Paju ssambap restaurant weekday lunch with mom, self-serve veggie bar

So generous

Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap: location and hours

• Location: 55-10 Dolgoji-gil, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap
• Hours: 11:00–22:00
• Weekday break time 15:30–17:00
• Last order 20:00
• Parking: private lot
• Paju Pay accepted

I came to Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap, a delicious Korean set-course restaurant near Simhaksan mountain. I'd usually only come with my husband, but this time my mom joined us for lunch too. She was super happy with it!

There are so many great restaurants around Simhaksan in Paju! Among them, Deulkkot Ssambap is famous for its ssambap (wrapped rice) set menu. The banchan (side dishes) are generous and taste great, so it seems like more and more regulars keep coming. Every time I visit, there are more customers.

Is parking plentiful?

There's plenty of parking space right in front of the restaurant. Besides that spot, there's also parking on the left side of the building. It might get a bit crowded on weekends, but there are still spots scattered around the restaurant.

There are all sorts of celebrity autographs stuck on the walls. On weekends, there's also a shaded outdoor waiting area so you can wait in the shade.

Two dining halls: a quiet spot and group seating

The dining space is split into two areas — the main hall with the kitchen has more people. If you want somewhere a bit quieter, the hall past the waiting area is a good choice. For groups, you can reserve ahead and get a private spot there!

Deul-jeongsik vs. Kkot-jeongsik: what's the difference?

The menu has Deul-jeongsik and Kkot-jeongsik sets, with Kkot-jeongsik also including grilled fish. If there's a group of you, ordering Deul-jeongsik and adding grilled fish on the side works well too ^^

The course starts with pumpkin porridge, plus all the banchan

True to its reputation as a great set-course restaurant near Simhaksan, the meal comes out course-style. First, pumpkin porridge arrives as a starter — just the right amount of sweet and delicious. Then they simmer doenjang stew (fermented soybean paste stew) right at the table. The stew is refillable too.

So many different banchan come out. Since they're all homemade, they have that nostalgic feeling of food your mom used to make. Every single one is delicious!

Ssam vegetables come from the self-serve bar

You have to grab your own ssam (wrap) vegetables from the self-serve bar. Doing it this way actually works out better because you only take the vegetables you actually eat. We're not big fans of peppers, chicory, or beet greens, haha.

The banchan next to it are also unlimited refills. They even have rice crackers to snack on while you wait, so this Simhaksan restaurant serves everything generously.

The rice comes in a stone pot, so it takes a little time. Since it's freshly cooked, it tastes really good. They scoop some rice out into a side bowl and pour hot water over it to make nurungji (scorched rice) ^^

The main event of Deul-jeongsik: griddled pork and squid stir-fries

Here's the star banchan of the Deul-jeongsik: pork stir-fry and squid stir-fry. They come out on a hot griddle, so you can keep eating them without them getting cold ^^ The portions are super generous too! You won't come up short.

The squid was so tender I wanted to learn their secret ^^ It's not easy to cook regular squid this soft and plump — impressive! You can really feel the skill behind this Simhaksan set-course restaurant.

The ssam vegetables are so fresh that the wraps taste amazing too. The spicy sauce on the squid stir-fry is so good it keeps making me reach for more ^^ The onions that come with it are cooked down soft and sweet too.

They say mixing the pork and squid together tastes even better. There's plenty of sauce, so it blends together nicely when mixed. It's somewhat spicy, so if you can't handle spice, scrape off some of the sauce and just pick out the meat ^^

Finishing with savory nurungji

The nurungji (scorched rice) was so good I deliberately left a lot of rice behind. These banchan from the Simhaksan set-course restaurant are delicious even piled on top of the savory nurungji.

Even dessert coffee and ice cream

They even have coffee and ice cream ready for dessert. This Simhaksan restaurant seems like a place kids would love too. Come have a meal at Simhaksan Deulkkot Ssambap, a set-course restaurant with generous, varied banchan!