Six TV Chefs, One Pop-Up Run: Lotte Jamsil's Relay Series

Lotte Department Store's Jamsil branch is running a nine-week relay pop-up in its basement food hall, rotating through six chefs who appeared on the tvN cooking show "Street Restaurant Fighter." Each chef takes a week-long slot and brings their signature dish from the show into a live, walk-in format — so the menu you watched on screen is the one you can actually order.

The opening slot belongs to Chef Jo Seo-hyeong of Euljiroboseok, a Korean omakase restaurant in Eulji-ro. His dish leading the series is the glutinous rice nurungji kimchi cheese chicken — a crispy scorched-rice base layered with kimchi and melted cheese over chicken — which became one of the more talked-about plates from the show's run. On weekends, he'll be on-site in person, which is a genuinely rare chance to meet a working omakase chef outside of a reservation context.

After the opening week, chefs Kim Ho-yun and Kwak Dong-hun are among the five who follow across the remaining weeks. The lineup covers Korean, Chinese, Western, and dessert categories — so the rotation isn't just one cuisine repeated. If you're planning a trip to Jamsil anyway (the department store sits right next to Lotte World), it's worth timing your visit to whichever chef's week aligns with what you actually want to eat.

The pop-up runs from July 17 through September 17, 2025, in the B1 food hall of Lotte Department Store Jamsil. Walk-in format, no reservation needed — though weekend sessions with the chef present will likely draw a crowd, so earlier in the day is the safer call.

Lotte is also running a taste-panel event alongside the pop-up: post a review on SNS after trying a menu item and you're entered for a shopping credit prize, or leave a notably creative food review for a chance at an OTT subscription. It's optional, but it does mean the space will have an active, engaged crowd rather than a quiet retail floor.

For overseas visitors, the Jamsil location is one of the easier department store stops in Seoul — it's directly connected to Jamsil Station and sits within the same complex as Lotte World. The pop-up itself is a low-commitment way to eat something genuinely interesting without booking a full omakase dinner. Nine weeks, six chefs, one basement food hall — the format is designed to keep rotating, so check which chef is on before you go.