Shinsaegae food just opened up a new brewery in a huge space by Central City (Express Bus Terminal in Banpo, Gangnam). The sheer size and detailing that went into this place is impressive. I heard they spent millions investing into this place - they say it takes money to make money, and we all know SSG is not struggling in that department! Yes, this is a huge company's piece of work, but know that going there and if it doesn't bother you - enjoy the decor and atmosphere available for people who enjoy having a place like this in Korea.
As soon as you walk into this place, the vibe feels like you stepped into a microbrewery of in North America. Everything from the super high ceilings, the industrial style interior, the benches and seats, the clear glass sections showing the vats of beer brewing, the coasters and the menu style makes you feel like you're at a big brewery in the States or like you're at a place like "Craft" in Olympic Village in Vancouver. Every detail and design was custom made (although they are being bashed for many ideas being copied from familiar places like Stone Brewing Company - it is what it is) and it was a fun night out at this new huge joint.
Step into a world outside of Korea (minus all the Korean customers haha). Great mix of people - good ratio of guys to girls for once. Love the super high ceilings!
So many decorative details - huge DD doors welcoming you to come in!
If you make a reservation, make sure you double check with them as they have been having a few glitches in their system. Give them a slight break since they've only been open for 4 days...otherwise, just come at off peak hours to avoid the 2 hours line-up.
*EDIT*Apparently as of today they don't take reservations for now. Only walk-ins!
Very crowded around 7:30pm, so make sure you have a confirmed reservation or come at off peak hours, or try to come for "Hoppy Hour" from 3-6pm.
We got a table that was near the kitchen so we had the pleasure of seeing almost every menu item coming one after another! The kitchen staff was so nice and not only let me take food pics of everything, but also propped up some of the food to make it look nicer. I'm sure it was because they have only been open for 4 days and are trying to make themselves look better, but it was still nice of them (so please excuse any receipt tags in the food). I didn't order/eat all of these dishes, but will just show you them anyways so you can see what it looks like. The name of the menu items are in English, but actually the descriptions on the menu are in Korean. So even if I didn't eat it, I will translate the menu items of what I took a picture of along with the price and description of each dish.
BAR SNACKS - "Perfect Beer Bites"
Egg & Truffle Cream Dip - 8000won.
Baked Spinach & Artichoke Dip - 9000won.
The actual dip was delicious. They use Italian Grana Padano cheese, mixed with artichoke hearts and spinach and bake it until melted in a hot mess in a cast iron skillet mini pan. The chips were an interesting deep fried type of bread, but I was not a big fan of the chips. The dip was very flavourful and a good balance of ingredients.
Egg & Truffle Cream Dip 8000won - a layered dip of mashed potatoes, egg yolk and truffle oil. It was served warm and you mixed it up for a creamy dip you spoon on the crispy toasted breads. You could taste the flavour of the truffle oil and the breads were nicely toasted to go with the dip.
Fried Mac & Cheese Balls - 8000won.
Looked good but will have to try them next time.
CHOPPED SALADS - "Chopped and Tossed"
Shrimp Cobb Salad - 11 000won.
Grilled shrimp, pepper jack cheese, corn, tomatoes, red onions, romaine lettuce in a peppery red wine dressing. This was not what I was picturing at all coming out - but was not worth ordering again. The ingredients were all too simple and could easily be made at home. I don't even recall having one shrimp and the sauce had tad too much black pepper for my liking.
BURGERS & WARM SANDWICHES - "Simplicity with a Kick"
Ultimate Devil's Burger - 13 000won.
A 180g patty with onion jam, Parmesan cheese skirt, oven grilled tomato along with skinny fries. For the price of a gourmet burger and fries, it was a good deal.
The burger was simple but a bit dry. I would like to try a different kind next time, but this wasn't bad. Since it was a bit on the dry side, I would've liked it a bit more medium - but I added a bit of ketchup and tabasco sauce to it. RH ketchup was SSG's own as well, so it was different and had a nice flavour especially with the fries. The fries were also a bit over crisp, so it was almost as crispy as chips.
SPECIALTY PIZZAS - "Small sized, yet fully flavored"
Spiced Meatballs & Ricotta (Rosso) Pizza - 15 000won
Moroccan spiced meatballs with ricotta cheese and tomato sauce pizza. Cooked in a wood-fire pizza oven. It looked good, but like the menu says it also looked small for the price!
ENTREES
Fried Octopus & Aioli - 19 000 won
Tender fried octopus with homemade aioli sauce. The octopus comes out as a whole piece you cut up with a knife and fork.
BBQ chicken with Thai sauce - 25 000won
Chicken in a oriental BBQ sauce with a dipping cilantro sauce.
Garlic & Herb Mussels - 28 000won
Garlic, white wine, basil oil European style "moules frites" with toasted bread.
Grilled 200g Striploin Steak - 35 000won
Grilled sirloin steak with mini grilled cabbage in a yuza sauce.
Buttermilk Fried Chicken - 22 000won
Battered in Devil's Door's craft beer batter infused with rosemary herb fried chicken. This looked AMAZING and I can't believe we didn't order it...ugh - I'm trying to do a "deep fried free December"...but this chicken is going to be on my mind until I can try it!
SIDES - "Extras! Extras! Extras!"
Garlic & Herb Fries - 5000won. Some of the ones that came out were more green all over the fries. Not too sure how they tasted, but looked good.
Spiced Sweet Potato Fries - 5000won. We ate these. They were so good - mix of sweet and spicy and spiced, and the sweet potato was so orange we think they used actual yams. Yum!
They had 3 main Devil's Door craft beers available: Pale Ale, IPA and Stout. They come in 4 different size - the cutest being the mini sampler glasses and soda can size. The there's the Irish (370ml for 7500won), Soda Can (470ml for 9500won) and a Pint (500ml for 10 000won). These are the names/sizes/prices quoted from the menu.
Each draft in the Sampler size.
Each draft in the soda can size.
Some reviews were complaining about the size and price - it is overpriced, but for Korea, it's not that much more expensive if not the same as some other places I've had draft craft beers at restaurants in Seoul. As for the taste, we all loved the Pale Ale - was medium bodied with a slight citrus flavour. IPA is always a touch bitter for me, and if you like dark beer then maybe you'd like the Stout. I don't drink dark beers so I can't judge this one very well.
Beer Menu
Food Menu
So many details and impressive things to look at everywhere you look!
Bar seating
The high ceilings are definitely a highlight here.
Cute bathroom decor.
Pipe lights.
Brick wall art.
Cheers from the sisters of COCO LOUNGE, wife of VATOS and SEOULFOODIE!
What? Devil's Door (데블스도어) brewery opened up by Shinsaegae Food. First week of opening!
The food is New American style, not badly priced for some food items, but is hit or miss depending what you order. Come for the atmosphere and setting of a huge brewery in Seoul! https://www.facebook.com/devilsdoorpub
Who? People who like craft beer and the atmosphere of a huge brewery as if they were in North America.
When? Sunday-Thursday 11:30am-midnight. Friday and Saturday 11:30am-1am.
Parking? Yes, there is a huge parking lot right out in front. They still charge the same amount as the department store, but it is free for 2hrs with a receipt of 30 000won, up to 3 hrs for 60 000won.
Cards Accepted? Yes
Where? 서울 서초구 반포동 118-2. 118-2 Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Call: 02-6282-4466
Directions: *EDIT* New and Improved Directions:
When driving, if you are coming up from Banpo Bridge, turn left at the first intersection off of the overpass where the St. Mary's Hospital is. Go straight, you will pass by it on your left and will need to do a U-turn to get to the parking. If you are coming from Jamwon (where Kim's Club/Newcore Outlets are), keep going straight up towards GyoDeh direction, past the GS25 gas station, and then turn right before the big SamHoGarden intersection where there are signs for Central City. You will see it on your right.
It's right behind where all the buses take off from at Express Bus Terminal. Look for the huge sign but turn into where it says Central City to park. You can either park in the parkade for Central City, or pull in right up in front to the outdoor lot right beside Viking Maison (바이킹 부페).
The big building on the left of Vikings
Behind the Express Bus Terminal Station
Across the street from the Xi Apartments
Subway: If taking subway, the closest stops are Express Bus Terminal (고속버스터미날), Line 3/ 7, exit 3. Come out to the street level and keep walking straight on the inside sidewalk for 250 metres and it will be on your left. You should be walking AWAY from the JW Marriott and Starbucks with a big glass dome. If you are lost inside Shinsaegae, find the JW Marriott Hotel front entrance. Walk out, turn left and keep walking 250 metres straight and you will see it on your left.