11 Chesterfield Way

I was really excited to write this review because I love this restaurant. I genuinely love going to eat here and I've had some of the best meals of my life in this restaurant. I was really excited to write this review because we were going to go to the restaurant and eat again and holy shit I love to eat here. The chef and owner, Kim Jeong Hwan, makes amazing food. He bakes his own bread. He has a garden where he grows many of his ingredients. It's obvious he cares about the process of food, where it comes from, how it comes together, what it looks like on the plate, and what it ultimately tastes like.

In the past eating at 11 Chesterfield Way in Gyeongju has always been an experience. Course after course rolls out of the kitchen, onto our plates, and into our memory banks, stored forever in a dizzying, ever growing food bank memory swirling with this guys dishes. This is the restaurant we chose for Sara's birthday and it was truly an incredible culinary experience. We had something like four desserts including an orange custard that was creamy and rich and just filled my mouth with perfection. We had makgeoli ice cream, which I could never have imagined. We had home made sorbet and home made brownies and home made meringue bites that just melted. We had a giant chocolate cake that was without a doubt the best cake I've had in Korea. Korea loves cakes, they're everywhere. I can name five places to get a cake within 2 km's. But the cakes aren't good. They're light, they're fluffy, they disappear on the palette. This chocolate cake was heavy and dense and stayed forever. It was awesome. We took it home and ate almost nothing else for the week after Sara's birthday. The entire meal was incredible and I still find myself daydreaming about the orange custard and wishing I could have just one more bite.

So we went Saturday with the weight of those expectations and the rumble of our empty stomachs. And what we got was alright. Granted, we went Saturday at 1:00. He closes for the weekend at 2:00. I don't always have my 'A' game Friday night at 9:00. I just don't. I'm tired, I'm toast. All he had left in stock was pasta and it was pretty good pasta. The noodles are made fresh and cut to order. That's awesome. But overall, it was an average plate of noodles. I'm not sure where the five course meal went, it's likely that had we called ahead or Facebook messaged him, we'd have gotten an amazing meal. But we didn't, and we got a pretty good one. I don't want to discourage anyone looking for excellent western food from heading to 11 Chesterfield Way. You will not be disappointed. But if you have the chance, go bigger than the pasta. Get the beef wellington. Get the chicken confit. And absolutely get the dessert, get all the desserts.  As always, here's 10 pictures and some foolish comments.

Here's a link to his Facebook Page where you can score a map to the restaurant. It's about 30 minutes south of Pohang in Gyeongju. Everybody knows Gyeongju, right? August 22 is his 1st Anniversary and he's got something special planned. I wish I could be there, this guy's special is out of this world.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/11-chesterfield-way/215617865162056

The Restaurant

11 Chesterfield Way is not easy to find.  It's in the north west corner of Gyeongju in Seonggeon-Dong, just east of the main river and just south of the part of the river that branches off to the east. It's just off of Dong-Daero up an alley.  It's not the easiest place to see.  Get a map.  Totally worth the hunt.  

The Chef

The man himself.  He didn't want to be photographed, but I think it turned out pretty well.  

The Sous Chef

11 Chesterfield Way used to have a female sous chef, but she's not there anymore.  This is the first time we'd seen this guy.  He did a great job.

Imagination Station

I love the setup of the restaurant.  Wine glasses hanging down, the kitchen fully visible from the dining area, big glowing lights hanging from the ceiling.  It's a great place to have a meal.

A Real Motorcycle

This is the owner's bike.  I'm crazy jealous.  

The Annoyance

I always ask if I can take pictures and people always say yes.  Then I stick the camera up in their face. 

In the Kitchen

Rolling Out

There's that homemade pasta.  Really good noodles.

Vino

He's got a decent selection of wine and beer if you're into that kind of thing.

The Food

Sara's vegetable pasta.