Gangneung Station gukbap restaurant for solo dining: Pick Up To You

I'm a random blogger who dreams of becoming a travel influencer, and I just got back from a Gangneung trip at the end of August. It was a 2-night, 3-day trip — long if you call it long, short if you call it short. And you can't leave a trip without eating gukbap, right? On the way back I wanted to buy some bread as a gift, and the bakery I was heading to happened to be near Gangneung Station. So I looked up solo-dining gukbap spots near Gangneung Station, and there it was — a restaurant called Pick Up To You right nearby!

I'll introduce the bakery next time — stay tuned! For now, let's go eat some gukbap.

Where is Gukbap Cafe Pick Up To You, and how early does it open?

So this is the gukbap restaurant I stopped by as the last course of my Gangneung trip — Gukbap Cafe Pick Up To You. Turns out the actual Gangneung Station is right behind it! Imagine stepping off the train at Gangneung Station and immediately having a bowl of gukbap — how good would that be?

I'll go through the menu properly in a bit! Since it opens at 7am, it's great for grabbing a hearty meal early in the morning. True to a gukbap restaurant, service is fast.

A gukbap restaurant with a café-like interior of full-height windows

True to its name, the inside of Gukbap Cafe Pick Up To You really does feel like a café. The vibe is very much Gangneung.

The view through the big windows is quite lovely too. This is the taste of Gangneung!

There was even a spot to write postcards, so I wrote one, haha.

How to order by QR code, and what's on the menu

At Gukbap Cafe Pick Up To You, instead of calling the owner over, you order by scanning a QR code at the table. The menu had a good variety: beef bone sundubu gukbap, Chodang sundubu spicy hangover soup, beef bone gomtang, handmade pork cutlet, ox head gomtang, and more.

Let's take a seat and place our order.

I ordered spicy hangover gukbap, Korean beef bone gomtang, a tasting portion of jokbal, and an americano! The americano was to-go!

True to the name gukbap cafe, there was also a wide range of coffee and drinks.

How do the Korean beef bone gomtang and tasting jokbal taste?

The basic side dishes at Gukbap Cafe Pick Up To You — kimchi, kkakdugi, and tofu — were set out first. They were exactly right.

Then the gukbap and tasting jokbal arrived. The aroma was incredible — it really brings your appetite back to life! Looks pretty neat, right?

Honestly, it was better than expected. Usually with gukbap restaurants, you have to walk into a shabby-looking sign to find the good ones, but here the interior is pretty AND the gukbap is delicious!

With the ox head gukbap, you can add salt, pepper, and a spicy seasoning paste,

and I accidentally dumped in way too much pepper, so it turned out spicy. Be careful sprinkling the pepper! Personally I prefer not adding the seasoning paste, so I skipped that.

The jokbal was so tender and tasty! I found myself thinking I should have ordered the full-size jokbal instead of just the tasting portion.

They were generous with the ingredients, which kept me full and satisfied for the roughly 5-hour drive home. Gukbap really is love. I mixed the rice into the soup and finished every last bit.

Is Gukbap Cafe Pick Up To You worth it for solo diners?

This time I shared my visit to Gukbap Cafe Pick Up To You, a solo-dining gukbap spot near Gangneung Station that I stopped at as the last course of my Gangneung trip. I honestly went in without high expectations, but it exceeded them. Rich, tasty gukbap, tender jokbal, and — though it's missing from the photos — a refreshing americano rounded off the trip perfectly.

I had never come to the Gangneung Station side of town before, but the downtown area turned out to be bigger than I thought, with plenty to see and plenty to eat. If you ever find yourself near Gangneung Station, or you're hungry early in the morning, I'd definitely recommend giving this place a visit.

Honestly I was craving the pale, milky-white gukbap, but I suddenly switched to gomtang when ordering. So I'll have to go back another time for the pale sundae gukbap (blood sausage soup). Next time I visit Gangneung, I'll be back for that pale sundae pork gukbap. And if any of you know other great gukbap spots, please let me know — I'd really appreciate it.

• Gukbap Cafe Pick Up To You
• Address: 6 Gangneung-daero 303beon-gil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon, South Korea
• Hours: 07:00–18:00
• Last order: 17:5 (as posted)