the board in front of the counter. It also required prepayment as we ordered, rather than paying the bill after eating.
The image above is the full list of food & drinks this place serves (as of end May 2018). As a group of 4 people, we ordered one dish per person which are the followings (1 salad, 2 steaks, 1 rice):
- Green Avocado (15,800 krw) – SALAD
- Couscous Chicken (19,500 krw) – HEALTHY STEAK
- Lentil Salmon (19,500 krw) – HEALTHY STEAK
- Oats Risotto (17,800 krw) – GRAINS BOWL
The speed of dishes coming out from the kitchen was alright. I also liked how they were served on wooden trays, which went well with the restaurant’s interior design.
I must admit in general I am not a fussy eater, so some of you who have finer palate may not always agree with my review; but I loved every single dish we ordered. To make my assessment less biased, the other three also liked the food! They were so tasty that it didn’t take long to see empty plates, followed by happy smiles on our faces. ๐ The portion was adequate, enough to feel satisfied. It’s hard to pick what would be my favourite choice, as the ingredients on each dish tasted well blended. I think some of the ingredients that are less common to see in the Korean cuisine, which I missed a lot, blinded my harsh critic attitude. haha
Price
My previous guess on the ‘alternative/healthy’ cuisine was it would cost more than ‘normal’ dishes. The price at La Ferme, however, was in the same bracket as what we usually pay when we dine out in Seoul. This gets another plus point for a revisit! (yay)
While we didn’t order the detox drinks, they seemed the restaurant’s signature offerings. I may have a different opinion if I actually get to taste any flavour of them, but the price looked bit steep for what they were.
Overall
I LOVED IT A LOT AND I AM HIGHLY LIKELY TO REVISIT LA FERME!
YES, I absolutely loved La Ferme for its casual dining style with the healthy menu and the natural interior. If I should point out what was so-so, it’d be the table top. I know it sounds random, but it wasn’t most comfortable to put anything on it without worrying about dropping. The table top had a rather wide gap between each wood plank. Stylish? yes, practical? maybe not so much. Except that, there’s nothing I would complain from this first visit. (Some other tables seemed to have a different design though).
I wonder if the mood will be hugely different on weekends, which I can only find out by going there again! If I visit La Ferme again, I may get slightly harsher than this time, as now I have a higher standard. So it’ll be nice that you keep an eye on this post if there’s any update on my review. ๐
La Ferme (๋ผํ๋ฆ)
- Opening Hours: Everyday 11:30am~9:00pm
- Address: 32 Itaewon-ro 54-gil, Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
- Booking in advance not available
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