San

Seoul

Seasonal Korean cuisine with fresh globe-trotting touches

San, a sleek subterranean restaurant in Seoul's upscale Gangnam District, opened in mid-2024. Leading the project is chef-owner Jo Seung-hyun, who, after running the kitchen at Benu in San Francisco for eight years, returned to his native Korea to pursue his first solo restaurant. Chef Jo also spent time in the kitchen at The French Laundry, Piazza Duomo and Geranium, before settling in California to work alongside renowned Korean chef Corey Lee.

The impact of Chef Jo's classical French training and modern European influences are clear at San, where seasonal Korean ingredients are given new life through the team's imagination and skill.

The 13-course degustation menu is restrained, showcasing remarkable precision and touches that surprise and delight. Depending on the season, an experience at San might open with highly prized winter snow crab, crystal caviar, chicken bouillon and egg yolk pudding, followed by beef steak with celery, deodeok, chilli bernaise, radish and black truffle. Desserts follow the same philosophy –toasted rice ice cream with ripe persimmon, gamtae seaweed and Madeira.

While creativity and new reflections on Korean ingredients and techniques like fermentation are paramount at San, there's also great importance placed on the basics of running a great restaurant. Chef Jo is razor focused on maintaining the fundamentals: hot food served hot, service that satisfies and delights and consistent quality.

One thing sure to become a focal point for San and its future culinary concept is a sense of legacy. The restaurant is named after Chef Jo's son, whose name, San, was inspired by a recent trip to San Sebastian.

Now, years later, San can sometimes be found in the kitchen, helping with service and plating. It's something of a dream realised for Chef Jo, who worked alongside three generations of chefs running a restaurant together at La Maison Troisgros.

As for the future, Chef Jo has high hopes for San and its lasting legacy: "I hope that one day, San can become the kind of restaurant I admired back then – a place that can be passed down through generations."

Read the full San story.

The One To Watch Award recognises a rising star restaurant in the Asian hospitality scene which 50 Best believes has the potential to break into the list in the years to come. Its winner is selected by the 50 Best team based on the votes of its Academy.

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