이태원 엘그레코스 (Itaewon El Grecos)

I'm sure a lot of you are already familiar with El Grecos, the popular Greek restaurant located in Gyunglidan, Itaewon.  We actually planned on going to Linus' BBQ which has gained instant fame since their recent opening in Itaewon.  Linus has been showcasing their food with pop up stores in the past so a lot of BBQ fans have been patiently waiting for their full time opening.

Linus' BBQ is located in a small alley behind the Itaewon McDonald's. 

We arrived around 8:30pm and even called beforehand to inquire about seating.  They told us there were about two teams ahead us so we went thinking there wasn't going to be a problem.  Well... we arrived and they told us that they were out of food!  I know there are several restaurants in the States and Korea that serve until they are sold out (one example in Korea is 서서갈비 (Seoseo Galbi) - their meat typically runs out around 5pm) but I guess Linus' is the same way.  I'm not exactly sure how to feel about this... is it mismanagement of supplies/inventory or expected when you are dealing with smoked BBQ which takes a lot of time to cook?  Either way, I wasn't pleased with the news.  Since we were in the area, I always wanted to check out Magpie so we headed there.

Well, I guess we won't find a table here either.

Next best thing on the street was El Grecos.

Went with an order of Lamb Gyro Plate and an order of Grilled Calamari.

They give the menu when you first sit down but you apparently have to go up to the counter to make your order.  Sat there for 5 minutes waiting for someone to take our order.

My lovely date.

She wanted the Mango Juice but I accidentally ordered the Mango Smoothy.  Not very good.

Well, it's not that I downed my beer or anything.  It just took this long to get our food (I'll address the service portion later)

Grilled Calamari

Lamb Gyro Plate

Once the food finally came out, we were extremely pleased with both the taste and presentation.

Amazing seasoning on that squid.  A good combination of saltiness and citrus.

Asked for some more bread and they charged 3,000 won per that little piece.  WTF.  

All in all, the food is really good and fresh.  But they really need to pay more attention to service.  Let me explain.

So I don't have any problem going up to the counter and making my order but here's my credit card after the transaction.  Grease.  There's three people in the staff - one who appears to be the owner and two non-Korean, Asian male who speak neither English nor Korean.  Not sure who exactly does the cooking but it seems like they all sort of prepare the food together.  Even for a small restaurant like this, they should really separate the cook from the wait staff/cashier.  

Gyunglidan has definitely become the "it spot" for Seoul.  It's natural for service to decline (longer wait times for both table and food) especially when the demand is constantly there.  I just hope it doesn't become the norm.

Don't want to end this post on a sour note so here's some pictures of flowers we purchased from a flower truck.  2000-5000 won per batch.  Not bad!

이태원 엘그레코스 (Itaewon El Grecos)

용산구 이태원2동 273-11 (Yongsan-gu, Itaewon 2-dong 273-11)

070-8263-8678