신사동 루이쌍끄 (Shinsa-dong Louis Cinq)

French cuisine is something I have yet to acquire a solid knowledge base so it's one of those cuisines which I rarely search for when it comes to looking for a nice restaurant to dine at.  Maybe it's just me but French cuisine just seems expensive and intimidating.  But while the former may be true, what I've realized is that there is nothing intimidating about French cuisine and that there are more than a handful of chefs in Korea that are eager to introduce this cuisine to commoners(?) just like you and me. 

The most popular and famous French restaurant in Korea is, without a doubt, L'Espoir du Hibou in the ritzy Chungdam area.  I have yet to try L'Espoir but I've heard nothing but raves and praise about their food.  Rather than trying a full course meal, I decided to visit Louis Cinq which offers some light dishes and refers to itself as a French pub.

Featured in the Zagat in 2012 and featured in the Blue Ribbon Survey, which is a Korean version of Zagat, in 2013, 2014, and 2015.  They must be doing something right.

The kitchen is headed by chef Lee Yoo Suk (이유석).  Louis was his name during his studies in France and Cinq translates to the number 5 and the chef's intentions on satisfying the five senses with his food.  

The starters averaged from 25,000~30,000 won and the main dishes from 37,000~40,000.  

Once we placed our order, our silverware were switched with these fancy Laguiole's.

My beautiful date.

Macaroni Crab.

We tried this seasonal dish with Korean Snow Crab tucked inside a large macaroni with truffle sauce.

Beautiful presentation.

I am clueless when it comes to French wine so we tried this Rasteau based on the server's recommendation.

  

 

I assume the chef's intent was to focus on the truffle sauce but the entire dish was a bit bland and lacked flavor.  Wouldn't order this one again. 

One of Louis Cinq's signature dishes - Terrine.  The chef constantly modifies his terrine with different ingredients and this was version 34.  

Layers of head cheese, duck breast, foie gras, and chutney.

Served with baguette.

Amazing, especially if you love foie gras like me.

Ate half of it vertically to taste all the flavors together and ate the other half horizontally to taste each layer in its own flavor.  Amazing dish anyway you eat it.

A small plate of olives on the house while we wait for our next dish.

Hanwoo Tenderloin (150g)

In hindsight, we should have tried a unique French dish but I've heard great things about the way they cook their steak here so we gave it a shot.  No need to choose your preference of doneness here - leave it to the chef.

Beautiful.

Perfect medium rare, maybe even closer to rare.

We eat our fries with mayo!

Another small plate of olives on the house.

Cheese Mille-feuille

Pastry topped with Gruyeres, Emmental, Camembert, Mozzarella, Gouda and Honey.  With all those different types of cheese, I expected a salty pastry but it was more sweet than salty.  A great dish for ladies who love sweet pastries.  It's not listed under the dessert section but we had it like one.

Can't recall if the honey was served with it or we asked for it but it's available if you want to dip it in honey.

All in all, a great place to dine at for a full meal or just have have some sides with a bottle of wine.  I didn't mention their wine list but it's one of the most extensive lists in Seoul.  Having said that, they charge one of the highest corkage fees in Seoul @ 40,000 won.  What they're basically saying is that their list can satisfy most patrons and there is no need to bring your own wine.  Looking forward to trying some of their other dishes as well as the Terrine again.

A nice little Valentine's gift from my wife - Laduree macaroons!

신사동 루이쌍끄 (Shinsa-dong Louis Cinq)

강남구 신사동 657 2층 (Gangnam-gu Shinsa-dong 657 2nd Floor)

02-547-1259

Reservations highly recommended.