Stuffed popovers and blue velvet cake at Melting Shop

Expect the unexpected at Melting Shop, a brand-new restaurant helmed by the duo who created the restaurants Tastingroom and Miki Creole.

Situated in Seoul’s Sinsa-dong near Dosan Park, Melting Shop held its soft opening on Oct. 15 and is slated to hold its grand opening on Nov. 1.

At the new establishment, popovers, flatbread and cake are remixed into fresh, fun eats that are as tasty as they are unconventional.

“We decided to do something completely new,” said Melting Shop director Kim Ju-young, one-half of the wife and husband team that masterminded the hit restaurant brand Tastingroom.

Kim and her husband, who also run a design company, first launched Tastingroom about six years ago, dreaming up a hip hotspot that featured riffs on flatbread and other wine-friendly grub.

After many successful outlets later, the duo was ready to branch out from home base with a new venture.

Christened Melting Shop, this latest establishment zeroes in on what Kim calls comfy “Italian-American fusion” home-cooking including pastas, risotto and pizza-style flatbreads in addition to tweaked popovers and melt sandwiches.

While melts are on the menu, the restaurant’s name does not reference the classic cheese sandwich. “Melting,” according to Kim, refers to the toasty, cozy aesthetic of the place, a haven where the world-weary can plunk down their worries and eat grub that will warm their hearts.

“This is a retro-style space,” Kim, 38, explained how inspiration was drawn from America in the 1930s and ’40s. “We believe that era will be trendy soon.” 

Carousel-style light-framed mirrors decorate the storefront and the restaurant, which sports cute details like bike seats-turned-stools and walls decorated with subway-style tiles.

Twinkly lights throughout the space add a festive, bright vibe to the two-story establishment.

The eats are equally nostalgic, with a dash of playfulness.

Popovers, those eggy hollow rolls that usually accompany meat or tea, are beefed up into heartier filled buns almost big enough to sub for a meal.

“We wanted a light sandwich that isn’t a sandwich,” said Kim of their take on the popover.

Numerous experimentations with the classic American bread resulted in riffs like the wasabi soft crab rendition, which features the airy popover stuffed to the gills with one whole deep-fried soft crab, draped in a creamy, piquant wasabi-based sauce. 

The execution is spot-on, crisp crab with soft innards mimics the thin crust and silken insides of the popover itself. The wasabi sauce adds a crucial nip to the rich, beer-friendly dish.

Flatbread pizza gets a serious makeover at Melting Shop, morphing into something that rides the line between an open-faced tuna sandwich and a salade nicoise.

The dough is done up thin and crisp before being drowned in fresh, fragrant celery leaves, creamy-salty tuna and the sweet pop of sugary grapes for a dish that is tasty and texturally fun to boot.

The milkshake, called a “melt shake” on the menu, gets spiked with a jigger of bourbon whiskey before being garnished with caramel popcorn for a smoky, heady dessert drink, while blue velvet cake is drenched in a thick sour cream sauce-frosting hybrid for a spongy, tangy treat. 

Kim also revealed that the pavlova, a confection of meringue and whipped cream, is done with mulberries and ice cream at the Melting Shop and that there are other treats like mini creme brulee balls and something called a bacon ice-cream burger.

In addition to a diverse dessert menu, Kim reveals that Melting Shop will also be selling deli-style takeaway goods.

“We will be selling homemade ricotta,” she said.

By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldcorp.com)


Melting Shop

● 647-19, Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
● (02) 544-4256
● Open 11 a.m. to midnight daily, closed Mondays
● Salads cost 11,000 won to 18,700 won, grilled dough (flatbread pizza) costs 19,800 won to 24,200 won, popovers cost 15,400 won to 18,700 won, desserts cost 3,300 won to 16,500 won, milkshakes cost 12,000 won to 13,000 won