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Four Seoul restaurants named in 2025 Asia’s 50 Best list, including debut of Eatanic Garden

Published: 26 Mar. 2025, 13:06 Updated: 27 Mar. 2025, 09:52

LEE JIAN
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Chefs whose restaurants placed on the 2025 Asia's 50 Best Restaurants list attend the regional gastro ranking's live unveiling ceremony at Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Tuesday.[ASIA'S 50 BEST RESTAURANTS]

Four restaurants in Korea made it onto the 2025 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list, including modern Korean eatery Eatanic Garden which newly joined the list unveiled Tuesday night during a live ceremony at Grand Hyatt Seoul in Yongsan District, central Seoul.

Mingles, a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Seoul, secured the highest rank among Korean restaurants on the list with 5th place. It was followed by Korean traditional fine-dining venue Onjium at 11th place; contemporary Korean restaurant 7th Door at 23rd; and Eatanic Garden at 25th.

Eatanic Garden was specially spotlighted by this year's regional gastro rankings, receiving the Highest New Entry Award. Last year, it had placed 62nd on Asia 50 Best’s unofficial 51 to 100 rankings.

Helmed by chef Son Jong-won, 41, it is inside Josun Palace, a Luxury Collection, in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, serving intricate dishes with sophisticated aesthetics, like gim bugak (dried then fried seaweed) folded into a mini crane, and reinterpreted samgyetang (chicken ginseng soup) packing in flavor in a small roll of chicken stuffed with chapsal (glutinous rice) and kimchi.

An ardent supporter of Korean cuisine, Son said that though Korean food gained widespread fame through mass media, its portrayal on screen is only a small part of the country’s food, which he still finds new and full of complexity to this day.

Even Koreans themselves don’t fully comprehend it, including the chef himself. “The more I study it and cook it, the more intrigued I become with the cuisine,” he told the press at a brief conference after the ceremony on Tuesday.

“I take it as a mission for chefs of my generation to find that [core value] of Korean food and share it with the world.”

Son is also the head chef at contemporary restaurant L'Amant Secret in L'Escape Hotel in Jung District. He took on post at L'Amant Secret in 2018 and Eatanic Garden in 2022. Both are operated by Josun Hotels & Resorts and have earned a Michelin star under Son’s leadership.

Gaggan in Bangkok, Thailand, was crowned the best restaurant in Asia.

Helmed by chef Gaggan Anand, the fine dining establishment is known for its theatrical element incorporating various light effects and music throughout a 22-course meal inside a 14-seater.

Winning the award for the record fifth time, Gaggan’s innovative spirit embodies the 50 Best rankings well, which seemingly tends to prioritize creativity and unique dining experiences more than the analogous Michelin Guide. Gaggan currently does not have any Michelin stars.

In second place was Cantonese restaurant The Chairman in Hong Kong, followed by contemporary Chinese restaurant Wing, also in Hong Kong.

Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list is a spinoff of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Launched in 2013, it aims to celebrate gastronomy and act as a gourmet guide for diners around the globe. This year’s annual rankings were voted on by 350 regional culinary experts, including food critics, writers and restauranteurs.

Restaurants in 26 countries are considered for the award: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

This year’s edition was the second consecutive year that it took place in Seoul, sponsored by San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, and hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Seoul Metropolitan Government. About 800 chefs, critics and journalists attended the event.

BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]