Restaurant San in Seoul has been named the recipient of the One To Watch Award 2026 by Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, recognising the restaurant’s rapid impact on the region’s fine-dining landscape. The accolade highlights establishments that show strong potential to enter the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants ranking in the coming years.
Located in Seoul’s Gangnam district, San opened in 2024 and has quickly established itself as one of the capital’s most talked-about new restaurants. The French-influenced modern Korean fine-dining concept is led by Chef Jo Seung-Hyun, whose tasting menu reflects both classical training and contemporary interpretation.
Chef Jo brings international experience to the project. He previously trained under Thomas Keller at The French Laundry in Napa Valley and at La Maison Troisgros in France before serving as chef de cuisine at Corey Lee’s Benu in San Francisco for eight years. Returning to Seoul, he launched San as a platform to reinterpret Korean flavours through refined technique and structure.
The restaurant’s tasting menu centres on seasonal produce and layered flavours. Among its signature dishes is a prawn course paired with shrimp-gochujang made from a concentrated broth extracted from shrimp heads, delivering a pronounced umami depth. A reinterpretation of ojingeo sukhoe presents delicately prepared spear squid with squid-ink chojang, while a refined version of dwaeji-gukbap — traditionally served with salted shrimp — is finished with caviar, balancing familiarity with modern expression.
San also revisits classic Korean dishes through technical precision, including chamoe dongchimi, a water kimchi variation that references national culinary traditions. Wine pairings, led by sommelier Ju Jaemin, are offered in five- or eight-glass formats designed to complement the progression of the tasting menu.
A spokesperson for Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants says:
“San has quickly become one of the most talked-about fine-dining restaurants in Seoul. With richly deserved recognition as the winner of One To Watch Award, the team is raising the bar for culinary excellence, complexity and respect for national tradition – following an inspiring trend of innovative restaurants to emerge from the capital in recent years.”
On receiving the award, Chef Jo says:
“I’m incredibly grateful and honoured for San to receive the One To Watch Award. San is still a young restaurant and to be recognised in this way so soon after opening means a great deal to us. Thank you to Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants for this encouragement.”
San becomes the first Seoul-based restaurant to receive the One To Watch Award since 2017. The recognition comes ahead of the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2026 awards ceremony, which will be held in Hong Kong on 25 March 2026.
Restaurant SAN
South Korea, Seoul, Gangnam District, Eonju-ro 168-gil, 6 B1F
