Chefs cook in front of you at Lotte’s La Seine

Lotte Hotel Seoul said Thursday it had reopened its buffet restaurant La Seine at a new location on the first floor.

The biggest change at the restaurant is that chefs take fresh ingredients on a moving cart, come to your table and cook in front of you while explaining about the cuisine in detail. The service is available for the “menu of the day” such as bone-in-rib eye steak and sushi.

The upscale buffet restaurant serves food in eight themes ― Asian cuisines, Japanese cuisines, a noodle bar, Western cuisine, cold meals, Korean grill, dessert, and drinks. 

The hotel’s chefs prepare 250 different dishes except cakes and breads that take a long time to cook, Lotte officials said.

To celebrate the reopening of the restaurant, the chefs will offer “Cowboy Steak” (bone-in-rib eye steak) for the first time in Korea through Feb. 10. Originally enjoyed by Texan cowboys living close to the Mexican border, it is an unpretentious hefty steak that is almost four times larger than the average steak.

The 1,550-square-meter restaurant can accommodate 290 guests, including 60 guests in 11 private rooms.

Color-changing LED lighting is installed to give a sense of seasonal change.

The restaurant was designed by Silverfox Studios based in Singapore.

The hotel said there will be “a time service event” everyday to offer limited dishes prepared with premium ingredients, such as lobster and live abalone, when the bell rings.

The restaurant also offers a gift event to give away premium LA beef ribs to 10 guests by drawing lots during weekdays until Feb. 10.

During weekdays, lunch is 66,000 won for adults and 39,000 won for children under 12. Dinner is 74,000 won for adults and 42,000 won for children. During weekends, lunch and dinner are both 74,000 won for adults and 42,000 won for children. For details, call (02) 317-7171~2.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)