Glam

Glam by name and glamorous by nature, Glam fills a definite need for destination bars in Seoul’s expat ghetto of Itaewon. Snuggled on the first floor of the DISTRICT complex, in between Prost pub and Mute club, Glam imports a dose of Cheongdam glitz and style to an area that’s perhaps better known as a tourist destination. While midweek isn’t short on that Itaewon cliché, the well-heeled and time-pressed older gentleman on the hunt for attractive young protègées, weekends draw a more, well, glamorous crowd who wouldn’t look out of place in Cheongdam’s finest. Glam’s interior is glam as you’d like: around the retro, dark wood, horseshoe bar, tealights flicker, chandeliers glow and hues of red and orange glisten. While far from hidden, this is décor that takes you back to the 1920s glory days of the great New York speakeasies. If you love inventive, quirky, Asian-influenced drinks – and your palate appreciates sweet flavours – you’ve come to the right place. Glam’s able bar crew are more than happy to whip up inventive concoctions like the My Chuo, a drink modelled on the bubble teas that have taken Asia by storm, the Caramel Cone Affogato 2, with ice-cream, caramel popcorn and liquor syrup, or a crazy concoction of whisky, cream, banana and agave. Glam’s definition of glam extends to a very specific dress code: no collarless shirts, no hoodies, and no caps (although fedoras are, mysteriously, OK). Or, as Fergie has it, “If you ain’t got no money take your broke ass home.