Indigo

Lately I have been spending a lot of time around Haebangcheon, a district very near Nokspaeyong station. Once viewed by many as little less affluent than other parts of the area (Itaewon), Haebangcheon recently experienced a major transformation. Most notably the emergence of a host of new bars and restaurants. Even some of the older bars experienced major face-lifts and progressive menu restructures. Most noticeably Phillies.

Taking this concept one step further, Steve and Joe, the owners of Indigo, took what used to be a restaurant called Good to Go, renamed it completely transformed the space. The first order of business was to extend the seating area and completely revise the menu.

The interior design of Indigo is fairly straightforward. Seating about 50 people in an L shape, customers have the choice of tables along the front window near the bar, or the larger area towards the side. A nice touch to the side area is the attention to detail placed on the decoration. One wall looks like it came straight out of a sixties bohemian style cafe. Everything from French movie posters to some old magazine promo posters. Real icons. With some cool acid jazz music in the background the vibe of the place was great.

My buddy Brad and I ordered Chili Burgers with fries. At 7,000won they were great value. I like my food spicy and I wasn't disappointed. I had also recommend the Fish and Chips.

Indigo has another feather in their cap. Barry, the chef, really knows how to spice up a menu. Having worked at some of Seoul's better restaurants he knows his trade. Only he could come up with Chicken Gorgonzola served with fried potatoes. Another Barry specialty includes Spinach and Mozzarella ravioli. Barry uses only original ingredients and prepares all dishes from scratch. These dishes are available on the Main menu. The Lite Bites (at prices around 6,00won) include Chicken Strips, Smoked Salmon, Vegetable Wraps, Chicken Liver Pate and Soup. The Salad selection has all the usual suspects (Garden Salad etc.) as does the Desert menu (Blueberry and Strawberry Cheesecake).

On tap the beer choice is Cass whereas the bottled beer is a little more extensive. You get the choice of Corona, Heineken, San Miguel, Miller and Becks. The wine list, on the other hand is huge. It's not a wine list but a wine menu. There are wines from France, Argentina, Australia, Italy, Spain and the U.S.A.

Behind the bar is a huge chalkboard with what appears to be a breakfast menu. This menu includes omelettes, sandwiches, burritos and vegetarian fried rice..