If you’ve ever heard about Korean street toast, you would have heard the name Isaac Toast & Coffee being tossed around. The famous street toast brand can be found all over South Korea and it is a highly popular breakfast item that you should try at least once on your visit to the country.
What is Isaac Toast?
Isaac Toast & Coffee (or just Isaac Toast as everyone calls it) is a South Korean chain that sells toasted sandwiches like ham and cheese. It has many outlets all over Seoul, South Korea.
Some of these are simple hole-in-the-wall type locations where it could just be a single person or a small team making and selling the toast from a window with no seating area.
In these cases, it would be a matter of grab and go. Patrons can stand around to finish their toast, or find a nearby park to sit down and enjoy the toast.
At the smaller outlets, there could be a limited number of menu items to choose from.
Other Isaac Toast locations may be larger.
These larger outlets usually offer a wider choice of menu items with various types of toast combinations. They may also have seating areas for patrons who wish to dine in.
What is on the Isaac Toast Menu?
So what can you find on the Isaac Toast menu?
The most basic item is the Ham & Cheese sandwich (3,100 won). This is made up of ham and cheese together with a thin square of scrambled egg.
Other menu items that you might find on the Isaac Toast menu include the Ham Special (3,500 won), Bacon Best (3,900 won), Grilled Bulgogi (4,300), Grilled Bulgalbi (4,600 won).
The drinks menu includes the Korean favorite Americano (2,700 won) and other drinks like Kiwi Juice (3,200 won).
What Makes Isaac Toast Different?
So, isn’t Isaac Toast just a ham and cheese sandwich, you may wonder? What makes it different from a regular ham and cheese sandwich? How can you explain the long lines that you can constantly find in front of Isaac Toast outlets throughout the day?
One thing that makes Korean street toast different from regular toast is the inclusion of shredded cabbage.
While the basic Ham & Cheese toast doesn’t have the shredded cabbage, the Ham Special does. The cabbage adds a crunch and distinct texture to the sandwich.
The bread used in Isaac Toast is also sweeter than normal.
Lastly, it is the special sauce that gets drizzled onto the toast that gives it its defining taste. This sauce is a special concoction made of honey and kiwi.
Each sandwich is made to order, so you may have to be prepared to wait to get yours.
When it does come your turn to order, you will usually have a front row seat as you watch the staff work the griddle with a block of butter to sizzle up the various ingredients.
When ready, the component parts are stacked and wrapped up in a napkin before being inserted into a paper sleeve and served piping hot.
Isaac Toast Review
Here’s what we thought of the various Isaac Toast menu items.
As mentioned, the regular Ham & Cheese does not have shredded cabbage. Our recommendation would be to go straight to the Ham Special. This not only has shredded cabbage but also includes pickles.
It is a combination of savory and sweet that oddly works together.
If you are feeling like having something greasier, get the Bacon Best. This feels more substantial than the Ham Special.
We also tried the Grilled Bulgogi and Grilled Bulgalbi. Both of these come on thicker brown bread, as opposed to the white bread that the ham and bacon sandwiches come with.
The Grilled Bulgogi and Grilled Bulgalbi both come with a patty and are lathered with a sweet brown sauce. There is a slight distinction in the taste of the two patties. Galbi is made from the meat around the ribs and has a slightly richer taste.
These two sandwiches start to move away from the “classic” taste of Isaac Toast that most people line up for, and are more substantial because of the patty.
Isaac Toast: A Korean Sandwich Must-Try
So there you have it. Now you know all about Isaac Toast and why you’d find long queues in front of the sandwich shop.
Even though many seek it out for breakfast, it can be enjoyed any time of the day. And an added benefit is that the lines are likely to be shorter after breakfast hours too.
If you enjoyed this story, you may also enjoy this one about South Korean street food.
