Gwacheon Science Museum duck BBQ and jeyuk lunch for 5: Deo Chadol

Before visiting the National Science Museum in Gwacheon, a summer-vacation outing with my kid, I stopped for a hearty lunch at Deo Chadol (더차돌), a well-known Gwacheon restaurant.

I love duck, and the place was chosen in the 2024 Gwacheon Restaurant Contest, so my expectations were high. It worked well for a family meal because kids and adults can each have their own thing: the kids had the nutty sulfur duck brisket BBQ, and the adults had the spicy duck jeyuk (stir-fried spicy pork-style duck) lunch set. Here's my review of this restaurant near the Gwacheon science museum.

Deo Chadol location and hours

• 📍Location: 5 Dwitgol 2-ro, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi, 1st floor
• 🕚Hours: daily 11:00–21:30, break time Mon–Fri 15:00–17:00, no break time Sat–Sun ❌️, last order 20:30
• 💳High-oil-price relief subsidy, local currency (card, paper), Zero Pay
• 🍾Corkage available (fee applies)
• 🅿️Parking available

2 minutes from Seonbawi Station: is parking easy?

Deo Chadol is within 2 minutes of Seonbawi Station Exit 3 on Line 4, so it's easy to reach by public transport. There's also a dedicated lot in front of the building, which is handy if you drive.

It's close to Seoul Grand Park, Seoul Land, the National Science Museum, the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the Gwacheon racecourse, so lots of families stop by for a meal before or after an outing.

Even at weekday lunchtime when I went, the front was jammed with cars coming and going. A staff member guided me to an empty spot, and you could really feel how popular this Gwacheon spot is at lunch.

It's been featured in various media and won the runner-up prize at the 2024 Gwacheon Restaurant Contest, so I was looking forward to eating even before sitting down.

How long was the weekday lunch wait?

As soon as you walk in, you check on a tablet how many parties are waiting and enter your phone number. It showed 4 parties ahead with an estimated 30-minute wait, but I actually waited about 15 minutes. I attached a photo of the waiting guidelines, since it's worth reading them before you go.

There's a separate waiting area in front of the restaurant. It's set up so you can wait comfortably even in rain or snow, and with the air conditioning running in this heatwave, it was a nice escape from the heat. Since so many guests use it, they even posted safety rules for customers.

Nice as that was, what impressed me most was the cold iced water ready in the waiting area. With heatwave warnings continuing, you could feel the thoughtfulness in letting waiting guests cool off even a little.

Private rooms for 6+ and the atmosphere

Deo Chadol has two private rooms for groups of six or more. They take reservations, and on days without any, rooms are assigned in order of arrival.

One wall is packed with autographs from celebrities who've visited. It used to be a common sight, a sign of a restaurant's popularity and history, but it's rare these days, so it caught my eye.

✅️ It looked like a good place for company dinners and family gatherings too.

Deo Chadol menu and how to order

Each table has a smart-order tablet, so you order right from your seat.

There are set menus by party size, such as a couple set, a 3-person set and a 4-person set. There are also various lunch specials using duck, so it looked great as a Gwacheon lunch spot. The one-of-a-kind duck jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup), made by a disciple of a former Blue House chef, caught my eye as something you can only try here.

What our family of five ordered

✅️ We were 5 in total: 2 adults, 2 elementary kids and 1 toddler. Here's what we ordered.

• Sulfur duck brisket BBQ (180g) ₩19,000 ×2
• Lunch special duck jeyuk set ₩15,000 ×2
• Buckwheat cold noodles (mul makguksu) ₩9,000
• Steamed rice ₩1,000

Sulfur duck brisket BBQ: do kids eat it well?

With the sulfur duck brisket BBQ, the basic sides were wrap vegetables, three banchan (side dishes) and doenjang stew (soybean paste stew).

The brisket in the signature sulfur duck brisket BBQ is said to be made from fresh duck trimmed in-house, flash-chilled and thinly sliced. More restaurants cook duck in different ways these days, but grilling it sliced thin like beef brisket is uncommon, so I was curious.

One portion is 180g, so we ordered two, and it didn't feel like a lot. Minari (water dropwort), onion and king oyster mushrooms came with the duck, which looked like a good combination.

I cut the golden-brown duck in half on the grill and put it over the kids' rice, and they really ate it up. Because it's sliced thin, it isn't tough, and the crisp edges had a great bite. The kids ate without fuss and finished their meal much faster than usual.

It's thin like daepae samgyeopsal (thin-sliced pork belly), so it cooks fast, and it's nutty and delicious.

That's what my friend said. When I tried it, I barely noticed the gamey smell typical of duck, and the crisp, clean flavor came through, so I thought it was a good choice with kids. Wrapping it with minari and pickled perilla leaves added aroma and made it even better.

Lunch special duck jeyuk set: what was disappointing

Besides the brisket and juml­leok (marinated grilled meat), the lunch special (11:00–14:00) duck jeyuk set caught my eye, so I ordered it. After I ordered, a staff member came over and asked, "The table gets filled up about halfway with dishes, is that okay?" so I was curious how it would come out.

But what I received was just one plate of stir-fried duck jeyuk.

❔️❔️❔️❔️❔️❔️

While writing this, I rechecked the menu description on Naver's store page, and it says the set comes with duck jeyuk, five side dishes and doenjang stew.

🗨 Maybe the staff forgot because it was lunchtime and busy, or maybe some sides get left out if they overlap with other dishes, which I can understand. Still, it's disappointing that part of what I ordered was missing.

The red sauce on the duck jeyuk looked pretty spicy, but it was actually a moderate heat, not overpowering, and a subtle smoky grill flavor made it enjoyable to share with my friend.

How was the buckwheat mul makguksu?

The kids wanted mul naengmyeon (cold noodle soup) but there wasn't any, so we ordered mul makguksu (cold buckwheat noodle soup) instead. It has seasoning mixed in, and they said it didn't suit their taste, so the adults ended up eating it.

Buckwheat noodles in a chilled broth with floating ice crystals, it had a clean taste and was fine for refreshing the palate after meat, but it was more of an okay dish than a memorable one.

Unlimited self-serve bar

If you run short of wrap vegetables or side dishes, you can use the self-serve bar.

Review event freebies

Deo Chadol runs various review events. The freebies come in many kinds, so give it a try.

Deo Chadol overall verdict

Deo Chadol, which I visited before heading to the science museum, was a Gwacheon restaurant where I got to enjoy duck in a fresh way. The sulfur duck brisket BBQ and duck jeyuk had a different charm from the usual dishes.

With couple, 3- and 4-person sets and even private rooms for 6 or more, it looked good for family meals and gatherings. I'd like to come back whenever I want to try something special with duck with my family.

I recommend it to anyone wanting a hearty meal with kids before or after Seoul Grand Park, Seoul Land or the National Science Museum, anyone looking for a place to eat out with parents, and anyone planning a company dinner.

It's okay, duck doesn't make you gain weight 💁‍♀️ Recommended for:

• ✔ People looking for a meal before or after the Gwacheon science museum, Seoul Grand Park and similar outings
• ✔ People looking for a family restaurant that's easy to visit with kids
• ✔ People looking for something different as boknal (hottest days of summer) stamina food
• ✔ People who want a duck dish more unusual than common grilled duck
• ✔ People looking for a place for a meal or family gathering with parents
• ✔ People looking for a lunch special or a company dinner venue