Orot Robata 오롯 로바타

Big windows and folding doors open the room onto the Gyeongui Line Forest Path near Gongdeok Station, making lunch on mild days feel close to terrace dining. Midday centers on rice bowls. The special chirashi kaisen-don piles thick cubes of raw fish under sea urchin and salmon roe, with nori for wrapping bites of fish and rice. The special unagi buta-don sets a whole eel, faintly charcoal-scented, over Korean pork. Evenings switch to izakaya fare such as aged sashimi and mentaiko dashimaki, and a drink order is required at dinner. True to the name, robatayaki grilled over a straw fire joins the evening spread, along with potato salad mixed with bacon and cheese and octopus karaage.