Family lunch set with kids at Lotte Dept. Store Busan: Daidokoro

We had an appointment at Pusan National University Hospital in Toseong-dong for my daughter, so afterward we headed over to Lotte Department Store Gwangbok Branch for lunch. It only took about 10 minutes by car, closer than I expected. Since we were already out and the hospital visit was done, we figured we'd buy the dress our daughter had been asking for haha, browse the department store, and grab lunch while we were at it.

The place we went to that day was Daidokoro Lotte Department Store Gwangbok Branch, a Japanese home-style restaurant on the 10th floor dining area. Bottom line first: the food was good, but what really stuck with us was how great it was to visit with a kid — genuinely one of the best Nampo-dong spots we've found for that.

Daidokoro Lotte Department Store Gwangbok Branch at a glance

• Location: 10th floor, main building, Lotte Department Store Gwangbok Branch, 2 Jungang-daero, Jung-gu, Busan
• Parking: Lotte Department Store Gwangbok Branch parking lot
• Ordered: Family set ₩45,900
• Family set: karaage + tonkatsu curry + kids set + mini udon + drink
• With kids: baby chair and kids menu available
• What we liked: Pokémon and Jjanggu figures plus a kids tray gave our daughter plenty to enjoy
• Bottom line: a solid Japanese home-style restaurant for an easy meal with kids in Nampo-dong

10 minutes by car from Pusan National University Hospital — why being inside the department store helped

Eating out wasn't really the plan for the day. We'd gone to Pusan National University Hospital in Toseong-dong for my daughter's appointment, and once lunchtime rolled around we started thinking about where to eat — turned out Lotte Department Store Gwangbok Branch was closer than expected, about a 10-minute drive.

Once you park at a department store, there's plenty to look at and do besides eating, which made it easy to get around with a kid. We didn't just eat — we ended up buying the dress our daughter had been asking for too haha. If we'd gone straight home from the hospital it would've felt a bit flat, but this way she got a proper change of mood too.

Photo time started before we even walked in, thanks to the Pokémon and Jjanggu figures out front

Daidokoro Gwangbok Branch is in the 10th-floor dining area of Lotte Department Store Gwangbok Branch. But my daughter stopped before we even got inside haha. There were tons of cute Pokémon and Jjanggu figures set up in front of the store. They must have looked amazing to her, because she posed here, posed there, and took a ton of photos. We came for lunch and photo time started before we'd even walked in haha. If your kid likes Pokémon or characters in general, they'll probably love the whole vibe of this place.

The window-side figures kept our daughter eating well

Even after we got inside, the store kept hitting my daughter's taste exactly. There were figures by the window seats, and she loved them so much she kept watching them the whole meal. She even talked to them by herself haha, going off on her own little role-play.

When you eat out with a kid, how bored they get matters just as much as how the food tastes. If they get up wanting to wander around after a few bites, you as a parent barely know whether you're actually eating or not haha. But here, watching the figures and playing pretend on her own meant she actually ate well. I'd recommend Daidokoro even more to anyone looking for a kid-friendly restaurant in Nampo-dong haha.

The family set is ₩45,900 — what's in it?

We ordered the Daidokoro family set. It's ₩45,900 and comes with karaage, tonkatsu curry, a kids set, mini udon, and a drink — a good mix for adults and kids to share.

Eating out with a kid usually means ordering an adult dish and then separately figuring out a kids' dish, which is oddly a lot of extra work. The family set already includes a kids menu, so ordering was simple, and we also liked getting to try several dishes at once.

An airplane-shaped kids tray

When the kids set arrived, there was another round of excitement haha. My daughter's food came on a tray shaped like an airplane. My daughter kept calling it a shark, even though it wasn't one, and loved it to bits haha. Whatever looks cute to her, that's all that matters.

Serving food on a kids' tray instead of a regular plate clearly grabbed her attention more. She seemed to feel it was really her own food and ate happily. It felt like a setup that genuinely thought about families with kids.

A drink included with the kids set

Having a drink included with the kids set was a huge plus from her point of view too. My daughter obviously loved it haha. And from a parent's side, it's convenient not having to order a drink separately.

The downside is... once a kid experiences a kids set that includes a drink, they start asking at every other restaurant, "Doesn't this place come with a drink?" haha. Once you raise expectations, it's hard to lower them again.

Curry and karaage: even my pregnant wife cleared her plate

It wasn't just our daughter who was happy — the food overall was tasty. My pregnant wife especially said the curry was good and the karaage was good, and she really ate well. She ended up finishing nearly everything haha.

When you eat out as a family, it's a bit disappointing if only the kids' menu is good and the adult food is so-so, making you hesitant to come back. But at Daidokoro, the adult dishes were just as satisfying. Karaage and curry are dishes that don't tend to split opinion much, so they worked well for sharing across the family, and having the mini udon too meant we could portion some out for our daughter — a nice way to sample several Japanese home-style dishes at once.

Being inside the department store makes planning a day out with kids easy

Daidokoro itself was great with a kid, but being located inside Lotte Department Store Gwangbok Branch was also a big plus for a family outing. Instead of eating and heading straight back to the car, we could browse and shop inside the department store, which made planning the whole day with our daughter much easier.

It would work well for anyone stopping by after a visit to Pusan National University Hospital like us, or for families shopping in Nampo-dong or Gwangbok-dong looking for somewhere to eat. It's also great on hot or rainy days, since you can handle both a meal and shopping indoors.

Lunch with kids in Nampo-dong — who this is for

If you're looking for somewhere among the restaurants at Lotte Department Store Gwangbok Branch to go with your kid, Daidokoro is a pretty good choice. The family set combines adult food and a kids set in one easy order, and the taste satisfied everyone in the family.

Best of all, my daughter didn't just eat — she took photos in front of the Pokémon and Jjanggu figures, played pretend watching the window-side figures, and thoroughly enjoyed the kids menu on its airplane-shaped tray haha. What I liked most was that our daughter had fun while we, as parents, could actually eat our meal in peace. If you're looking for a kid-friendly restaurant in Nampo-dong or a lunch spot among Lotte Department Store Gwangbok Branch restaurants, I'd recommend the Daidokoro family set.