Restaurant in Seoul, South Korea
Michelin vegan in Seoul without the splurge.
ALT.a holds back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand awards (2024–2025) and a 4.7 Google rating, making it Seoul's strongest case for Michelin-recognised vegan dining at an accessible price. At ₩ pricing in Yongsan District, it suits food-focused diners who want award-backed plant-based cooking without a fine-dining budget. Book one to two weeks out — reservations are easy to secure.
ALT.a is the right call if you want a Michelin-recognised vegan meal in Seoul without paying ₩₩₩₩ prices. Two consecutive Bib Gourmand awards (2024 and 2025) confirm it delivers quality that punches above its price tier. Book it for a dinner with someone who takes plant-based cooking seriously, or as a lower-stakes introduction to Seoul's award-recognised dining circuit. It is not the obvious pick for a landmark anniversary splurge — that conversation belongs at a higher price point , but for a food-focused weeknight dinner or a solo meal in Yongsan, it earns its place on the shortlist.
ALT.a sits at 109 Bogwang-ro in Yongsan District, a neighbourhood that mixes residential calm with enough dining traffic to support a serious independent restaurant. The Bib Gourmand designation from Michelin signals good cooking at a fair price rather than the full fine-dining treatment, so adjust expectations accordingly: this is not a room built around ceremony. The atmosphere here runs quieter and more focused than the louder, more theatrical dining rooms you will find across Seoul's ₩₩₩₩ tier. If you want conversation over dinner without competing with a room full of celebratory noise, the energy at ALT.a works in your favour. The sound level is controlled, the mood deliberate , more like a serious neighbourhood restaurant than a destination showpiece.
Chef Mino Han leads the kitchen. The cuisine is fully vegan, which in Seoul's dining context is a meaningful differentiator. Plant-based cooking at this level of recognition is rare in a city where meat-centric Korean barbecue and seafood-forward fine dining dominate the Michelin list. For diners who follow plant-based eating by choice or necessity, ALT.a fills a gap that most of Seoul's award-recognised restaurants do not. For omnivores curious about what vegan cooking can do at a Michelin-acknowledged level, it offers a low-cost entry point to find out.
The ₩ price range puts ALT.a in accessible territory. You are not committing to a multi-hour tasting menu at ₩200,000+ per head , this is a meal you can approach without a special-occasion budget. That accessibility is part of what the Bib Gourmand signals: value is built into the award's criteria. Internationally, vegan restaurants at comparable recognition levels , such as KLE in Zurich or Plates London , tend to sit at significantly higher price points. ALT.a's ₩ tier makes it an outlier in the leading sense.
Seat count data is not available in the record, so specific private dining configurations cannot be confirmed here. What the Bib Gourmand context does suggest is a compact room , Bib Gourmand venues in Seoul typically run on the smaller side, which means group bookings require more planning than they would at a larger restaurant. For parties of four or more, contact the venue directly before assuming availability. Smaller groups of two will almost certainly find the experience more relaxed and better paced than a large table would. Solo diners are well served by the quieter room energy; this is not a venue where eating alone feels conspicuous.
If your party's primary goal is a private room with full group dining infrastructure , wine pairings, dedicated service, a structured event format , the ₩₩₩₩ venues in Seoul's contemporary Korean tier, such as Jungsik or Mingles, are better equipped. ALT.a's value is in its cooking and its price point, not in event infrastructure.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy. That is a relative term , the Bib Gourmand recognition will have increased demand, and a small room books faster than a large one , but you are not dealing with the six-week waitlists that Seoul's most competitive tasting-menu restaurants require. Aim to book one to two weeks out for a weeknight dinner; weekends may need a few extra days' lead time. If you have a fixed travel date, locking in the reservation two weeks ahead removes any uncertainty. Walk-in availability is possible but not guaranteed, and given the venue's size, it is not a strategy worth relying on.
Phone number and website are not listed in the current record, so check current booking channels through the venue's social profiles or a service like Naver, which handles a significant share of Seoul restaurant reservations. For broader Seoul dining context, see our full Seoul restaurants guide.
Seoul's plant-based dining options have expanded, but Michelin-level recognition for vegan restaurants remains rare. ALT.a's back-to-back Bib Gourmand awards give it a credibility signal that most of the city's vegan spots do not have. If you are building a Seoul itinerary around serious eating, it fits alongside visits to vegetable-forward or fermentation-focused restaurants rather than alongside the Korean barbecue circuit. For temple food in a more traditional register, Baegyangsa Temple in Jangseong-gun offers a contrasting plant-based experience outside the city. Within Seoul, Légume and Gosari Express are worth knowing for vegetable-forward alternatives at different price points.
For a food-focused traveller building out a Seoul week, ALT.a pairs well with higher-spend evenings at places like alla prima. Balance the itinerary with accommodation options across Seoul's neighbourhoods and the city's bar scene for a complete picture. If you are extending beyond Seoul, Mori in Busan and Double T Dining in Gangneung are worth the detour for serious eaters.
| Detail | ALT.a | L'Amitié | Mingles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price tier | ₩ | ₩₩₩ | ₩₩₩₩ |
| Cuisine | Vegan | French | Korean |
| Michelin recognition | Bib Gourmand ×2 | Check Pearl | Michelin Star |
| Booking difficulty | Easy | Moderate | Hard |
| Leading for | Plant-based dining, value | French fine dining, value | Special occasion Korean |
| Group dining | Small groups preferred | Flexible | Private room available |
See the comparison section below.
Yes. The quieter room and focused atmosphere make solo dining comfortable here. You are not in a loud, high-energy venue where eating alone feels out of place. The ₩ price point also makes it a low-commitment solo meal , a good option for a weeknight dinner when you want something award-recognised without the ceremony of a full tasting menu experience.
Bar seating is not confirmed in available data. Given the venue's compact Bib Gourmand profile, counter or bar-adjacent seating may exist, but contact the venue directly to confirm before planning around it.
One to two weeks out is enough for most weeknight bookings. For weekends, add a few extra days. The Bib Gourmand recognition raises demand, but booking difficulty is still rated Easy compared to Seoul's competitive tasting-menu restaurants. Book via Naver or the venue's social channels since no website is currently listed.
It depends on what the occasion calls for. If the event centres on great plant-based cooking at an accessible price, ALT.a delivers with two Michelin Bib Gourmand awards behind it and a 4.7 Google rating from nearly 300 reviews. If you need a private room, extended wine service, or the full fine-dining ceremony, look at Jungsik or Mingles instead. ALT.a is the right special occasion venue when the occasion is about food quality and personal values, not production value.
Menu format details are not confirmed in available data. What the Bib Gourmand does confirm is that the kitchen delivers quality at a price that makes the experience worth the spend. At the ₩ tier, the risk of disappointment relative to price is low. For a full tasting menu at a higher price point with comparable award backing, alla prima is worth considering as a comparison.
At ₩ pricing with back-to-back Bib Gourmand recognition, yes. The Bib Gourmand award is specifically designed to flag good cooking at a fair price , it is a value signal, not just a quality one. Seoul's vegan dining scene does not produce many Michelin-recognised venues, which makes ALT.a a direct recommendation for plant-based diners. Comparable internationally recognised vegan restaurants in other cities typically cost considerably more for a similar standard of cooking.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALT.a | Vegan | ₩ | Easy |
| Solbam | Contemporary | ₩₩₩₩ | Unknown |
| Onjium | Korean | ₩₩₩₩ | Unknown |
| 7th Door | Korean, Contemporary | ₩₩₩₩ | Unknown |
| L'Amitié | French | ₩₩₩ | Unknown |
| Zero Complex | Korean-French, Innovative | ₩₩₩₩ | Unknown |
Comparing your options in Seoul for this tier.
Yes, it works well for solo diners. At ₩ pricing with Bib Gourmand recognition, it is a low-risk, high-reward solo meal in Yongsan District. Without seat count data in the record, counter or bar availability can change, but the price point and format make it an easy solo call. Check the venue's official channels for the latest details.
Bar seating is not confirmed in the available venue data. Contact ALT.a directly at 109 Bogwang-ro, Yongsan District to ask about walk-in or counter options before assuming bar access.
Book at least one to two weeks out. Back-to-back Bib Gourmand awards in 2024 and 2025 have raised the profile, and small independent rooms in sought-after Seoul neighbourhoods fill quickly. Earlier is safer, especially for weekends.
It depends on the occasion. If you want Michelin-acknowledged cooking at a ₩ price point, it delivers on that. For a formal celebratory dinner with private dining or high-spend presentation, a ₩₩₩₩ venue would be a stronger fit. ALT.a suits a low-key but intentional special meal.
Menu format and pricing are not detailed in the venue record, so a specific tasting menu verdict cannot be made here. What is confirmed: Michelin's Bib Gourmand requires good cooking at a moderate price, which is the clearest indicator of value at ALT.a.
Yes. Two consecutive Bib Gourmand awards (2024 and 2025) at a ₩ price range is the strongest value signal available. Michelin-level vegan recognition is rare in Seoul, so ALT.a offers above-average cooking at below-average cost for the category.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
