May 5th is Children's Day in Korea, but it's also our wedding anniversary.
Every year, we look for somewhere worth dressing up for.
This year: Chez Simon, listed in the 2025 Michelin Guide.
We'd booked well in advance.
The Space — Light, Glass, and N Seoul Tower
The first thing you notice when you walk in is the ceiling.
A glass-and-iron atrium that runs the length of the dining room, flooding the space with afternoon light. Wooden floors, rattan chairs, potted plants — it evokes a Parisian bistro without trying too hard.
We were seated at a window table.
Through the floor-to-ceiling glass: the Itaewon street below, and in the distance, N Seoul Tower rising above Namsan. A fine dining room that doesn't feel enclosed. The clear sky helped.
Today's Menu — Déjeuner Course
The format was Déjeuner, the lunch course. The menu card laid it out simply:
- Amuse Bouche 1 — Herb, Tuna
- Amuse Bouche 2 — Octopus, Squid
- Amuse Bouche 3 — White Asparagus, Red Shrimp
- Entrée — Today's Lingcod
- Plat Principal — Hanwoo Beef Tenderloin
- Dessert — Dolce Ice Cream
Each course arrived in that order.
Amuse Bouche 1 — Herb, Tuna
Two bites on a round travertine plate.
A crispy tuna roll — thin, shattering, with concentrated tuna umami inside. And a golden cup filled with microgreens, bursting with fresh herb on the bite.
Small gestures, but deliberate ones. The course announces itself well.
Amuse Bouche 2 — Octopus, Squid
A scallop-edged white plate, a single spoon.
One precise bite of octopus and squid — lightly seared on the surface for smoke, soft through the middle. You eat it whole off the spoon, and the flavors arrive all at once.
Amuse Bouche 3 — White Asparagus, Red Shrimp
The standout bite of the course.
A deep teal bowl of white asparagus velouté — creamy but not heavy, carrying the faint bitterness and sweetness of spring asparagus. Scattered across it: vivid red shrimp, green fava beans, and thin slivers of white vegetable.
A spoonful reads like spring in one go.
Bread
A thick, moist bread roll arrived mid-course with a pat of butter scattered with fleur de sel. Works on its own; even better dragged through what's left of the soup.
Entrée — Today's Lingcod
The fish course: lingcod, skin-side seared to a crisp.
Herb oil pools in a green ring around it, dill fronds scattered freely, a piece of tomato confit alongside.
The fish is moist at the center despite the crisp exterior. The dill oil bridges the gap between the fish's clean flavor and the acidity of the tomato. Precise, restrained, exactly what a French fish course should be.
Wine — Domaine Tourbillon "Plan de Dieu"
We ordered wine despite it being lunch.
The server brought Domaine Tourbillon — Plan de Dieu, a Côtes du Rhône Villages red. The name translates to "God's Plan" — fitting for an anniversary.
Fruit-forward, not heavy. A good companion for the steak to come.
Plat Principal — Hanwoo Beef Tenderloin
The table went quiet when this arrived.
Two slices of hanwoo tenderloin, medium-rare, with maitake mushrooms alongside and a quenelle of potato purée with mustard seeds.
The beef held its pink all the way through. Each bite released steady, clean juice. The maitake — earthy, woody — deepened the beef's flavour rather than competing with it. The purée kept everything from getting heavy.
I can see why people book specifically for this plate.
Dessert — Dolce Ice Cream
Dolce ice cream in a hollowed ceramic bowl: one generous scoop, red berries, almond slices, a translucent jelly shard.
Cold and sweet without being cloying. A light close to a rich course.
Finale — Financier, Lettering, and Green Tea
The last thing to arrive was unexpected.
Two financiers on a white oval plate, candles lit, and a message piped in chocolate:
"Happy Anniversary 💕 Cheers to us 💕"
We'd noted our anniversary when booking, not expecting much of it. This was more than expected. A small gesture, quietly executed — the kind that lands harder than the food.
Green tea followed in a glass pot, pale and clear. A gentle, unhurried close.
Final Take
Chez Simon doesn't carry the tension that Michelin restaurants often do. The room is open and bright, the service relaxed without being careless. Each course arrived with a clear purpose and nothing extra.
The white asparagus velouté and the beef tenderloin are what I'll remember. The anniversary lettering made the day more than a meal.
Children's Day, no children, a Michelin lunch — oddly, that made it feel even more like ours.
Chez Simon
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