by Frances Cha
Myongwolgwan, the Korean barbecue restaurant at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Seoul, is an unusual establishment for a number of reasons.
First, it is the only Korean barbecue house run by a luxury hotel in Seoul.
In general, Korean luxury hotels rarely house Korean restaurants, and while this has been criticized often in the local press, the Korean hotel dining scene continues to cater more toward locals (and international guests) who prefer Western, Chinese or Japanese cuisine when it comes to finer dining.
Myongwolgwan has a garden with a spectacular view of the Han River, a main hall and a second hall, with a total seating of 700.
It is also ridiculously large (total seating 700) and almost too beautiful for a barbecue restaurant, housed as it is in a painted hanok -- traditional wood-frame Korean architecture.
The menu too, gets quite creative for a barbecue joint, which may have been one of the reasons why the place was voted No. 1 in the Korean cuisine category in the 2010 Zagat Guide to Seoul restaurants.
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