STAY by Yannick Alléno

The Verdict

STAY by Yannick Alléno occupies the eighty-first floor of Lotte World Tower — the tallest dining room in Korea, and one of the highest in any major Asian capital. The restaurant opened in 2017 as part of Signiel Seoul's launch and earned its first Michelin star within a year, promoted to two in 2020. Yannick Alléno — the French chef who holds three Michelin stars at Pavillon Ledoyen in Paris and is one of the most decorated French chefs of his generation — directs the menu and visits Seoul several times a year. Day-to-day execution is led by executive chef Yann Lemarchand.

The cuisine is modern French built around Alléno's defining technique: extractions, the chef's term for cold-process broths and reductions that capture flavour without the heat damage of conventional stock-making. The signature courses include a Bresse pigeon with a black truffle extraction, a Brittany sea bass with a citrus-and-tarragon extraction, and a series of vegetable courses that showcase the technique's particular strength with herbs and aromatics. The result is a French cuisine that tastes lighter and more aromatic than its plating would suggest.

The room itself is the secondary attraction — though it is not really secondary. From the eighty-first floor the view stretches across all of Seoul, with the Han River curving below and the mountains forming a horizon on every side. The night view of the city is among the most photographed in Korea. The wine programme is among the deepest in the country, with a serious Champagne section and exceptional Burgundy holdings. From ₩300,000 the price is at the top of the Korean market but for a two-Michelin-star experience with this view, the value is defensible.

Why It Works for Impress Clients

STAY is the smartest place in Seoul to impress an international client — the eighty-first-floor view does diplomatic work that nothing on the menu could, the Michelin stars communicate seriousness, and the room's polish reflects on the host. For a proposal, the night view is unforgettable and the staff will coordinate any reasonable surprise. For a birthday of significance, particularly a milestone, no Seoul restaurant offers a more dramatic setting.

Related Restaurants in Seoul

For a comparable experience in another part of Seoul, Joo Ok in Gangnam-gu (Yeoksam) offers a related take. For another chef-driven kitchen in the city, Pierre Gagnaire à Séoul is well worth the table. For a different occasion fit, see Born & Bred or Toc Toc. Browse the complete Seoul guide for the full list, or filter by Impress Clients across all cities.