Area 51 Gram 에어리어51그램★ Galactic Gangnam Dinner

★ Recently I discovered an awesome dinner hot spot in Gangnam with a cool galactic theme~  Area 51 Gram! ★

I totally fell in love with 에어리어51그램 when I came across a photo online, I had to go check it out in person for myself and see if the food was as good as the atmosphere seemed to be~ it was! This is now a favorite place for Nara and I to go get tasty fusion Italian food in Gangnam!★

Beam me up! The lights in this restaurant slowly cycle through colors creating a really nice setting for dates or just going out with your friends.  It feels like you are eating at a club, or underneath the ships before they blow people up in Independence Day~ hehe

The cuisine at Area 51 Gram 에어리어51그램 in Gangnam is Italian Fusion,which is fairly popular in this area~ Koreans really love spaghetti!  What we like about this spot is that the meat is always really good, portions are generous, and it just feels more home-made with a bit more consideration about presentation and ingredients vs other similar restaurants.  You can tell they have real cooks in the kitchen.

Area 51 Gram opened around 2012 and the business has become a popular spot for friends and couples to eat in a fun relaxed setting with good food and charismatic staff~  the guys that work here are SO friendly! They are currently looking into opening 2 additional locations, one in the Hongdae area I believe ^^

Depending on the time you come, this place can get pretty packed!

When you enter you will have to order up at the front with one of the friendly guys first!

Menus are posted in both English and Korean~ so ordering is very easy if you have trouble reading Hangul.  Prices are on the higher side for some dishes, but nothing substantial considering this is Gangnam and the food actually tastes good. I love the atmosphere here, so for me that is the main draw when I bring my friends.

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I have a tip here for regular visitors though!!! The trick here is that the first time you go you pay a lot, HOWEVER every time after they will usually give you a 50% off coupon when you go to leave. Once they get you in the door this place is really good about coupons, so we have never had to buy a meal without one ever.  If you use any of the Korean coupon sites (t-mon, we make price, etc) they always have them listed on those pages as well.  Without coupons it can be quite expensive for the food, but that is one thing you learn living here in Korea… you always can find a coupon someplace lol.

I am in love with “aide” drinks in Korea~  they are pretty much a sprite+syrup combo and nice if you feel like a sweet drink with your meal.  Area 51 Gram sells a lemonade, cherry, and orange pulp version~ cherry is my favorite!

After ordering they will give you this cute glow heart with a number and show you to your seat! They will bring out your food as it is finished, so just sit back and relax! Dishes are usually (or so it seems anyway) cooked to order, so we usually have to wait maybe 15 minutes or so for things to start coming out.

Time for my space salad!

Lets eat!

★ 와~~~~ 치즈! ★

The sweet corn scoop pizza here is really yummy! Scoop pizzas are one of those things you can find at random Italian-style places here, they are almost like a thicker crepe topped with cream, cheese, and goodness.  I have yet to have a bad scoop pizza honestly, so it is not a unique dish to Area 51, but god is it delicious! It is like one of those things you just want to always order at the table to pick at even if you already have plenty of food lol.

Another favorite of ours is the BBQ salad (bulgogi salad in Korean) which is a pile of fresh assorted greens piled high with thing sliced sweet marinated beef~  topped with a sweet citrus &  balsamic sauce.  This salad is great to share between two people and a really tasty combination of flavors.

맛 있겠다! 

Nara’s favorite is the tenderloin steak! We have always received a nice tender cut cooked just as we requested with a drizzle of cream and tangy berry sauce! YUM!

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Once all your food is served at Area 51 gram you are REQUIRED to give the waiter a high five to finish the deal!^^ You can’t get away with a simple thank you here. haha

The staff is all good-looking friendly guys~  sometimes they will go up front and sing…

Or do some pull-ups in the corner. I dont mind lol.

Happy stomach!

The things they have written on the walls here are really random and amusing! When you leave they will usually (in English) say to you “You are the most beautiful girl in the world” which I thought was just the guy being funny the first few visits. lol no~ they actually say that to everyone leaving! Oh well, still makes me leave with a smile… even if I just consumed like 2,000 calories worth of cheese and meat.

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My only complaint about this place is a common one I have here in Korea, I wish they would push the theme a bit more!!  I wish it had more space things or stars, something worked into the decor! A themed plate or two would also be amazing, you could plop a star fruit in the drinks, draw a star with the sauce on the plate~ something!

Am I the only one that craves this sort of thing at places?  Seriously, people should hire me to think of stuff like this for their cafes and restaurants~ it adds to the appeal SO much.

Directions to Area 51 Gram

Area 51 Gram

서울 강남구 논현1동 198-17번지 2층

Hours: 11:00 am ~ 10:00 pm (Last orders 9:30 pm)

Menu~ English version is posted at the location for those of you that can not read Korean

If you are coming from downtown Gangnam from the popular Gangnam StationGreen Line#2, you can walk to Area 51 Gram easily~ it is just a little bit of a ways, maybe 15 min or so. We do this walk most of the time since we are usually downtown anyway, OR  we take start off the night taking line #9 to this place, eat, and after walk back downtown.

Simply use exit #11 and keep walking down the street towards Han Skin (aka that giant building with the circles punched in it) and when you get to it you can use the  Line #9 directions below to guide you the last bit of the way!

If you have the option, the ideal metro station for this location will be Sinnonhyeon Station on Line #9, Exit #3.

 Exit #3 will spit you out right alongside the circle Han Skin building facing the road towards downtown, but you are going to turn and walk the other way.

Walk down a short ways till you see two 24 hour pharmacies (약국 will be all over it) and take a right down that road in between them! One of them is really orange so that should make it very easy to spot ^^

Keep walking a little ways and eventually you will see the sign for Area51 gram on your left, the street its on is a little quiet so it should be easy to spot.

The building is a little weird to figure out at first since it has a parking garage and other doors where you would expect the entrance to be. Basically Area 51 gram is on the 2nd floor, but you have to use a stairway will be inside the building on the right~ kinda past that cement wall you should see the door.

Follow the stairs up and you will see the sign outside the door!  If you are coming on the weekend around peak hours the line will often be down these stairs waiting to get in to this place.

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Come during off-hours a bit early, this place is good and a fun spot to eat and lounge~ but honestly while I love it, it is not worth waiting in line for over 15 min to get in. We never have had to wait in line thankfully, dinner crowds in this area seem to come in a bit later in the evening!

This place is great for meeting with friends or going on a date due to the trendy club atmosphere without being too cluttered, loud, or smokey.

What do you think about Area 51 gram? Have you been before or did you visit after reading about it here? What to you think about restaurants with a dash of a fun theme like this? Share in the comments below!