Abalone restaurant with private rooms, Gyeongju: Wando Cham Jeonbokjip

Recommended for abalone porridge for breakfast in Gyeongju, abalone seafood stew for lunch, and a meal with parents (private rooms available).

Why Wando Cham Jeonbokjip counts as a Gyeongju local favorite

Wando Cham Jeonbokjip is an abalone specialty restaurant on Alcheonnam-ro in Gyeongju, and I dropped by while traveling around town. I love hunting down truly local favorites wherever I travel, at home or abroad, and this trip's find, a Gyeongju restaurant with amazing seafood stew, was Wando Cham Jeonbokjip 💘 While we were eating, a group of local elders came in and settled in for a chatty meal together, and I thought, this is really the real deal — a genuine local spot!

Wando Cham Jeonbokjip menu and prices

True to its name, Wando Cham Jeonbokjip's menu is built entirely around abalone. Abalone seafood stew is the main draw, alongside abalone porridge, abalone cold raw fish soup (mulhoe), and abalone sashimi rice. I love abalone so much that it was almost a shame to have so many abalone dishes and only one stomach 😭

• Abalone seafood stew (small) ₩31,000
• Abalone porridge ₩12,000

First came a neat spread of side dishes — salad, stir-fried anchovies, and various seasoned vegetables (namul) — enough on their own to finish a bowl of rice. What we'd ordered was the Gyeongju favorites: abalone porridge and abalone seafood stew. The abalone porridge from Wando Cham Jeonbokjip arrived first.

Abalone porridge, ₩12,000: savory, never pasty

Wando Cham Jeonbokjip's abalone porridge (₩12,000) stands out from its color alone. At restaurants that don't do it well, the abalone innards aren't ground finely enough, leaving a pasty taste in the first bite — but this porridge was so~ savory 💘 The abalone itself was chewy and cut into generous, easy-to-eat pieces, and the innards were ground so finely that I got all the savoriness with none of the pastiness.

The signature dish: abalone seafood stew (small), ₩31,000

The dish that's made Wando Cham Jeonbokjip a local legend is the abalone seafood stew. I'm actually from Busan, but I have a friend living in Gyeongju, and this was the place they recommended. "You have to order the abalone seafood stew when you go," they told me — and now I understand why.

True to its name, the abalone seafood stew came with a huge abalone plus shrimp, gonyi (skate/pollock roe sac), octopus, and more — and bean sprouts, which are non-negotiable in a Gyeongju seafood stew! Crunchy bean sprouts tossed together with the seafood in a special sauce fragrant with sesame oil 😱 The smell alone was out of this world.

Is Wando Cham Jeonbokjip good for a meal with parents? Private rooms inside

Wando Cham Jeonbokjip has private rooms, making it a great Gyeongju restaurant to bring your parents to. The sesame oil aroma drifted through the room, and the slightly spicy sauce was rich and savory without being harsh. It was almost a shame it was just my husband and me — parents would love this place! If you're looking for a spot to have a meal with your parents in Gyeongju, Wando Cham Jeonbokjip is worth a visit. Sure enough, while we ate, we saw plenty of family groups of all ages, from local elders to younger visitors. Next time I'm in Gyeongju, I'm definitely bringing my parents to this local favorite.

The abalone in the seafood stew was so tender you could cut it with your teeth, and the gonyi was fantastic — soft enough to melt in your mouth. The bean sprouts kept their crunch and tied everything together, so we finished the abalone seafood stew completely, nothing left 🐷

How far is Wando Cham Jeonbokjip from Hwangnidan-gil?

Wando Cham Jeonbokjip isn't far from Hwangnidan-gil, Gyeongju's main street, so it's a great lunch option! If you're looking for a genuine local favorite in Gyeongju, stop by Wando Cham Jeonbokjip for a delicious lunch of abalone seafood stew, or try the gentle, easy-on-the-stomach abalone porridge in the morning 💘