Gagyeong-dong fish grill lunch sets, second visit: Jeju Badang

Jeju Badang is a grilled fish and braised hairtail restaurant on the 2nd floor of a building at 28 Seohyeonnam-ro, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju. It's open daily 10:30–22:00 with a break time from 15:00–17:00, last order for lunch is 14:30 and last order overall is 20:30, and parking is free in the lot in front of and behind the building.

Last time I stumbled onto this place while searching for a good hairtail stew spot and it was delicious, so I came back again! I don't usually revisit places even after a good meal, but this is already my second visit here. This time I had the grilled atka mackerel and boneless hairtail stew, and seeing the whole spread laid out on the table surprised me all over again haha.

It's not just the main dish that impresses — the salad bar has so much variety that I walked out completely full after just one lunch! Around noon customers kept streaming in, so it seems like quite a popular lunch spot.

Where is Jeju Badang and where do you park?

Jeju Badang is easy to find heading up from Gagyeong Xi Apartment toward Gagyeong Ipark Complex 5, on the 2nd floor of the building with Hanyang Gogitjip on the 1st floor. There's parking space in front of and behind the building, and when I visited there was plenty of room, so it was easy to come by car.

We arrived right around lunchtime, and as it hit noon customers kept coming in one after another!

What does the dining room look like?

Being a fairly new place, Jeju Badang felt clean and polished overall. Once inside, it's decorated to evoke a Jeju island mood, true to its name, which gives it a different feel from a typical grilled fish restaurant.

The space is clean with a well laid-out dining area, so it seemed like a good spot to bring family too. It's great for grilled fish or hairtail stew like we came for, but it also felt like the kind of place you'd think of when looking for somewhere to take your parents for Korean food haha.

Play room and kids' menu at Jeju Badang

What caught my eye this time was the play room haha. When eating out with kids, food matters, but a lot of parents specifically look for restaurants with a play room too, right?! Jeju Badang has a play room set up inside and also had high chairs. For families dining with kids, this kind of thing must be a real convenience. There's even a separate kids' menu with a half-portion of grilled atka mackerel and a bowl of rice.

Lunch special menu and prices

The menu ranges from grilled fish and hairtail stew to sets meant for sharing among several people. What caught my attention this time was the lunch special. We ordered the grilled atka mackerel with pot rice, and the boneless hairtail stew with pot rice. The lunch special atka mackerel set with pot rice is ₩17,000, and the boneless hairtail stew with pot rice is ₩23,000.

Best of all, both menus came with salad bar access. It's not just a single main dish — you get pot rice plus the whole salad bar — so if you're looking for a Cheongju lunch special, it's worth comparing this setup.

How do the grilled atka mackerel and boneless hairtail taste?

When the food arrived all laid out, the portion size alone was surprising!

It wasn't just a lot of small side dishes scattered around — seeing the whole spread across the table, I let out an involuntary wow.

Browsing the salad bar, I was surprised at how much more variety there was than I expected. I found myself grabbing a bit of everything even before the main dish arrived haha.

But that's not all! Once I got to the salad bar, the variety was genuinely impressive. There was even chicken, served with a separate seasoned chicken sauce, plus japchae (stir-fried glass noodles) and gangjeong (crispy sweet snack) that I brought back to our table. There was even iced tea, so it was fun to keep grabbing bits and pieces while waiting for the main dish.

Then the grilled atka mackerel came out, and the portion was substantial too. The flesh was soft and went well with rice, and the fish itself was so tasty I kept reaching for more.

The pot rice was so good too! You scoop out the rice first, and at the end you can make scorched rice tea out of what's left in the pot, which is a nice warm way to finish after the grilled fish.

I ordered the boneless hairtail stew again because of how much I enjoyed it last time, and it was satisfying once more. I also love the radish in hairtail stew, and eating the seasoning-soaked radish with rice is one of my favorite parts. Above all, the seasoning was just right for my taste, pairing well with the pot rice. And since it's boneless, there was much less hassle picking out fish bones while eating, which made the meal easier too!

Verdict after a second visit to Jeju Badang

This time I tried the grilled atka mackerel, something different from last time, and realized I don't need to stick to the same order every time I come back. When a place is still satisfying on a second visit, that's when it stops being about finding somewhere new and becomes a place you can comfortably return to whenever the craving hits. If you're looking for good Cheongju restaurants or Korean food in Gagyeong-dong and want to properly enjoy grilled fish and hairtail stew like I did, I'd recommend the lunch special :)