Bar 81: The Largest Champagne Collection In Asia Is HERE In Seoul!

Looking for a unique experience in Seoul? Want to plan the best date night? Looking for where to celebrate an anniversary in Seoul? Bar 81 in SIGNIEL Seoul, the tallest hotel in Korea, is the experience you need to have this year.

Bar 81 is an upscale champagne bar in the tallest building in Korea that features the largest champagne collection in Asia. Not only is SIGNIEL Seoul the tallest hotel in Korea, but it’s second tallest hotel in the world! Take in a breathtaking view out over the Han River and all the way to Namsan Tower and beyond while you sip and sup in style.

Live it up and go up up up to Bar 81 in Seoul Sky Tower. Here’s what you need to know:

• How To Get There
• Basic Information
• The Interior
• What We Drank
• What We Ate
• Current Promotion
• Make A Day Of It

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How To Get There

Address: Lotte World Tower, 81st Floor 300 Olympic-ro, Songpa-gu Seoul (서울특별시 송파구 올림픽로 300 롯데월드타워 81층)

By Subway: If you’re already in the city and just want to hop on public transportation, you can find the hotel easily by heading to Jamsil Subway Station and going out of exit 1 or 2. You can’t miss the tower as soon as you exit!

Important Note: Whether you drive or take a subway or bus, you need to go to the first floor of Seoul Sky Tower and find the specific elevators that go up to SIGNIEL Seoul. The elevators go up to certain places because the building is just massive. Only a couple elevators in the basement go all the way to Seoul Sky Observatory, for example. Not all of the elevators go up to the hotel. There are specific elevators that only go to hotel floors and you can find it easily when you walk around the first floor of the building.

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Basic Information

Hours: 5:30pm ~ 10:00pm

Reservations & Inquiries: 02-3213-1281

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I had the opportunity to visit SIGNIEL Seoul last year to write an article on it for Forbes Travel Guide but just didn’t have enough time to experience everything that the hotel has to offer. I had an amazing stay there… TWICE!, but still there was more unique luxury experiences to be had.

While you don’t have to stay there to experience everything, if you have the time, I highly recommend it. The service is impeccable and if you love views out over the city of Seoul, this is absolutely where you need to be. You will literally be sitting higher than the helicopters that fly around checking traffic. It’s absolutely amazing.

Recently, I visited again and I got to sit down with Morten Anderson, the General Manager at SIGNIEL Seoul to learn more about their upscale champagne bar. It was a part of the hotel that I didn’t get to visit on my two previous visits and I wondered what the largest collection of champagne in Asia looked like. Also, who doesn’t want to have a night of champagne and merriment?

The Interior

When you come up the elevators to SIGNIEL Seoul, you’ll be greeted by staff on the main check-in floor. This is also where The Lounge is for a French afternoon tea. There are two ways to go up to Bar 81 from here. I recommend taking the beautiful staircase rather than an elevator. The staircase provides views out of a huge window. Like I said, it’s all about the views here.

Walk up the staircase and you’ll end up at Bar 81, STAY and Bicena. If you’re a bit early for champagne, have dinner at either STAY or Bicena. I ate at STAY twice and the menu that is prepared by 3-star Michelin Chef Yannick Alleno is refined but approachable. After supping, or if you’ve already supped, visit Bar 81.

The bar is beautiful and the best seats are the ones near the window for obvious reasons. Floating above the space is a gorgeous installation that is meant to depict the floating bubbles in a champagne glass. As the sun sets and the lights turn on, you’ll really see how it dazzles.

PRO TIP: The champagne bar tends to be more of a late night spot for visitors but the sunset views over the city of Seoul are absolutely spectacular from the window seats. I highly recommend getting there for opening time if you can manage so that you can really enjoy the sunset and watch as the lights turn on overhead.

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What We Drank

Once seated, the first thing we needed to do was decide what kind of champagne we’d be enjoying in the tallest hotel in Korea in the bar that has the largest champagne collection in Asia. There are a lot to choose from obviously. I happened to have invited a French friend whose family in France actually has their own champagne house. Since Bar 81 had it, of course we had to try it so we enjoyed Taittinger for our tasting.

Founded in 1734, the Taittinger Champagne house is based in Reims, France. The flagship wines of the house are the Comtes de Champagne (composed of 100% Chardonnay) and Comtes de Champagne Rosé (70% Pinot noir and 30% Chardonnay ).

We were first poured a sip in the beautiful cherry blossom decorated Epoque champagne flutes from Maison Perrier-Jouet made for an optimal tasting experience but then switched to have the requisite champagne glasses to really watch those bubbles once we’d chosen our champagne. The views in the glass and out over the city were gorgeous.

In conversation, I asked what were the three champagnes they would recommend we try on future visits because this is most definitely the place to celebrate a special occasion or have an exquisite date. Here are the top three champagnes that Morten would recommend trying:

• G.H. Martel ‘Victoire’ Prestige Brut, NV (Chardonnay 40%, Pinot Noir 40%, Pinot Meunier 20%)
• Didier Chopin Symphonie Grande Reserve Brut, Champagne FRANCE, NV (Chardonnay 100%)
• Duval Leroy Brut, NV (Chardonnay 10%, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier 90%)

What We Ate

We opted for a beautiful golden tower of bites. The display reminded me of the French afternoon tea we enjoyed in SIGNIEL Seoul’s Lounge the last time we stayed there. We tried the:

• Tuna Pizzetta: With a tangy citrus sauce, this was a nice light dish. The tuna gracefully topped a crunchy crispy cracker.
• Foie Gras: Fragrant rice and soya make for a bit more filling option and yet it felt very light and soft while enjoying.
• Hanwoo ‘Cafe de Paris’: Beef tenderloin in black pepper cream sauce was definitely my favorite but I love steak and don’t often get it in Korea. This was delightful and so delicious.
• Prawn brochettes: Grilled marinated prawn skewers glazed with spicy honey. The plate was filled which was lovely to see and they were big good prawns.
• Charcuterie: Cold cut variations with pickled vegetables and olives. I love a good charcuterie platter and this had everything I love on a grazing platter.

They were all delicious but the Hanwoo ‘Cafe de Paris’ was definitely my favorite. The menu has been specially prepared by 3-star Michelin Chef Yannick Alleno. Chef Alleno was chosen as the Best Chef in 2015 by the Gault & Millau guide. He has prepared a unique menu of fine French fare that features Korean ingredients and staff can go into all kinds of detail on the cuisine and dishes if you’d like more information. You can enjoy his exquisite menu in STAY, the fine French restaurant on the same floor as Bar 81 as well as here in Bar 81.

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Make A Day Of It

Bar 81 is located in a great area if you want to make a day of it. There are so many things to do in Jamsil. Whether you want to have amazing observatory views, have fun at an amusement park, or see the cherry blossoms this spring, there is quite a bit to do around the area. Here are some things you can do if you want to spend a special day in Jamsil.

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