This upscale Korean bistro offers a range of set courses and traditional dishes, and is famous for putting a modern and healthy spin on traditional fare. Try the green tea latte and ice cream.

Even Better

4.5/5 stars

For Korean food enthusiasts, the closing of Saveurs de Coree on Nanluoguxiang this spring was distressing. But the restaurant has already reopened, just a hop, skip and jump away from its original location. The new spot is bigger and better, and there are even great new menu items to join the favorites we know and love.

Saveurs was always beautiful, and the elegant, Korean-influenced design aesthetic still stuns. We’ll miss the rooftop dining area, but instead, there’s a lovely quiet courtyard. The chairs outside are not particularly comfortable, and they’re a bit unstable on the gravel, but there’s much better seating inside. The lighting and music both add to the pleasant ambiance, and the waitstaff is English-speaking, friendly and knowledgeable about the food.

The food is as delicious as ever, but now made with more organic ingredients. The kimchee hobak (¥39) is a must. Homemade kimchee and thin slices of pork are surrounded by chunks of pumpkin. The combination of sweet pumpkin and spicy, tangy kimchee and pork is unbeatable. The dubu buchim (¥19) is also inspiring, perfectly crispy, fried blocks of tofu in a subtle but delicious onion sauce. The kimchee jeon (¥49) is best dipped into the accompanying sauce, which gives the dish similar flavors to Ai Jiang Shan’s kimchee pancake.

Desserts don’t disappoint. It’s very hard to tell that the flavorful tofu chocolate mousse (¥39) is dairy-free. The rice ball fondue (¥49), an excellent new menu item, includes a little pot of tender, chewy glutinous rice balls with tasty dips.

Sienna Parulis-Cook, September, 2011