Chotbul 1978 촛불1978

Chotbul 1978 is a Western-style restaurant on Sopa-ro at Namsan that has operated since 1978. Its red-brick exterior, timber interior, and low candle-centered lighting preserve the character of an older Seoul dining room. Seating changes by floor, moving from a general hall to window-side and more separated tables, while an upper level connects to a rooftop facing Namsan Tower and the Myeong-dong side of the city. The food begins with the original Namsan pork cutlet served here since the restaurant's early years. A thin pork cutlet is coated, fried crisp, and finished with sauce in the familiar Korean gyeongyangsik style. Tenderloin cutlet and cheese cutlet change the cut or add a molten filling, while the revived beef cutlet uses Korean flat iron steak. Matured Korean beef striploin is cooked in a high-temperature oven that sets the exterior quickly, and a T-bone steak anchors the larger course format. Pasta choices are distinguished by their sauces and principal ingredients: king prawn oil pasta, jalapeno and anchovy oil pasta, fresh basil tomato pasta, mushroom truffle cream pasta, and bacon carbonara. The oven is also used for pizzas topped with jambon and arugula, Korean beef steak, Gorgonzola, or the tomato, mozzarella, and basil combination of a Margherita. A brunch plate places house-baked French toast, antibiotic-free sausage, and a portion of Namsan cutlet on one plate. Chotbul cream toast pairs French toast with custard cream, creating a softer sweet dish separate from the savory cutlets. Other choices include spicy tomato pasta with seafood and scorched rice, kimchi fried rice, and omelet rice. The menu thus retains the restaurant's long-running Korean Western cutlet while adding oven-fired beef, pasta, pizza, and brunch preparations. The building supports those meals with distinct rooms rather than a single open hall: brick and timber at the lower levels, window seating above, and an outdoor roof where the surrounding Namsan slope remains visible.