3
Joy Debnath -
2 years ago
As a massive soju fan, when I discovered this place near my hotel, I had to check it out.
I'm not sure what to make of it. It's almost like a small nightclub, or is it a restaurant, or a bar? I'm not sure they know what they intended with this place.
The positive is that it's well designed, beautiful modern interior, with a classic tropical outdoor seating section overlooking the rice paddys.
I didn't try much in the way of food, just got some snack food (salted egg calamari) which was quite good.
Now onto the Soju. I don't think this is really a 'soju bar', in that they don't focus on soju except as a cocktail mixer. I ordered a bottle of Chamisul Fresh soju, which is drunk neat. They only had it warm, despite having dozens of bottles on display. It took a good half hour or so after they served it on ice to actually cool down.
Now here's the annoying part: when I advised I would like to come back the next day, and could they please keep a bottle or two in the fridge so I can enjoy chilled soju without waiting a half hour for it to chill..they said they couldn't do that. I thought it was a language barrier, but they were adamant about it.
Not to say they were rude, all the staff are super friendly. It's just odd they won't keep their namesake liquor in the fridge!
They had a decent whisky collection, including Macallan 12. They don't sell it by the dram/glass, only by the bottle. It leads me to the suspicion that this caters towards wealthy asians who prefer bottle service.
Either way, I like the concept, and much as I love soju, this doesn't quite hit the mark. I may return to see if there are any changes...beautiful venue, friendly staff, just not quite what I want from a self-proclaimed 'Soju Bar'.