Seoul

Galbi and yukhoe served in private rooms, which is why half the reviews are about which actor was next door.

OrderYukhoe first, then let the server choose the grilling cut — they do it better than the menu does.

A hanok courtyard turned bakery, where the building is doing at least as much work as the pastry.

OrderThe sticky butter tteok. Order takeaway and sit in the courtyard to skip the indoor queue.

Onion's first room: a pre-war industrial building left deliberately unrestored, and the reason Seongsu became a cafe district.

OrderThe salt bread. Rooftop if it is dry, and go early — the heat upstairs is real in summer.

An Itaewon cocktail bar run by American expats, on Asia's fifty best, and recognisably itself across a decade of reviews.

OrderA whiskey sour and the tacos. The kitchen is not an afterthought here.

Eleven floors up at Dongdaemun, with a terrace over Heunginjimun Gate and live music most nights.

OrderGet there before sunset or the terrace is gone. The bottle list runs deeper than a hotel bar needs to.