Coreanos Kitchen, one of the latest Mexican fusion restaurants to open in Seoul, promises to pull in loyal patrons with its wallet-friendly, made-from-scratch menu.

Located on Apgujeong-dong’s Rodeo Street, the new establishment spins out tasty tacos for around 3,300 won a pop, handcrafting thick soft shells with masa, putting them through the tortilla press, giving them a stint on the griddle before piling on the meat, cabbage slaw or other tidbits and spiking the whole thing with artisanal, in-house sauces.

“We want it to be affordable, accessible and good,” said Coreanos Kitchen co-owner James Kwon, revealing how he left an analyst job at an investment bank to join hands with two guys to do “really, really good L.A.-style, Texas-style Mexican food.”

Coreanos Kitchen co-owner and chef Gene Cho brings his culinary expertise as cofounder of the high-profile, Texas-based, Mexican-Korean fusion food truck Coreanos to the table.

Coreanos Kitchen represents Cho’s second, independent, Mexican-inspired act, a three-guy enterprise that sends a nod to the two years Cho spent helping launch Coreanos into the American foodie hemisphere.

Coreanos, which is still thriving, started off in Austin, Texas, in 2010, bringing Korean-infused Mexican fare to the masses.

Since then, the food truck has attracted a massive amount of press, with Smithsonian.com naming it one of the 20 Best Food Trucks in the United States last year and with CBS Houston putting it on a Best Food Trucks In Houston list this year.

“The combinations of flavors always intrigues and excites people and keeps them coming back for more,” said Coreanos’ Houston-based food truck’s current owner-operator Tom Morris, 28.

For his second act, Cho gives himself and his team free rein to exercise their creative freedom by grouping everything under the broad umbrella phrase “Mexican fusion.”

The only guideline for the food at Coreanos Kitchen, it seems, is that it tastes good ― which might seem easy at first, but after hearing Cho lay out the logistics of how he and his crew put it all together, sounds like a lot of work.

“We have seven different sauces,” said Cho, explaining how not only are the taco shells made from scratch, but he and his team have to do everything from smoking the peppers for the sauce that goes into their piquant citrus chicken taco to whipping up the citrus marinade and cilantro cream that gives their toothsome grilled shrimp taco that crucial oomph.

The guacamole, says Cho, is made from “fresh avocados” and even the two table sauces, named after the sous chef who created them, are housemade.

Given all the hours that must go into prep work, it is surprising to hear from Cho and Kwon that tacos and burritos are just the beginning of an evolving menu that will include tortas and sliders along with soft shell crab burritos and more riffs off their sole dessert, Sulam’s Cookie Pizza ― a massive, ice cream-adorned cookie.

In fact, change is already underway, with the Mexican-style sandwich, a.k.a. the torta, out already as one of the new additions to a menu that was revamped this week, says Kwon.

What other new eats are on the horizon?

“The breakfast burrito,” Kwon, 28, said. 

Coreanos Kitchen

- B1, 657-11 Sinsa-dong,

- Gangnam-gu, Seoul

- (02) 547-4427

- www.coreanoskitchen.com

- Open 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, till 11 p.m. Fridays; 12:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdays; 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays; closed Mondays

- Tacos cost 3,300 won to 4,000 won each, tostadas cost 5,500 won, tortas 10,000 won, burritos 9,000 won to 12,000 won and dessert costs 15,000 won

By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldcorp.com)