Mater, the super restaurant of chef Kim Yeong-Bin located in an upscale neighborhood of Gangnam in Seoul. Kim Yeong-Bin was trained in Singapore and in Copenhagen at Noma where he has been exploring as a chef, creating dishes bursting with unbridled imagination.

Through the process of fermentation, the chef adds a unique twist to the flavor and texture of his ingredients. When we asked the chef why he named his restaurant Mater, he gave us a beautiful explanation that Mater means a natural time of fermentation to the original taste of the earth’s ingredients, so that man and nature can reach the nearest Mater.

The restaurant was the opposite where we stayed in Seoul, so when we arrived in taxi, there was our waitress waiting for us at the entrance of the restaurant and guided us through our table from there we were taking in charge by our host and sommelier, Wooseong Kim.

For our dinner we had the menu (11 courses) for 160000 Won (110 Euros) which was amazing from the beginning to the end. The menu was masterly crafted and thought through. Each dish was delicate, savory and expertly conceived and cooked as illustrated by the chef's “Jeju Carrot” and his wonderful “Burdock Root” dessert.

We did not drink wine, but we had a look at the wine list which was well furnished and referenced. Our table was right next to the wine cellar that allowed us to have a view on some of the most notable bottles of wines and Champagnes like Salon S 1992 and Dom Pérignon Vintage 2004.

The service by Wooseong Kim and his team was attentive, friendly, and efficient. He even invited us to visit the wine cellar.

We were happy to have chosen Mater over many other Michelin starred restaurants in Seoul.

Kim Yeong-Bin's cuisine was superior even to some Michelin starred restaurants that we had tasted recently in Europe.

Mater

B1F, 16, Eonju-ro 154-gil, Gangnam-gu,

Seoul, Republic of Korea

Telephone : +82 - 2 - 518 - 5879