Restaurant in Seoul, South Korea
Strong technique, accessible price, easy to book.
Toc Toc is a technique-led contemporary restaurant in Gangnam that has placed on the Opinionated About Dining Asia Top 200 list three consecutive years and earned a Michelin Plate — at a ₩₩ price point that makes it one of Seoul's clearest value propositions in serious dining. Chef Daechun Kim offers both course meals and à la carte, and booking is rated Easy.
Yes — Toc Toc earns its place on any serious Seoul itinerary. At the ₩₩ price tier, it sits two to three price bands below the city's heavy hitters like Jungsik or Eatanic Garden, yet it carries credentials that match restaurants charging considerably more. Three consecutive appearances on the Opinionated About Dining Leading Restaurants in Asia list — ranked #147 in 2023, #176 in 2024, and #158 in 2025 , plus a Michelin Plate recognition in 2024, confirm this is not a neighbourhood casual. It is a technically serious restaurant that happens to be priced accessibly.
Chef Daechun Kim built Toc Toc around a concept he calls "toconomy" , a portmanteau of Toc Toc and gastronomy that frames his cooking philosophy as a synthesis of precise technique and ingredient integrity. The format includes both set course meals and a wide à la carte selection, which is relatively uncommon at this level of recognition. That flexibility is a practical advantage: you can spend a focused evening working through the tasting menu, or arrive and order around specific dishes , including the pasta, which Chef Kim has developed with his own distinct approach rather than defaulting to European convention.
The restaurant is on the third floor of a building on Hakdong-ro 97-gil in Gangnam-gu, a part of Seoul where the dining density is high and the competition is real. A Google rating of 4.4 across 355 reviews is a meaningful data point here , it reflects consistent execution across a broad base of guests, not just a handful of curated experiences.
Toc Toc reads as a room for food-focused diners who want genuine technical cooking without the full ceremony of a ₩₩₩₩ omakase or haute Korean tasting format. The third-floor setting separates it physically from street-level noise, and the format , course meals alongside à la carte , suggests a room calibrated for engagement with the food rather than spectacle. This is the kind of restaurant that suits an explorer-type diner: someone who follows OAD lists, tracks chef-driven contemporary restaurants across Asia, and wants to eat seriously without paying premium prices for theatre they didn't ask for.
If you are looking for the full Gangnam fine dining performance , elaborate tableware, deep somm interaction, highly choreographed service , restaurants like Solbam or Exquisine sit at a higher price point and deliver more of that register. Toc Toc's pitch is different: it offers documented culinary seriousness at a price point where you leave with money still in your pocket.
No specific wine list data is available for Toc Toc in Pearl's records, so specific bottle recommendations or pairing structures cannot be confirmed here. What the format does suggest is that a kitchen built on precise technique and a personal cooking philosophy tends to attract a wine program that supports, rather than overshadows, the food. The à la carte option makes selective pairing by the glass a practical approach , useful if you want to track how wines move across different dish styles rather than committing to a set pairing at course-meal price. For wine-driven diners who want a deeply curated, sommelier-led experience, Seoul venues like Restaurant Allen may offer more documented depth on the beverage side. At Toc Toc, the food program is clearly the lead; the drinks arrangement should be treated as supporting infrastructure until more specific data is available.
Booking difficulty at Toc Toc is rated Easy, which is a genuine differentiator at this recognition level. Most restaurants with three consecutive OAD Asia Top 200 placements require advance planning of three to five weeks minimum; Toc Toc's accessibility means you have more scheduling flexibility than at harder-to-book Seoul contemporaries. That said, the better course is still to book before your trip rather than on arrival , the restaurant has consistent demand and a Google review base that reflects regular, repeat traffic rather than occasional visits.
Reservations: Book ahead of your trip; walk-in attempts are possible but not advised given consistent demand. Budget: ₩₩ tier , materially more accessible than most OAD-ranked contemporaries in Gangnam. Address: 3F, 41 Hakdong-ro 97-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Dress: Smart casual is a reasonable baseline for a third-floor contemporary in Gangnam, though no specific code is confirmed. Format: Both course meals and à la carte available.
Seoul's contemporary dining scene has a deep bench, and Gangnam in particular concentrates a high number of technically ambitious restaurants. For visitors working through a list, Toc Toc sits in a useful position: credentialed enough to anchor an evening, flexible enough in format to adapt to different group needs, and priced so that it does not crowd out other meals. Pair it with a visit to Kwon Sook Soo in Gangnam-gu for a different expression of Korean fine dining, or use it as the accessible anchor of a trip that also includes a higher-priced destination. If you are building a broader South Korea itinerary, Mori in Busan and Double T Dining in Gangneung are worth tracking alongside it.
For the full picture on where Toc Toc sits within Seoul's dining options, see our full Seoul restaurants guide. Planning beyond food? Our Seoul hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the broader trip. If your itinerary extends beyond Seoul, Baegyangsa Temple in Jangseong-gun and The Flying Hog in Seogwipo offer contrasting reference points for Korean dining elsewhere in the country. For internationally minded comparisons at a similar chef-driven contemporary register, César in New York City and Alo in Toronto occupy roughly analogous positions in their respective cities. Seoul wineries are covered at our full Seoul wineries guide.
The course meals are the primary format and the safest way to experience Chef Kim's full range of technique. The pasta dishes are a specific draw , developed with his own approach rather than imported convention , and the à la carte menu gives you the option to build around them if you are not committing to a full course. Given that specific dish names are not confirmed in Pearl's current data, the practical move is to ask the team at the time of booking which courses are currently running and whether à la carte is available on the night you are visiting.
At ₩₩, yes, clearly. Three OAD Asia Top 200 placements and a Michelin Plate for a restaurant at this price tier is an unusual combination. You are getting documented culinary recognition at a cost that sits well below comparable Seoul contemporaries like Solbam or the ₩₩₩₩ bracket more broadly. The value case is direct if contemporary, technique-led cooking is your target category.
If you want to spend more and get deeper service polish and more elaborate presentation, Jungsik and Eatanic Garden are the benchmark contemporary options in that bracket. For Korean-focused fine dining at ₩₩₩₩, Kwon Sook Soo in Gangnam-gu is the comparison to make. If you want to stay at the ₩₩-₩₩₩ level and explore further, Restaurant Allen offers a different contemporary approach worth considering alongside Toc Toc.
The à la carte format makes Toc Toc more solo-friendly than most tasting-menu-only venues. You can order to your appetite and pace without feeling anchored to a multi-course structure. The ₩₩ price point keeps solo expenditure manageable. Seat count is not confirmed in Pearl's data, so it is worth checking when booking whether counter seating is available , that tends to be the most comfortable solo format in a contemporary Gangnam room.
Specific private dining or group booking policies are not confirmed in Pearl's current data. Given the third-floor location and contemporary format, the restaurant likely handles small groups (four to six) without difficulty, but larger parties should contact the venue directly to confirm capacity and whether a dedicated space is available. The combination of course meals and à la carte should give group members enough flexibility to order at different price points without conflict.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toc Toc | Contemporary | ₩₩ | Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Asia Ranked #158 (2025); For Chef Kim Dae-cheon, the ingredients and precise techniques that summarize his cooking philosophy are summed up in one word: toconomy (Toc Toc + gastronomy). Signature dishes at Toc Toc and pasta with Chef Kim's original flair. In addition to the course meals, the restaurant also offers a wide range of well-executed à la carte dishes.; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Asia Ranked #176 (2024); Michelin Plate (2024); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Asia Ranked #147 (2023) | Easy | — |
| Solbam | Contemporary | ₩₩₩₩ | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Onjium | Korean | ₩₩₩₩ | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| 7th Door | Korean, Contemporary | ₩₩₩₩ | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| L'Amitié | French | ₩₩₩ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Zero Complex | Korean-French, Innovative | ₩₩₩₩ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
The à la carte menu is a genuine option here, not an afterthought — Chef Daechun Kim's pasta dishes are noted as signature items and express his toconomy philosophy in a format that lets you pick and choose. If you want the fuller picture of his technique, the course meal is the better call. Either way, the pasta is the anchor dish to prioritise.
At the ₩₩ price tier, Toc Toc is one of the stronger value propositions in Seoul's contemporary category. Three consecutive OAD Top Restaurants in Asia rankings (2023, 2024, 2025) and a Michelin Plate put it in credentialed territory without the ₩₩₩₩ price tag those credentials usually command. If you want serious technique at a price that won't require advance financial planning, yes — it's worth it.
Onjium is the comparison to make if you want Korean culinary tradition with equivalent technical seriousness, though it operates in a different register and at a higher price point. Solbam and 7th Door both sit in the contemporary space and are worth considering if Toc Toc's dates don't work. L'Amitié and Zero Complex skew more toward European-influenced tasting menus, so choose based on format preference rather than prestige comparison.
Yes — the à la carte format makes Toc Toc more solo-friendly than most restaurants at this recognition level, where course-only menus can feel paced for groups. Booking difficulty is rated Easy, so a solo reservation is straightforward to secure. The Gangnam address (3F, 41 Hakdong-ro 97-gil) is accessible by public transit, which helps for solo visitors navigating the city.
The combination of course meals and à la carte means groups have genuine flexibility in how they order, which is a practical plus. There is no confirmed private dining room in Pearl's records, so larger groups should check the venue's official channels before assuming dedicated space is available. For groups of four or more at this price tier, Toc Toc's Easy booking rating means securing a table together is less of a challenge than at comparable OAD-ranked venues in Seoul.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
