mary eats

Today my review of El Plato, a tapas and paella restaurant in Hongdae, ran in the Korea Times. You can read it here.

I give el Plato high praise for bringing something new to the Korean dining scene. Tapas, an international dining craze has been slow to make its way across the Yellow Sea.

The young owner, Jefe Kim, has done his research. Dotting the restaurant are photos of his trip to Spain where both he and his chefs learned the art of paella. Unfortunately, what plagues his restaurant is common in Korea for restaurateurs who feature international cuisine. High import taxes make obtaining essential ingredients near impossible (there is no chorizo in the paella, or fried almonds for the tapas). While I am happy to see that the management isn’t willing to substitute less quality ingredients, many of the dishes fail from lack of depth. To the quality of the chefs, everything is made by hand: sauces, croutons, everything.

My real gripe is that Kim, an avid photographer, covers his menu with highly stylized photos of his offerings. Yet, what arrives is often less elegantly executed. I expect this from a magazine ad, or TV advertising. But menu photos should bear close resemblance to what arrives to the table.

Should you go to el Plato? Yes. Go before a night out in Hongdae for a pitcher of red sangria (the white is saccharine sweet) and a few tapas, split a paella between the table, and be happy that younger Koreans are bringing you new flavors and something other than omrice to the table.