Gwangalli fish restaurant, mild seasoned crab lunch: Hwadeogeuro

Where in Gwangalli can you have a grilled fish lunch without worrying about the smell?

Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Gwangalli Waterside Park Branch (화덕으로간고등어 광안리수변공원점) is a Gwangalli grilled fish restaurant where the fish is cooked in a wood-fired oven, so you hardly smell fishy when you walk out. My partner (Ppangppang) loves grilled fish, and I was desperate for seasoned raw crab (ganjang gejang-style, but in a spicy marinade) at lunchtime..

Honestly, after grilled fish you always worry a little about the smell, right? If you have nothing planned afterward it's fine, but if you do, you keep sniffing yourself to check.. But I found a place that grills in a wood-fired oven, with zero smell and fish that's crisp outside and juicy inside!!!

• Address: 147 Millaksubyeon-ro, Suyeong-gu, Busan (2nd floor)
• Hours: Thu–Tue 11:00–21:00, last order 20:15, closed every Wednesday
• Parking: none (₩1,000 covered at the Waterside Children's Park public parking lot)

Location and how to get to Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Gwangalli Waterside Park Branch

The restaurant is a 3-minute walk from the Lotte Castle Apartment bus stop. It's across from the waterside park walking path, so it's also nice for a stroll with a sea view!

It's on the 2nd floor, but there's an elevator, so it's easy to visit with a stroller or older family members.

Parking help at the Waterside Children's Park public lot

The restaurant is very close to the Waterside Children's Park public parking lot, so if you come by car, parking there is cheaper and easier. They cover ₩1,000 of parking per table, and the rates are low anyway: ₩300 per 10 minutes, ₩1,800 per hour 👍

Is the inside good for group meals?

The interior is huge and the windows let in an ocean view. The moment I walked in, the spaciousness and the sea view through the windows were so good!

There are lots of private rooms, so it's good for gatherings; there are bar tables along the windows, so it's good for eating alone; and there are baby chairs, so it's good for family meals 👍

Fish grilled in a 500°C wood-fired oven

The fish is cooked in one go in a wood-fired oven that reaches a whopping 500°C, so you really get the crisp-outside, moist-inside experience!! And maybe because it's wood-fired, I couldn't smell fish inside the restaurant 👍

How to order and the menu

You need to order one set per person from elementary school age, and it takes about 10 to 15 minutes after ordering. Basic side dishes are served, so get your table setting first and then use the self-bar!

The main menu has fish sets, half-dried pollack (kodari), spicy pork stir-fry (jeyuk), seasoned crab and more, and there's a separate kids' menu too.

Review event and origin labels

If you write a Naver receipt review or post on a blog, Instagram and so on, you get a drink or 3 soy-marinated shrimp, so give it a try! The country-of-origin board is near the entrance :)

What's at the self-bar?

The self-bar has side dishes, lettuce and cabbage for wraps, macaroni and japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), plus nurungji tea (sungnyung, scorched rice water) and white rice.

Plenty of the macaroni I love~~ and plenty of the seaweed stems Ppangppang loves~ I was happy to eat as much as I wanted^^

Atka mackerel set and seasoned crab set: what we ordered for two

We ordered one grilled fish set and one seasoned crab set.

Atka mackerel set, ₩17,000: crisp down to the skin

The Atka mackerel set is ₩17,000, and the bones of the wood-fired fish come off in one go, so I'm giving it 100 points right away haha. The owner told us to eat the skin too, saying it's crisp, so we tried it, and the skin really was crunchy while the flesh was tender. Must be the wood-fired oven 👍

Choosing gondeure rice or barley rice

When you order a set you can choose your rice, and we picked gondeure rice (thistle greens rice) for +₩2,000 and barley rice at no extra charge. White rice is at the self-bar anyway haha

West Coast blue crab seasoned raw crab set, ₩20,000: fine even if you can't handle spice

The West Coast blue crab seasoned raw crab set is ₩20,000, and the sauce isn't too spicy, so it was fine even for me, with my kid-level spice tolerance. Just look at how plump this crab is!

I fetched white rice from the self-bar to eat with the crab. Scoop a big spoonful of fluffy white rice, pick out the crab meat and put it on top, and ahhhhhh 👍👍 The sauce itself was delicious.

Cleared again today~♡

Dessert corner and restroom

There's nurungji tea at the self-bar, but there's also a separate dessert corner!!!

The dessert corner has coffee, barley tea, plum tea and candy. I was very happy that I could finish a tasty meal and have dessert right there :)

The restrooms are separate for men and women, and the women's has 2 sinks and 3 stalls, so there's no long wait, which was nice. And above all, the restroom was pretty^^

Overall verdict on Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Gwangalli Waterside Park Branch

• Fish grilled at 500°C is crisp outside and moist inside
• Spacious interior with lots of rooms, good for gatherings
• Self-bar and dessert corner make for an easy meal
• No fish smell inside the restaurant or on you after eating
• Beach and waterside park are close, so there's plenty to do nearby