Cod roe stew set in Jangan-gu, Suwon, open on Chuseok: Hwadeogeuro

I went on a date in Suwon after a while and heard there was a great spot for grilled fish, so we checked it out — and it was so good I have to recommend it. This is Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Suwon KT Wiz Park Branch, a Korean restaurant in Suwon. It was spacious and clean, the food was delicious, and the self-bar was so generous that I want to go back. It's open as usual during the Chuseok holiday too, so it'd be great for a family meal. Here's my honest review!

Where is Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Suwon KT Wiz Park Branch, and what are its hours?

Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Suwon KT Wiz Park Branch is located at 229 Suil-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, and is open daily from 11:00 to 21:00. Parking is available, and the restaurant operates as usual during the Chuseok holiday.

Where do you park at Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo?

The restaurant is about a 5-minute drive from Suwon KT Wiz Park. There's a private parking lot right behind the restaurant, so parking was easy. If it's full, you can park at the nearby public lot instead and just tell the counter staff — you'll get parking support. It's only 230m from the restaurant, so it's not far at all! Public parking lot: 19 Geumdang-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon-si.

A whole second floor: room for group dinners in Jangan-gu

Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Suwon KT Wiz Park Branch occupies the entire second floor of a fairly large building, so it felt very spacious and comfortable. The tables were wide with generous spacing, making it an ideal spot for family meals or group dinners. It also seemed like a great place to stop by after a baseball game. Seating is arranged on either side of a large central self-bar, so the overall layout felt clean and well organized.

Menu and what the couple ordered

The menu features seafood sets like grilled fish, spicy fish roe stew, and braised mackerel. They grill mackerel, Alaska pollock, Spanish mackerel, and cutlassfish over a wood fire — a real variety, and delicious enough that even people who don't usually like fish could enjoy it.

• Wood-fired mackerel grill set
• Cod roe stew (gonialtang) set

Since the restaurant's very name is Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo ("mackerel grilled in a wood-fire oven"), we ordered one mackerel grill set, plus the roe stew my husband loves. With that ordered, let's go check out the self-bar haha~

What's on the self-bar? Unlimited bibimbap and side dishes

At the Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Suwon KT Wiz Park Branch self-bar, there's a separate bibimbap (mixed rice) station first. White rice was unlimited, and there was some good-looking sesame oil to go with it.

Right next to the bibimbap were rows of really tasty side dishes to go with it. Seasoned crab, lettuce wraps, cubed radish kimchi (kkakdugi), seasoned deodeok root, crunchy peppers, seasoned lotus root — pretty much the full lineup of classic side dishes, and everything looked so fresh and well kept that it was genuinely exciting haha!

On the other side there was a whole spread of extra side dishes — fried eggplant, ham, japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes). Honestly, even one menu per person comes to about ₩30,000, so getting unlimited bibimbap and this many side dishes on top of it is really good value.

With all the good-looking side dishes piled onto our plates, it felt like a full traditional Korean set meal even before the grilled fish and stew showed up — it was that generous haha.

How does the wood-fired grilled mackerel taste?

After exploring the self-bar, the mackerel and the stew arrived pretty quickly.

Starting with the grilled mackerel — mackerel is naturally oily, but the right amount of fat had rendered out while it grilled, so it tasted light, not greasy. It was grilled just right so the flesh stayed moist and well cooked — a really delicious grilled fish. One bite and I could tell that even the other fish on the menu, like Spanish mackerel or cutlassfish, would be just as good.

Cod roe stew (gonialtang) set: a hangover cure worth ordering

The stew was honestly the best cod roe stew I've had in a while! It was packed with cod milt, roe, and freshwater shrimp, so it felt like great value, and if you're looking for a hangover-curing meal, this is the one to order. Highly recommend!

To finish, there's coffee, plum tea, and iced tea available, so you can round off the meal with something refreshing.

Both the grilled fish and the stew were so good that I want to go back — Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Suwon KT Wiz Park Branch is a Korean restaurant in Suwon worth revisiting. It's open as usual during the Chuseok holiday too, so it would make a great choice for a family meal! That's the end of my honest review!