Taste of Europe
Nostimo - Homestyle Greek Restaurant in Korea
Eunsun "Sara" Park from Nostimo
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Restaurants in Korea representing the Mediterranean region are still limited to Italian, a scattering of Spanish places, and some Moroccan restaurants, as well. Despite the positive perception of Greece both Koreans and non-Koreans alike have, finding homestyle Greek food in Korea has always been a challenge.
Nostimo, located not far from Naebang Station and within walking distance from Seorae Village, has planted the flag for the type of Greek cuisine that Greeks themselves enjoy at home. Opened in August 2020 by Todd Sample and Eunsun “Sara” Park, Nostimo has received a warm welcome from both the Korean and foreign community in Seoul and beyond for its menu of Greek standards like moussaka, souvlaki, spanakopita (spinach pie), and dolmadakia, or grape leaves stuffed with rice and lamb. In addition to these Mediterranean staples, visitors to Nostimo are also able to enjoy the restaurant’s farm-to-table feta cheese, made in-house by Sara Park, and sprinkled generously on the Greek salad as well as on other dishes. Nostimo’s homemade Greek yogurt is a customer favorite, while no Greek meal would be complete without something sweet afterward. In this light, our homemade baklava, galaktoboureko, or galatopita will satisfy anyone’s desire for a Greek sweet, and even better when paired with a cup of Greek coffee.
So how did Nostimo come to be? Todd Sample and Sara Park had been running a food contents company called Eathentic which introduced restaurants all over Korea which serve authentic international food. In addition to social media, the company hosted diverse food culture events several times every month with the goal of sharing not only the flavors, but also the culture, region, and people behind the food, aspects which are generally missing from a typical restaurant experience. In short, Todd and Sara believe that when it comes to international food, “the more you know, the better it tastes!”
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to these events, but not to the desire of Todd and Sara to share authentic flavors with a larger audience. Thus, the two made the decision to combine their backgrounds and open a restaurant. Todd, the grandson of George Daskalakis, a Cretan who emigrated from Greece to the United States in the early 20th century, grew up in the kitchen cooking alongside his mother. His love of Greek food and the country’s food culture deepened while studying abroad in Greece as a university student, during which time he grew closer to his Greek relatives and learned their recipes. Sara Park majored in dairy science during university and although she pursued a career in another field after graduating, saw her interest in cheesemaking intensify and Korea’s cheese market evolving while working with Eathentic. Considering that availability and awareness of feta cheese in general was lower than it could be, what better way to improve upon this reality than by combining Nostimo’s homestyle Greek food with the Greek staple, feta cheese.
Considering the dearth of Greek food in Korea, the two co-owners at first were concerned that the saltiness of feta cheese and Kalamata olives may be an issue with their customers. Furthermore, as Greek wine is less familiar to Korean consumers, Todd and Sara had thought initially that showcasing Greek wines at Nostimo may receive a lukewarm response from their customers. Thankfully, in both cases, the opposite has proven to be true. During a typical service, either Sara or Todd do their best to visit every table and explain the menu and ingredients in the food to alleviate any initial qualms for customers trying Greek food for the first time. Although the wine list at Nostimo includes French, Italian, and Spanish labels in addition to a large variety of Greek traditional and natural wines available, ninety-nine out of one-hundred customers, whether they be Korean or non-Korean, select Greek wines with their meal. Nostimo diners are seeking not only a Greek meal, but a Greek experience.
Since opening, some of the most common feedback the owners of Nostimo have received, in addition to praise for the food, is that having a meal there for an hour or two makes diners feel like they aren’t in Korea. Since international travel is nearly impossible nowadays considering the global situation, this is exactly the type of feeling and experience Nostimo is trying to convey.
