If you live in Korea, you may have already heard about that hot new vegan burger place in Itaewon. Yep, I'm talking about Huggers. Visited by celebs like Miss Korea, and both vegans and omnivores alike, Huggers has entered Seoul's growing vegan scene with a bang. Previously known as Coexistence Vegan Cafe, Huggers is still home to some of the amazing staff from their old restaurant. With a new name, menu, and location, they now proudly serve up delicious vegan burgers, drinks, and desserts, 6 days a week (info on location, hours, etc are below).
I've wanted to visit the place ever since it opened. A couple days ago, I was invited to tag along with the folks at VegBox to take photos and videos for Huggers. Let me set the scene for you: four people, three cameras, camera equipment, and some fancy plates, all sprawled on a long table by the window for four hours. Let's not forget the couple slices of cake, some burgers, and the bunch of patient staff at Huggers. It's not easy to have cameras pointed at you as you cook or answer questions about the business, I know, but they were all so friendly and open.
But let's rewind a bit.
Knowing how bad I am with directions, you guys are probably wondering if I got lost. Well, getting to the location was not that difficult- though, the first time I tried walking there, I accidentally walked up a sketchy street with lots of hills. Typical Soo. Good pre-meal workout, am I right?!
If you want to skip the workout, though, watch my upcoming video about the restaurant, where I show exact directions (and a demonstration) on how to walk to the place without having to wander into sketch-ville. The video will be uploaded to my YouTube channel, and Vegbox will be publishing a video as well. Mine will be more of a promotional style video, whereas Vegbox's will be a more informational video, including an interview with a staff member.
AJ, the staff member we interviewed for the videos, spoke to us about the message behind the restaurant. Huggers wants to change the vegan scene, inform people about veganism, and show that being vegan doesn't mean eating a bland diet. He wasn't kidding- the burger I had at Huggers is, quite honestly, the best burger I have ever had. I'm getting hungry again just thinking about those burgers and cake!
I had the double cheeseburger, pictured above. Topped with Violife cheese, tomato, lettuce, and mustard, the burger tasted like what I recall gourmet burgers tasting like. With the exception that instead of beef, the patty seemed to be made of some type of nuts and grains mixed with spices, and wrapped with mushroom. Whatever it was, it was delicious. The food was so photogenic, flavorful, and might I even say- healthy. Served on pristine plates with cutlery on a wooden tray, there is so much love put into these burgers. I'm talkin' like the amount of love Spongebob Squarepants put into making his Krabby Patties.
The staff clearly understands and cares about their customers, and enjoys what they do. They put so much care and effort into not only making and serving the food, but keeping their customers happy. You can tell from the moment you enter the place that this is no regular burger place. Fueled by passion and ambition to shape Korea's vegan community, they greet each person with a smile and sends off everyone with a "thanks for coming!". I understand why this restaurant has taken Seoul by storm, and I'm so excited to see where it takes its journey.
Soo Hyun
Huggers Burgers & Desserts
Address: 29, Daesagwan-ro 6-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
Phone: 02-749-9493
