RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK Namsan Deli keeps reinventing itself

A restaurant sign shows a few alterations at Namsan Deli in central Seoul's Huam-dong, April 7. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

Something is different with the menu at Namsan Deli every time I come back. It's been a wild ride since its soft opening last October. It's always been in flux and ready to reinvent itself, and I'm starting to get the impression that that's its permanent identity: a work in progress.

I was cautious at first about this deli-slash-bakery-slash-cafe, because sandwich places in Korea can be extremely hit-or-miss. But the more I've explored the menu, the more Namsan Deli has grown on me.

Located at the top of a steep road leading up from the Seoul Station area into central Seoul's cozy, quiet Huam-dong neighborhood, with N Seoul Tower looming above, Namsan Deli is in a strange spot. I've had many chances while waiting for orders to observe the foot traffic passing by, and it's certainly much less lively than similar places over the hill, like Haebangchon or Itaewon. This isn't a place where many people walk — it's more of an intersection where cars race by, only stopping if they have to at a red light. The owner, who suitably goes by the English name Sandi, assures me that business is brisk, thanks to delivery orders.

The deli does have a second-floor eating area that could make a decent hangout space, so it would be nice if more customers take advantage of it. It's a neat building — a tall, narrow, minimalist concrete structure only a couple of years old — and the layout of the restaurant levels is playful.

Barstools on the second-floor balcony of Namsan Deli in central Seoul, Oct. 14, 2025. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

Let's get back to the food, which is ordered through a kiosk at the front door, under a sign listing some of the menu items from early on. It still promises pastrami ("comin' soon!"), while jambon beurre is crossed out with "egg & bacon" scrawled in its place.

The main offering seems to be the pulled pork barbecue sandwich, which took me a few visits to get to, as I instead kept opting for the newest item. The pulled pork is prepared in the restaurant, a process I'm told takes 12 hours. It's topped with a light sauerkraut made from red cabbage that pairs impressively well with the pork. There's also an exquisite chopped cheese sandwich made with beef.

Namsan Deli also offers several hot dogs, and while I've never been disappointed, the hot dog is the least interesting thing about the menu. My favorite so far was a mac and cheese chili dog.

The bacon and egg sandwich is part of the deli's emphasis on breakfast. After originally promising to open early and close late, Namsan Deli pivoted to emphasize the morning hours and lunch, closing up in the mid-afternoon.

Of all the foods I've tried there, the thing that always stands out is the bread, which is baked in-house. They offer potato bread and baguettes, baked fresh every morning. Both are perfect for sandwiches: neither too hard nor too weak to hold the sandwich together. Every sandwich from Namsan Deli I've tried was extra enjoyable because of the bread. Yes, complimenting a restaurant on its bread sounds about as backhanded as saying the nicest thing about a city is its subway system, but it absolutely is exceptional (for both Namsan Deli and Seoul).

Freshly baked bread is on trays at Namsan Deli, June 3. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

As a bakery, which feels like a more important descriptor here than deli, Namsan Deli offers a lot of dessert options. It has various cookies as well as cinnamon rolls and fudge brownies, all prefixed with "New York" for reasons I'm not fully aware of. The cinnamon rolls are hidden beneath a thick layer of white icing, a bit more than I'd prefer myself. Some of the items, such as the cookies and brownies, are sprinkled with large salt crystals, enhancing the flavors.

The fudge brownies are a winner on their own, but are also key to what I consider the star of the drinks menu: the fudge brownie milkshake. It's so good, I feel like I'm doing something wrong when I drink it. They even offer fudge brownie baguettes, something I haven't tried yet.

There's so much more — soup, macaroni and cheese, caffeinated beverages, milkshakes, chopped salad in a cup — that it's hard to keep track of it all. Don't even bother looking up menus online, because the ones I've seen are already outdated.

Out front, maybe to distract people waiting for takeout orders, or maybe to attract attention from passersby, there are always racks of stuff for sale, with a focus on certain imported candies and potato chips, things that are possible to find in Korea but not always easily. The plethora of items left out here, unattended but apparently on camera, is a shrine to the social trust in Korea that allows you to leave your stuff out in the open without worrying about someone stealing it.

Products are still left out front after closing time at Namsan Deli, April 21. The door up the stairs leads to the second-floor eating area. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar

Namsan Deli is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. There is a 1+1 bottled beer special currently underway until June 30. Follow @namsandeli on Instagram for more information.