I got it into my head that I just had to try this place after I saw it reviewed on A Fat Girl’s Food Guide to Eating in Korea. I love her blog and all its tidbits about restaurants in Korea as well as recipes. If she liked this brunch, I was pretty confident it was real western food.

I only have a couple minor complaints and I’ll just get them out of the way first. This brunch place has amazing decoration. Again, its modern and industrial, like so many of the more trendier places popping up. But there’s not view because its in the basement of a mall. An amazingly beautiful mall. But, a mall nonetheless. Now having googled the restaurant, I see there is a branch in Sinsa-dong on the street level.  I’ll be trying that one next :D.

Second, and more importantly, don’t let people order the monstrosity I saw a couple order right next to me.This couple,  who were obviously in the very early stages of dating and super cute, tortured my sanity by ordering fluffy stacks of French toast and, ugh, CREAMY PASTA. Oh my g…why?  I mean WHYYYY?

I’m sure both taste wonderful in their own right but to order them together? To have the option of ordering them together? No. I know it’s a free country and all but that’s just a b*tch slap to the face of brunch. Syrupy, eggy bread does not balance out a creamy Korean-style fettuccine Alfredo.  And Le Brunchic customers really don’t need those two options together on the menu at 11:00 in the morning.

They have an extensive menu and some good choices for brunch. I’d love to return to try some other menu items.

The Hollandaise sauce on the eggs Benedict was quite tasty. It was buttery with a lemon kick. I think the lemon is often forgotten in Korea when they made the Hollandaise sauce and it often tastes too buttery and not balanced. The eggs were perfectly poached and I loved the addition of a slice of king mushroom on each one.  The bacon was a nice sized slice and it was still chewy, which I actually love in a bacon.

Truth be told…when I saw the plate of pancakes and tasted the ricotta cheese on its own I thought it was going to be a bummer. The pancakes looked too perfect (too round, too perfectly colored, just a bit flat) and I thought they wouldn’t have a good taste.  Then I tried a bite of the pancake. Then I tried a bite of the pancake with the ricotta cheese. Then I lambasted myself for not trying first, making an opinion second!  Every bite got better and better. The pancakes (while a bit flat, sure) are perfectly fluffy and buttery inside. They taste sweet, even on their own, but to match it with the walnut, compote and cheese was sheer delight. I got inspired to make my own.

I loved this place. I loved the food and modern decor. I loved how quick the staff was and how quickly I got my food. It was not busy when we went at 11-12 on a Saturday. I assume it gets busier in the afternoons when the Korean crowds awake from their slumbers.

Try it, I’m quite sure you will like it.  It’s not just a “good enough for Korea” type of Brunch. It’s the real deal and worth the price.

Directions: To get to the IFC Mall, take either lines 5 or 9 to Yeouido Station and follow the signs to Exit 3 then to the IFC mall. There are loads of signs. After you walk down a long corridor with a people mover and stores to one side you will see the mall entrance. After going into the mall, take the escalator down one floor and Le Brunchic is on the right.

Directions to Garosogil location: Sinsa dong location: 545-1 Sinsa-dong Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 02-542-1985