Suwon grilled fish restaurant, 5-minute CatchTable wait: Godeungeo

Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda, a Suwon grilled fish spot everyone's been talking about

What is Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch, and where do you park?

Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda is famous as one of Suwon's best grilled fish restaurants, where you can enjoy a neat Korean table of fresh live sashimi, grilled fish, and braised fish.

The most convenient thing about this place was the huge parking lot. The lot is enormous, so even during busy weekday and weekend lunch hours you can park comfortably.

How long is the weekday lunch wait, and what is the dining room like?

A wait is inevitable at a popular spot! I visited right at 12pm on a weekday, and even though it wasn't the weekend, the huge parking lot was packed and there was a wait.

Waiting works through CatchTable — register your phone number and you get a KakaoTalk alert when it's your turn. There's a dedicated waiting area with comfortable seating, plus a coffee vending machine so you can sip a coffee while you wait.

I had five parties ahead of me and figured I'd be waiting a while, but nope — seated in just 5 minutes! Maybe because it was a weekday lunch, everyone ate fast and the staff moved incredibly quickly too.

The inside of Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda was as spacious as the parking lot. The dining room is divided into sections, so it's comfortable for groups or anyone looking for a family meal spot.

Even though the place is big, it was packed tight with guests — most of them around my parents' age, and I know a restaurant that age group frequents is usually a real hidden gem, so I was already excited before even ordering!

On one side there's an open kitchen with a wood-fired oven constantly grilling fish, plus a tank of live, swimming domestic mackerel — fun to watch. Not frozen fish, but fresh — that's the real premium quality!

Menu lineup and the unlimited banchan bar

The star of the menu at Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda is definitely the grilled fish! Options include mackerel, imyeonsu (hairtail sole), Spanish mackerel, cutlassfish, croaker, and bakdae. Every grilled fish set comes with rice, soup, banchan, the grilled fish, and a taste of gochujang bulgogi — and if two of you go, you can each order a different fish!

The regular set is already generous, but for those wanting to try even more variety, I recommend the premium set (myeongpum jeongsik). It's even on a discount event starting in September!

For sashimi there's croaker, flounder, mackerel, and bluefin amberjack, plus mulhoe (cold raw fish soup) and sushi — a really wide range. You can order sashimi à la carte, or go for a set menu that lets you try several fish at once!

Last are the braised dishes — mackerel and cutlassfish — orderable from two people up. There's also a gochujang bulgogi single dish for anyone who loves meat, worth keeping in mind!

And one of Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda's standout features — the extra banchan bar! Some restaurants only offer refills of kimchi and seasoning, but here you can enjoy a huge variety of side dishes, unlimited. It genuinely felt like being at a Korean buffet!

How the grilled cutlassfish and grilled mackerel taste, one fish per person

Parents love it, but surprisingly grilled fish also ranks top-tier among what people living alone crave. If you're in a small studio or one-bedroom with poor ventilation, grilling fish at home is a nightmare, so it's one of those dishes you just have to eat out!

I ordered grilled cutlassfish and grilled mackerel. With all the banchan and soup that came along, the table was truly packed — generous doesn't even begin to describe it! With so many different side dishes, it felt like eating a home-cooked meal from mom.

Can you see how plump the mackerel and cutlassfish are?! Nice and fleshy, crisp on the outside and moist inside — just looking at it makes your mouth water! Being wood-fired seems to make the skin extra crispy.

With one fish per person, you can pick out big chunks of flesh without worrying about sharing! Soy sauce and wasabi are provided too, so you can dip to your own taste.

A bite of grilled fish with warm rice and you can clean a whole bowl in no time! Between the banchan and the seaweed soup, everything was so good I couldn't put my chopsticks down!

The taste of gochujang bulgogi that came as a sample was so good too — I was ready to order more if the portion was small, but the free serving was this generous, so it really felt like a full, satisfying Korean spread!

The rice was cooked so perfectly sticky and sweet!!! The grilled cutlassfish is soft and mild — recommended for those who like a light flavor. The grilled mackerel is moist and rich — recommended for those who like a savory, oily fish. Personally, I love oily fish, so mackerel was my top pick!

After finishing the meal, a cup of sikhye (sweet rice drink) from the banchan bar was the perfect finish! There's also mouthwash and a hand-washing station on one side of the restaurant, so you can leave feeling completely fresh.

Who should eat at Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch?

• Anyone looking for a great grilled fish restaurant in Suwon
• Anyone wanting a family meal spot to bring their parents to
• Anyone wanting to try fresh, domestic mackerel
• Anyone who wants a restaurant with easy parking
• Anyone looking for a generous, neat Korean meal

Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch is one of those places I'd love to bring my parents to! Give it a try sometime~!