Suwon barley rice buffet: mackerel & char-grilled pork sets, Boriook

Where is Boriook Main Branch, and is there parking?

Boriook Main Branch (보리옥 본점) is an all-you-can-eat barley rice spot in Yeongtong-dong, Suwon, a 9-minute walk from Mangpo Station Exit 1. It has its own parking lot in front, and plenty of people seemed to arrive by car.

It's close to our home! So we rushed over to this newly opened Mangpo Station spot right away 🙃 The whole building is the Boriook restaurant, and the exterior looks neat and clean.

What are the interior and seating like at Boriook Main Branch?

The interior is spacious, with lots of 4-person chair tables, both open seating and partitioned seats. It feels tidy and well kept inside too.

At the entrance there's a Catch Table check-in tablet and a fridge selling sesame oil and gochujang (red chili paste). Inside, a wide room is filled with 4-person chair tables 🪑 The open seating can easily hold big groups, and the partitioned seats let smaller parties eat in privacy!

High chairs and disposable aprons are also ready for you. The overall interior has a trendy hanok (traditional Korean house) feel that calms you down on its own 🧘‍♀️

Boriook Main Branch menu prices and how to order

You order on the tablet at each table. While you go fetch food from the self-bar, the staff set out the main dishes. Super fast 👍

• Barley rice set ₩13,000 (per person)
• Mackerel set ₩15,000 (per person)
• Grilled pork set ₩16,000 (per person)
• Soju and beer ₩5,000
• Makgeolli ₩4,000
• Unlimited makgeolli ₩5,000 per person

Considering it's all-you-can-eat, the prices are reasonable. Unlimited makgeolli (Korean rice wine) is ₩5,000 per person, so if you love makgeolli, this place is a perfect match :-)

My husband and I ordered the mackerel set (₩15,000), the grilled gochujang pork set (₩16,000) and one bottle of Jinro soju (₩5,000).

By the way, at the counter I saw that Boriook Main Branch is a Suwon Pay merchant. Naver FacePay works too.

What's at the Boriook Main Branch self-bar?

The self-bar lines up sungnyung (scorched rice tea), japchae (glass noodle stir-fry) and braised tofu, then assorted namul (seasoned vegetables), barley rice and white rice, puffed rice snacks and drinks. We went straight to the self-bar after ordering, and my jaw dropped at the endless food.

On the far left are sungnyung, japchae and braised tofu. In the middle are all kinds of namul, which work equally well as bibimbap toppings or side dishes.

There are two kinds of rice: barley rice and white rice. (Barley rice is already included in your basic setting, so you don't need to fetch it at first!)

On the far right, puffed rice snacks and assorted drinks make sure dessert is well covered too.

The mackerel set and grilled gochujang pork set spread

The mains of the mackerel set and the grilled gochujang pork set are half a grilled mackerel and grilled gochujang pork, served with doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew). While I was busily loading up at the self-bar, the mains were already waiting at our table.

It's a 4-person table, and the spread filled the whole thing. So many different dishes!

The mains are half a grilled mackerel and grilled gochujang pork, plus a wonderfully nutty doenjang jjigae. How can a stew be this mild yet this savory? It wasn't harsh at all, just deep in flavor.

Everything I brought from the self-bar! Pretty much every Korean side dish you can think of is there. The barley rice was plump and sticky too.

Barley rice bibimbap made with self-bar namul

I started by making barley rice bibimbap with the gochujang and sesame oil on the table. That was step one before the real meal.

I piled on all kinds of namul, added two spoonfuls of gochujang and finished with sesame oil, and the mouth-watering bibimbap was done. I mixed it vigorously, swish swish.

The namul were all fresh and substantial, so the bibimbap couldn't possibly be bad.

The bibimbap was perfect on its own, and with acorn jelly, kimchi, fried snacks and other sides, my mouth was having a great time.

How are the grilled mackerel and flame-grilled gochujang pork?

The grilled mackerel had thick flesh and was cooked crispy outside and moist inside, and the gochujang pork had a light smoky char. The mains were flawless too.

The mackerel had thick flesh and was grilled just right, crispy outside and moist inside, so a smile spreads the moment it hits your mouth.

The flame-grilled gochujang pork is, well, what can I say, you know. There's a grill area next to the self-bar, and I peeked as I passed by: they really do proper wire-grilling. It has just the right smoky char, so even wrapping the pork alone in a leaf is delicious. Of course, with bibimbap it's even better.

Boriook Main Branch desserts: puffed rice, sungnyung, plum tea, Job's tears tea

For dessert from the self-bar I had puffed rice, sungnyung, plum tea, Job's tears tea and even an iced americano. It was a really, really huge Boriook spread, but my husband and I were drunk on the flavor again that day and cleared all of it.

And then we stuffed ourselves with dessert too. The puffed rice was crispy with grains of rice dotted through it, and I kept going back for more.

The sungnyung and plum tea make a perfect K-dessert too.

The true finish to a hearty, long meal: Job's tears tea and an iced americano! The Job's tears tea, which I hadn't had in ages, was rich and smooth, a perfect ending!

Is Boriook Main Branch worth visiting again?

The restaurant is clean and spacious, and with its own parking lot, nothing was inconvenient. Above all, I could enjoy a wide variety of high-quality Korean food, and it felt like I'd finally found a proper hanjeongsik (Korean full-course) restaurant after a long time. If you're looking for an all-you-can-eat barley rice buffet in Suwon, I recommend Boriook Main Branch!