Restaurant Review: The Lounge Bar
By Kathleen Villadiego
Photos courtesy of Holiday Inn Gwangju
Conveniently situated in the modern neighborhood of Sangmu is the Holiday Inn, and within this fairly new, 4-star establishment is Lounge Bar; a place where you and your friends, partner, or colleagues can go to treat yourself to fine wine, cool draft beer, and scrumptious aperitifs. It’s the perfect setting before hitting the clubs, or for a more relaxed get-together away from the noise and racket of downtown bars.
What draws patrons into Lounge Bar on certain evenings each week at a particular time is the “Happy Hour” promotion. When you polish off a glass of wine, you can have another or ten more – if your body is accustomed. You can put together a perfect plate carefully combining all the fine food served up at the buffet, or heap it all on and come back for seconds, thirds, fourths, until your hunger is satiated. Regardless, it’s all the same for your wallet. During happy hour all are welcomed to Lounge Bar to take advantage of their offer of unlimited food and drinks for a very reasonable price.
For this patron and food-lover, the buffet is the main enticement. You can start off with something light to whet the appetite like a vegetable or pasta salad, then move on to the more filling items like spicy chicken wings and chicken skewers, or meatballs and mini burgers. And like breakfast, you shouldn’t skip dessert which includes an array of fresh fruit and fine delectable cakes.
You may also have your fill of drinks. My preference is to stay on the red, but there’s also beer which will be welcome in the summer. For friends who made it their New Year’s resolution not to drink, they have their choice of soft drinks.
For me, it’s hard to enjoy good-quality food and wine if the service is not up to par, a facet which leaves a lasting impression. The service at Lounge Bar has been, on all my visits, above-standard. The maitre-d’hôtel is very welcoming, and the wait staff friendly and attentive. They pick exactly the right time to offer you another drink, refill your water, or take away your plate: neither overdone nor neglectful.
Lounge Bar is spacious, modern, elegant but not pretentious. In general it is aesthetically satisfying with seemingly nothing out of place. You can seat yourself at an openly-exposed table, or for those who want some privacy, you can find a place a little more tucked away.
Lounge Bar provides the food, drink and atmosphere at a great price; all you need to do is bring along good company. Bottoms up!
“Happy Hour” at Lounge Bar, Holiday Inn takes place every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. For only 21,500 won, you get unlimited drinks – house wine, local draft beer, soft drinks and unlimited cold and hot snacks from the buffet. (Update July 12, 2012: The happy hour price is now 24,000 won.)
How to get there
Holiday Inn is located near the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center.
By subway: Get off at Kim Dae-jung Convention Center / Mareuk station, exit 3. Head towards the Convention Center, and walk for about 5 minutes. Holiday Inn is opposite the center.
By bus: Buses no. 38 and 64 will take you to the Convention Center. Buses no. 1, 63, 64, 518, and 1000 go to the 5.18 Liberty Park, which is also very near Holiday Inn.
This article also appeared in the March 2012 Gwangju News print edition.