Sokcho restaurant for perilla oil noodles and potato pancake: Topgol Makguksu

Sokcho Topgol Makguksu by Sokcho Beach

A great makguksu spot by Sokcho Beach: Sokcho Topgol Makguksu.

With the Ferris wheel right next door and the express bus terminal nearby, this is a great Sokcho restaurant to fit into a travel itinerary. We came for a relaxed late lunch at around 2 p.m.

The restaurant is spacious, and perhaps because people are travelling, guests came and went while we ate rather than strictly keeping to lunch hours. Best of all, there is no break time, so you can eat whenever you arrive.

Sokcho Topgol Makguksu menu and our order

• Perilla oil buckwheat makguksu ₩13,000
• Boiled pork (large) ₩30,000
• Potato pancake ₩17,000
• Acorn jelly ₩17,000
• Single-serving boiled pork ₩17,000
• Buckwheat makguksu (large) ₩13,000
• Pollack sashimi makguksu ₩13,000
• Perilla seed buckwheat makguksu ₩13,000
• Large dumpling soup ₩12,000
• Seafood perilla seed buckwheat kalguksu ₩12,000
• Buckwheat makguksu ₩10,000
• Buckwheat large dumplings ₩10,000
• Buckwheat pancake roll ₩10,000
• Children's set meal ₩6,000
• Extra noodles ₩5,000

What we ordered

• Perilla seed buckwheat makguksu ₩13,000
• Potato pancake ₩17,000
• Single-serving boiled pork ₩17,000
• Coca-Cola Zero ₩2,000

The side dishes were shredded radish salad and young-radish kimchi. The young-radish kimchi was especially delicious.

After finishing, extra side dishes are available at the self-service bar.

It seems many Sokcho restaurants serve drinks in 500 ml plastic bottles when you order one!

Since it is right by the sea, the little side plates are cute shell-shaped dishes.

Perilla oil makguksu, boiled pork, and potato pancake

Everything we ordered looked so appetizing 😋 With Sokcho Topgol Makguksu's patented perilla oil buckwheat makguksu, single-serving boiled pork, and potato pancake, we got to try a nice variety, and it was a generous spread for two. Honestly, there was so much that we packed up the potato pancake rather than waste it and decided to eat it at our accommodation :)

The single-serving boiled pork was delicious with no unpleasant smell. It was tasty wrapped with seasoned pollack sashimi, dried radish strips, garlic, and chili, but even better alongside the makguksu.

For the perilla oil buckwheat makguksu, a trademark application with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, eat it as is first without adding any other seasoning, then add dongchimi (radish water kimchi) broth.

They press the buckwheat noodles to order, and apparently the owner's secret is a blend of Sokcho's signature squid ink and medicinal mushroom powder from Seoraksan. The perilla oil buckwheat makguksu was nutty, with a lovely noodle texture too.

When you are nearly done, add the dongchimi broth for a completely different flavor and a refreshing finish! I definitely recommend trying it with the broth. As befits a Sokcho perilla oil makguksu destination, it is delicious however you eat it :)

Potato pancake packed up for our accommodation

A large potato pancake with a seriously generous portion.

The potato pancake was crisp outside and soft inside. Maybe because it is made with thinly shredded potato, it had just the right texture while staying tender. There was so much that we packed it up, enjoyed a lively swim at our accommodation, and ate the rest with dinner. It is tastier warm, of course, but still delicious cold. I also appreciated that they thoughtfully included soy dipping sauce!

The perilla oil buckwheat makguksu + boiled pork combination is simply the best..

Sokcho Topgol Makguksu is a Sokcho Beach restaurant visited by celebrities and mukbang YouTuber Heebab too.

They also sell dried buckwheat noodles, and some guests were buying them. The noodles served at the restaurant are not dried noodles but freshly pressed in-house, so I think visiting to eat them here would be even better.

Pure buckwheat cookies with no wheat flour. They seem like they would have a nuttiness different from scorched-rice snacks.

There is an indoor waiting area, so it looks like you can wait comfortably even when it is cold or hot!

There is also a photo booth to make memories of your Sokcho trip. I recommend Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch as a restaurant near Sokcho Beach and the Sokcho Express Bus Terminal.