Gangneung restaurant with a 2nd-floor window room: abalone porridge

Hi, it's Haeng :) I took a sudden trip to Gangneung 🌊 this time, leaving early in the morning and arriving in town before lunch. I booked a room at St. Johns Hotel by Gangmun Beach, and to grab breakfast I went to Gangneung Jeonbok Haenyeo Village (강릉전복해녀마을). I got there basically at opening time, and here's my review of the pressure-cooker abalone porridge for two♡

Where Gangneung Jeonbok Haenyeo Village is and when it opens

Gangneung Jeonbok Haenyeo Village is an abalone specialty restaurant located on the 1st-2nd floor of Building na, 286-1 Haean-ro, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do. It's open 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM with last order at 2:50 PM, so it works well for either breakfast or lunch.

• 📍 286-1 Haean-ro, Building na, 1st-2nd floor, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea
• ⏰ 8:00 AM - 3:30 PM (last order 2:50 PM)
• 🅿️ Parking available right in front⭕️
• 🛜 Wi-Fi
• 🚻 Separate men's/women's restrooms (on both 1st and 2nd floors)
• 🐶 Pet-friendly⭕️
• ☑️ Reservations⭕️, high chairs⭕️, simple payment⭕️, groups⭕️

As soon as I arrived in Gangneung, I parked at St. Johns Hotel and walked straight to Gangneung Jeonbok Haenyeo Village, located right behind it, for a meal.

It's close to Gangmun Beach, so it fit perfectly into a plan of eating breakfast and then heading to the beach. Especially if you're staying at St. Johns Hotel like I was, this is a great spot for breakfast or lunch!

Parking at Gangneung Jeonbok Haenyeo Village

If you're driving here directly, or making a special trip for the food, you can park for free right in front of the restaurant with no worries.

What the restaurant looks like from outside

It's a large building with 1st and 2nd floors, and the sky reflected in the windows looks lovely ☁️🩵 They're known for the haenyeo table (해녀한상, a seafood diver's spread), and it's advertised right at the entrance, which made me even more excited to eat!

First floor or second floor: which seats to take

Gangneung Jeonbok Haenyeo Village has open seating on both the 1st and 2nd floors, and the 2nd floor also has a separate room and restroom. Right as you walk into the 1st-floor space, it's clean with high ceilings, and photos of haenyeo (female sea divers) grandmothers on the wall immediately catch your eye.

You go up the stairs to reach the 2nd floor, where cute framed pictures line the walls and another welcoming haenyeo image greets you up front. High chairs and aprons are set out near the entrance too, so it's easy to grab one if you need it.

It's no secret that the 2nd floor is prettier! Thanks to the big window facing front, it almost feels like a pension house — pretty and clean, with great natural light.

The 2nd floor also has a separate room, so you can eat quietly, and since there's a restroom up there too, it's really convenient.

It's spacious like this, and the view from the window makes for a pretty photo — eating while looking out at that view is honestly healing.

Abalone porridge for two (50,000 won) and what comes on the haenyeo table

What I ordered at Gangneung Jeonbok Haenyeo Village was the pressure-cooker abalone porridge for two, ₩50,000. The menu includes pressure-cooker abalone porridge and abalone perilla seaweed soup, and it seems like something everyone — any age, any taste — could enjoy!

• ✔️ Pressure-cooker abalone porridge for two / ₩50,000

The moment I ordered, a huge haenyeo table arrived, packed full! If you were just expecting abalone porridge, think again — so many side dishes came along with it that the whole table looked really abundant.

Before the main abalone porridge even arrived, this fresh haenyeo table came out first — can you see it? The spread is absolutely insane. I only ordered the porridge, but I got boiled pork, seafood, mulhoe, and more — over 12 dishes packed with variety, exactly my style😉

I wanted to take this whole table back to Seoul with me 😋

How the pressure-cooker abalone porridge tastes

The abalone porridge is cooked to order, so by the time you're through the haenyeo table, it arrives warm and full of nutty flavor. There was so much abalone in it that I was actually surprised while stirring it 👍🏻 See that warm steam? It's hot, and the nutty aroma is so strong it satisfies your eyes, nose, and taste all at once. With the temperature swings we're getting lately, starting the day with something this warm and filling really makes the whole day feel comfortable!

And finally, my first meal in Gangneung, all complete — filling, and with the seafood so fresh that even sea squirt, which I don't usually eat, actually tasted good to me :)

This boiled pork, what is this?! Every single piece felt fresh in my mouth and tasted great. It tasted good, but the portion was also huge, so it really felt like a full, satisfying meal.

Self-service corner, restrooms and parking validation

Toward the back of Gangneung Jeonbok Haenyeo Village there's a self-service corner and restrooms too, so everything was convenient to use.

Near the entrance there are more photos of the haenyeo divers, which somehow made the freshness of the seafood make even more sense.

And don't forget to get your parking validated!

Who Gangneung Jeonbok Haenyeo Village suits best

♡♡♡♡♡ Gangneung Jeonbok Haenyeo Village is a solid restaurant if you want fresh seafood and a full meal together, like I did! Whether you're coming with family, a partner, or a group, I think you'll get a satisfying meal out of it 😉 On a nice-weather day, eat a warm, hearty meal here first, then head to Gangmun Beach for a relaxed, healing afternoon. Recommended, no question.