Free cilantro with beef brisket pho at Mekong Thai, Sejong

If you like pho, you've probably heard of Mekong Thai! This time I visited the Lake Park branch.

I usually love pho, so whenever I'm craving it in Sejong I look up where to go, and apparently this place is already famous enough to have waits during lunch. I visited close to closing time in the evening this time, so luckily I got to eat at leisure :)

Near Eojin-dong Lake Park: parking and location

For Mekong Thai Sejong Lake Park Branch, you park in the building's underground lot and head up to the 3rd floor. The yellow exterior catches your eye from far away, and it genuinely felt like walking into a real restaurant in Vietnam. Between the colors and the atmosphere, you immediately know you're here for pho. If you're looking for pho spots in Eojin-dong, the exterior alone makes it easy to find.

Basic setup and kiosk ordering

When you sit down, you're basically given

• Pickled onions
• Danmuji (pickled radish)
• Jasmine tea
• Two sauces

That's the setup. I like having pickled onions and chili or sauce with pho, so having them prepped as the default was convenient. You order at your table via kiosk. It was nice to browse the menu slowly and pick what I wanted.

Lunch waits, but leisurely near closing time

Apparently this place has lines at lunch, so if you're visiting then, I'd recommend reserving ahead or arriving a bit early! I went close to closing time in the evening, so there weren't many people, and I actually got to eat at leisure.

From 4-person tables to group seating: the vibe inside

Going further inside, there were 4-person tables as well as group seating for several people, so the space was more spacious than I expected. Some seats looked like they could fit about 8 people, which seemed great for coworkers visiting as a group or for ordering a variety of dishes to share among several people. This seems like a solid spot for office workers in Sejong looking for lunch places too.

Beef brisket pho (large), with cilantro piled on for free

The first thing I ordered that day was beef brisket pho! I went with the large size to properly dig in.

As soon as it arrived, the bowl size alone was impressive. Being the large size, the portion was quite generous — this alone could be a full satisfying meal. I'm someone who feels a little let down by pho without cilantro, so I asked for some on the side, and when I requested it separately, they gave me a huge pile ㅠㅠ

It was seriously a lot. I remember one pho place charging ₩1,000 for extra cilantro and giving me just a soy-sauce-dish's worth, but here it's free and generous, which was fantastic for a cilantro lover like me. With this much, I felt free to pile it on as much as I wanted, so I loaded it into the pho generously.

Seafood fried rice on the side

Pho alone felt like it wasn't quite enough, so I also ordered the seafood fried rice. Just so you know, the cilantro in the photo didn't come with the fried rice originally — I plated it myself using the cilantro I got with the pho.

I'm a true cilantro devotee who puts it on fried rice too... If you love cilantro, I recommend this combo lol

Both the large pho and the fried rice were pretty substantial portions, but this combo worked surprisingly well together. Eating a bite of fried rice between spoonfuls of warm pho broth, then back to the broth again... before I knew it, the plates were emptying lol. And in the end? I finished everything.

Cilantro in my pho, cilantro in my fried rice lol. As anyone who loves cilantro knows, that distinctive scent mixed into the food really brings the feeling of eating Vietnamese food to life. Of course, if you can't handle cilantro, there's no need to force it. It's an ingredient that people either love or hate, so order according to your taste.

At first I thought the portions were so big I'd leave some behind, but the result was... yay lol, completely cleared. Ordering pho and fried rice together was especially nice because I could alternate between them rather than eating just one dish the whole time. If two of you visit, I'd recommend each ordering one dish and sharing.

How about it for groups or office lunches?

The place itself is spacious with everything from 4-person tables to group seating, so it seemed great for coming with coworkers for lunch or visiting with several people in the evening to order multiple dishes to share. Beyond pho, there's a variety of fried rice and other Vietnamese dishes, so coming with a group and ordering several different things to share sounds fun too.

So if you're putting together a list of recommended restaurants in Sejong, this is a place worth adding at least once for anyone who loves pho.

Wrap-up

If you're looking for pho spots in Eojin-dong, what I tried this time was

• Beef brisket pho (large)
• Seafood fried rice

These two — both generous in portion, and the combo worked really well together.

Above all, since I love cilantro, I really appreciated being able to ask for a generous amount for free lol. Apparently there are waits during lunch, so if you're planning a visit, I'd recommend reserving ahead for lunch! I actually enjoyed visiting near closing time in the evening and eating without any rush. If you're craving pho in Sejong and want a clean, satisfying meal, Mekong Thai Sejong Lake Park Branch, a pho spot in Eojin-dong, might be worth a try :)

Visit notes

• Mekong Thai Sejong Lake Park Branch · Near Eojin-dong Lake Park, use the building's underground parking, then 3rd floor
• Underground parking available
• Kiosk ordering
• From 4-person tables to group seating
• Lunchtime waits possible
• Cilantro available on request (free!!!)
• Recommend beef brisket pho (large) / seafood fried rice — great to order a variety and share with a group!