Kim’s Taco In Yeoksam, Seoul | Amazing Tortilla Rice Bowls And Tacos

Seoul might not be known as a food capital, but it should, as Seoul is filled with amazing restaurants. These restaurants are not only serving local Korean food but as the city is rapidly gaining an international population, Seoul has been embracing the wonderful cuisine that comes from different countries. Mexican food is one of these types of food that is quite popular among the foreign expats, tourists and even Koreans. Of all the Mexican restaurants, Kim’s Taco in the Gangnam area, is a must try taco restaurant.

Kim’s Taco Background

The most famous Mexican restaurants in Seoul are located in the Itaewon area which is nearby the Yongsan US army base. As this area was designated as the special tourist zone in 1997. Because of this, when having Mexican food in Seoul, and especially in Itaewon, it might feel as being quite expensive compared with the size of the meal. The same thing is happening in the Gangnam area, where Kim’s Taco is located. However the food served at Kim’s Taco has a very reasonable price compared with the size of the meal.

The owner of Kim’s Taco is Korean American from LA and he wants to introduce the authentic LA Mexican cuisine (LA Mexican style is lighter than Tex-Mex style, but with more spices and flavours). Before opening his own Mexican restaurant, the chef used to work for the famous Korean food delivery company, 배달의 민족. After which he decided to follow his dream and opened his own restaurant.

The Menu

The mains are tacos, burritos and rice bowls. There are four different types of tacos to choose from. Namely chicken, pork, beef and fish. For pescetarians, this is the must go restaurant to try Mexican food.

Normally when you go to other Mexican restaurants in Seoul, they often serve carnitas, which is similar with pulled pork (simmered a long time until the meat is tender). Most Mexican restaurants in Korea follow this style. However at Kim’s Taco a different style of pork tacos is served (al pastor). Instead of slow cooking the meat, they marinate it with chilies and then grill it. It is crispier and smokier than carnitas.

If you want something different than carnitas, then Kim’s Taco is definitely worth a try! Everyday they prepare handmade tortillas which are made of Masa corn dough. Another interesting point is when you order burritos, is made in a Californian Style. Which means you can choose either rice or french fries with guacamole to have inside the Burritos. There are three different burritos to choose from, including chicken, pork and beef.

Our Personal Review

We decided to order one al pastor taco which is a type of pork taco (6000 krw for 2 pieces), steak rice bowl (13000 krw) and nachos (8000 krw). Usually when you go to Mexican restaurants in Seoul, they put spicy sauce in their dishes. If you can’t handle spices that well, like us, you need to ask to leave the sauces off. However at Kim’s Taco, they give you two different spicy sauces(Red and Green) on the side. When you get your taco dish, there will be 2 tacos.

Normally al pastor is drier than carnitas, but as they use fresh chopped onions, the taco isn’t dry at all. The first impression of their steak rice bowl was “WOW’. It was really a pleasant surprise to get their steak rice bowl. First of all the rice bowl is made of fried tortilla. You can eat the whole tortilla bowl! It is perfect dish for you food instagram feed and on top of that the taste was excellent. It is not only a photogenic dish but also super tasty. Their Tex-Mex nacho was fantastic too. The chips were loaded up with colorful red and white chopped onions and tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole!

If you are quite hungry, only getting the tacos and rice bowl won’t be enough, however with their nachos it will be the feast! Even we could not finish everything we ordered! There is a Kim’s Taco’s special drink, the Jarritos Cocktail. Sadly when we were there, it was already sold-out, but we are looking forward to go back and try this cocktail.

We are always looking for the fine Mexican restaurants in the Gangnam area. So this place is by far the best Mexican restaurant we have tried so far in Gangnam. We usually go to have tacos at El Pino 323 (located in Itaewon), but from now on we’ll mix it up and drop by Kim’s Taco once in a while to try the yummy rice bowls.

How To Get To Kim’s Taco

It is located in the residential area in between Gangnam station and Yeoksam station, which is located on the subway line 2 (green line). Upon arrival at Yeoksam station, leave at exit 3. From there it takes about 10 minutes on foot. Once you are in the street of Kim’s Taco, you can easily spot the giant neon sign. It is also the only Mexican restaurant in the area, which makes it extremely easy to find. When you get into the restaurant, the atmosphere makes you feel like being in America. The music and paintings on the wall are quite different than the interior design of Korean restaurants. The restaurant has indoor and outdoor tables.