Yongin restaurant with a baby, seaweed soup refilled 4 times: Guigo

On the way home from looking at furniture at Living Power Center to prep for a move, I got hungry and looked up a wood-fired grilled fish restaurant — "Guigo" — and stopped by.

Guigo's opening hours and break time

Guigo's hours are 11:00-21:00 (last order 20:00). Weekday break time is 15:00-17:00, and there's no break time on weekends.

Six side dishes and seaweed soup, refilled at Guigo's self-serve bar

Guigo serves 6 basic side dishes and seaweed soup by default, and you can refill whatever runs low at the self-serve bar. Our kids fell head over heels for the seaweed soup and refilled it about 4 times.

The self-serve bar had 3 extra dishes on top of the basic banchan (side dishes). We arrived close to last order, so the japchae (stir-fried glass noodles) looked a bit sparse... but actually it wasn't — the owner kept topping it up little by little, often. That must've been a hassle for the owner, but what a thoughtful touch. 👍

Is Guigo baby-friendly? Sterilized infant tableware and bibs

Guigo has infant tableware and disposable bibs ready to go, which was such a relief for us coming with a child! The infant tableware especially was kept in a sterilizer, so we could use it with even more peace of mind.

We ordered the grilled fish set for two plus added hot pot rice — which turned out to be a mistake. My picky-eater son ate a ton, and my little food-monster princess ate a ton too. I tried to share my own rice with Dain, but nope — "Mom, you can just go hungry!" she basically declared, and dug in all by herself.

What's in Guigo's grilled fish set for two: hairtail, flounder, rockfish, mackerel

Guigo's grilled fish set for two comes with 4 kinds of fish: hairtail, flounder, rockfish, and mackerel. They say the fish Guigo uses is handled and aged from whole raw fish before cooking, which sets it apart from other grilled fish restaurants.

Since the fish comes in as whole raw fish without being refrozen or re-thawed, and impurities get removed during the aging process, there was no fishy smell at all — just clean and crisp.

How does Guigo's wood-fired grilled fish taste?

Because it's grilled in a wood-fired oven the owner built themselves, unlike fish grilled over a gas flame, it cooks at an even temperature — crispy outside, moist inside — so my chopsticks kept reaching for more. The owner also scored the fish nicely so the flesh came off easily, which made it easy to eat.

And if you've been to a few grilled fish restaurants, you know some places season theirs quite salty — Guigo, though, keeps the seasoning mild, which was great for eating with the kids.

If you're an adult who thinks the seasoning is a bit weak, there's soy sauce and wasabi on the table to pair with it. But I found the grilled fish itself so clean and delicious that I just enjoyed it in its natural flavor.

Self-serve coffee after the meal at Guigo

To wrap things up, there's even a coffee machine and ice maker so you can brew your own coffee — no need to head to a separate café afterward, thanks to Guigo! The grilled fish itself was so clean-tasting that we skipped coffee, but if you're a coffee lover, this is such a nice perk.

Why Guigo is worth a stop near the Korean Folk Village in Yongin

The interior is clean, and above all, nothing falls short between the grilled fish and the side dishes at Guigo. If you're looking for a restaurant near Korean Folk Village, I'd recommend the wood-fired grilled fish specialist "Guigo."

And it's not just the grilled fish that's delicious. The side dishes were clean-tasting and good too, so the kids ate well and my husband and I enjoyed the meal too. The kids wiped out the grilled fish and seaweed soup, so we ordered extra grilled fish — and they finished all of that too... so I mostly ate side dishes, but they were tasty enough that it was totally fine. I saw the altari mu kimchi (radish kimchi) sold separately — honestly, I wish they sold all the other side dishes too. It's genuinely delicious, owner... I'll be back soon. Hidden gem: found.