Julio Mexican Cuisine in Gangnam, Seoul - Foodporn Alert!

I have been living in Seoul for more than 10 years now, after growing up in New York. And every once in a while, I get a massive craving for Mexican food. To be honest, I can't tell which Mexican dish is authentic or not. I just want a big fat burrito, with lots of guacamole and beans and sour cream and all the good stuff. Mexican food is a lot more accessible in Seoul these days, and when my colleague said she had never tried it, I pounced on the opportunity - and so last Friday night we arranged a dinner of glorious Mexican food at Gangnam, a bustling area with just about every type of restaurant you could imagine.

Julio entrance

The place is quite easy to find. If you are taking the subway, go straight from Gangnam station exit 11, and turn right at CGV theater. Keep following that little alleyway uphill, and you will see this Julio on your right.

We entered a little after 7, when there were plenty of seats available. Just about half an hour later, however, the restaurant filled up and pretty soon people were lining up outside for a seat. We were super lucky to have arrived at the perfect time!

Here is a little peek at the menu. You can see that the prices really are not that bad. I've went to some Mexican places in Itaewon, where any typical menu averaged around 20,000 KRW or higher. Julio, on the other hand, is quite affordable. We were not able to get picture of the other menus, because right around that time our drinks and appetizers arrived, and we got busy eating! :D

San Miguel beer

Guacamole and chips

We started off with chips and guacamole, accompanied with drinks. The chips were freshly made, hot and toasty. The guacamole was a bit salty for my taste, and could only be ordered as a side dish, in a tiny saucer (I would have ordered the biggest portions available, if it were possible). This part was a little disappointing, but I got over it pretty quickly since any guac is better than none at all!

Kimchi carnitas fries

And now for appetizer number two - kimchi carnitas fries. This is the perfect example of fusion food. You've got the Asian spices and herbs mixed with Western fries and ingredients; it was a match made in heaven. Savory, rich, cheesy, and filling... we had to exercise superhuman willpower not to devour everything instantly, since we were still waiting for another friend to arrive before ordering our main dishes.

Our next drink was a frozen Corona-Rita (beer+margarita). Now, I really love this stuff. I'm not a big fan of alcohol, but I can always make an exception for cocktails, especially if it looks as awesome as this! It would have been a lot more enjoyable if the weather wasn't so freezing cold outside, but I'm not one to complain. :)

Now for the main dishes; first up is the gorgonzola quesadilla. 3 different sauces to dip (honey, sour cream, and some spicy thing in the middle), and each slice was stuffed full with cheese. This isn't particularly Mexcian either, I suppose, but it tasted awesome! 

Beef fajita: everything about this was just right. The tortilla is unlimited, so you can always ask for more. The cheese could be used as dipping for your chips too, and all the ingredients were fresh and perfectly cooked. 

Next up is the Cleveland-style burrito with chicken, swimming in avocado cream sauce. Judging from the name, I'm guessing it's some American version of what should be a burrito... and though I had no problem with the taste, it did not feel much like Mexican food to me because the cream made it taste more like... Italian. Not much hint of avocado either. It tastes good, as long as you don't think of it as a burrito. Is that bad? For me, not so much.

And lastly, the pork enchilada. One of the best menus we ordered that day - I loved the extra beans and chips on the side especially. 

All our main menus together - after the chips and fries and drinks, that is. A lot of food for 4 gals, but we managed to finish everything. No big deal, right?

This is me, all excited and super happy about the food. Apologies to the people in the background who had no idea they'd end up in a blog! :P

My thoughts about this place: it's good, affordable Mexican food. Services are good, and the food was not particularly late given that the restaurant was super busy. Portions are perfect as well. If I go next time, which I probably will, I think I will try ordering normal dishes instead of experimenting with new menus and combinations. There was a lot of fusion going on for this particular meal; it was not the Mexican food I was used to, although it was still delicious. I can't wait to go again to try out the other stuff, though another part of me wants to try OTHER Mexican restaurants in the city, just so I can compare!

By the way, we went for dessert after all that food. Because girls have a different stomach reserved especially for dessert! Bingsu, or shaved ice, is a must have dessert menu in Korea. Normally it would be regular ice underneath all those toppings (along with red beans and rice cakes, which is the traditional version), but these days a popular option is "snowflake" bingsu, which uses milk instead of water, and is much finer, just like snow. We ordered strawberry and cheesecake, red beans on the side instead of included on top. 

Nice way to spend a Friday night, don't you think? Heehee!

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