Counter Perch · 16 stories

A Counter Seat in Daegu

I write about restaurants I visit around Daegu and Gyeongbuk. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés · Bars

PlaceSuseong, DaeguCafés

After-work bakery café by Gosan Station, Daegu: misugaru latte, Aroke

Aroke Daegu Sigi Branch is a standalone bakery café on Dalgubeol-daero in Suseong, Daegu, near Exit 2 of Gosan Station. After skipping lunch, the writer and a friend went on a weekday evening and ordered a ham cheese egg mayo sandwich (6,300 won), a misugaru latte (roasted grain latte, 5,500 won), a coconut latte (5,300 won) and a Night Sky Almond Croissant (5,300 won) as dinner and dessert. With parking out front and quiet weekday evenings, Aroke Daegu Sigi Branch is a good Gosan Station café for a meal and dessert in one stop after work.

Written Apr 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuseong, DaeguRestaurants

Wood-fired chicken dinner set for 3–4 in Manchon, Daegu: Mangyehwa

Mangyehwa Manchon Main Branch (만계화 만촌본점) is a wood-fired chicken restaurant in Manchon, Suseong-gu, Daegu, that says it grills Korean-raised chicken over oak for 90 minutes. On a weekend evening, two of us ordered the 3–4 person set (59,000 won) and finished every dish: the wood-fired chicken, chive mala shrimp, tomato cheese salad and Mangye soba. Mangyehwa Manchon Main Branch is a solid dinner pick in Manchon when you want big flavor without heavy grease.

Written May 12, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGyeongsan, GyeongbukCafés

Gyeongsan bakery near Jeongpyeong Station, 5-bread haul: Jeongnamhyang

Bakery Jeongnamhyang (베이커리 정남향) is a neighborhood bakery tucked into an alley near Jeongpyeong Station in Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk. The writer picked five breads at Bakery Jeongnamhyang: olive cheese campagne, Gongju chestnut brioche, pumpkin cream cheese campagne, Maldon salt bread and walnut cheese cream bread. Most were nutty and savory rather than sweet or greasy. Bread at Bakery Jeongnamhyang sells out quickly, so a morning visit is the best bet.

Written May 7, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGyeongsan, GyeongbukRestaurants

Cloudy-day sibling meal at a Gyeongsan Korean restaurant: Cafe Dongi

Cafe Dongi Yeungnam University Art Center Branch is a Korean set-meal restaurant on the 2nd floor of the main hall of Yeungnam University's Cheonma Art Center in Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk. On a first visit one cloudy afternoon with a younger sibling, the writer had a solo brazier jeyuk (spicy stir-fried pork) set and a crispy whole-shrimp Japanese curry rice, and the geumssal (golden rice), the unlimited self bar and the floor-to-ceiling window views stood out. Thanks to the warm brazier set and its guest-friendly touches, Cafe Dongi is a place the writer wants to return to for a group meal in a reserved room.

Written May 26, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBuk-gu, DaeguRestaurants

Daegu shabu buffet: 8 beef plates & unlimited draft beer, Shabu20

Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon branch is an all-you-can-eat beef and draft beer shabu-shabu buffet on Gonghang-ro in Buk-gu, Daegu. The writer walked in before 6 pm on a weekday with no wait, chose a half-and-half bonito (katsuobushi) and hot pot broth (dinner ₩27,900), and had 8 plates of beef and 3 glasses of draft beer; the tidy self-bar and fresh vegetable garden corner stood out. For an evening of unlimited beef and draft beer together, Shabu20 Daegu Bokhyeon branch is a good fit.

Written Oct 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuseong, DaeguRestaurants

Sinmae, Daegu Korean restaurant: jjukkumi & omija tea at Cafe Dong-i

Cafe Dong-i Sicheol (카페동이 시지점) is a Korean set-meal restaurant with one-person braziers in an alley beside Sinmae Market in Suseong-gu, Daegu, and the fourth Cafe Dong-i branch. Having already visited the Yeungnam University Art Center branch, the writer came for lunch with a friend and ordered the fire-grilled jeyuk (spicy pork) set, the jjukkumi (small octopus) stir-fry set, kimchi jeon (kimchi pancake), a mini tangsuyuk (sweet-and-sour pork) sampler and omija tea (five-flavor berry tea). Cafe Dong-i Sicheol feels like a cozier neighborhood eatery than the Yeungnam University Art Center branch, but the care in its one-person brazier set meals is just the same.

Written Jun 23, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGyeongsan, GyeongbukBars

Gyeongsan bar for same-day hanwoo mungtigi after work: Yugyeonjeong

Yugyeonjeong is a Korean bar in Jeongpyeong-dong, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk, a 5-minute walk from Jeongpyeong Station Exit 1, serving raw hanwoo (Korean beef) slaughtered the same day and kombu-cured aged salmon. On a weekday after work, the writer and a friend at Yugyeonjeong had 350g of hanwoo mungtigi (thick-cut raw beef, 57,000 won), brisket odeuregi and hanwoo yuk sashimi, plus a complimentary plate of 1++ raw chadol (brisket point). Yugyeonjeong is a raw beef bar near Jeongpyeong Station where a quick drink turned into a hearty hanwoo dinner.

Written Jun 25, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGyeongsan, GyeongbukRestaurants

Gyeongsan set-meal restaurant's new bulgogi sotbap: Haenyeo Sotbap

Haenyeo Sotbap Gyeongsan (해녀솥밥 경산점) is a Korean set-meal restaurant in Baekcheon-dong, Gyeongsan, serving sotbap (rice cooked in a stone pot) with a 13-side set. The restaurant has a main hall and two annex buildings with private rooms. On a third visit, for a weekday lunch for two, the meal was the newly added Eonyang-style bulgogi pot rice and the abalone seafood stew. The smoky bulgogi, the mildly seasoned side dishes and the refreshing, spicy seafood broth all satisfied. Haenyeo Sotbap Gyeongsan is the first Baekcheon-dong restaurant to come to mind for a quiet, full Korean meal with elders.

Written Oct 9, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGyeongsan, GyeongbukRestaurants

Gyeongsan Korean restaurant, family abalone mulhoe lunch: Bapeul Jitda

Bapeul Jitda Gyeongsan Main Branch is a Korean set-meal restaurant (hanjeongsik) on Samseonghyeon-ro in Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk. A family of four booked an 11am weekday lunch, and all four ordered the live abalone mulhoe set (raw abalone in icy cold broth), each receiving an individual tray with sous-vide cold pork, eggplant fritters, kimchi, braised fish cake and pickled radish. Bapeul Jitda's gentle, healthy flavors make it a place worth returning to when treating family to a meal.

Written Aug 6, 2026Sponsored
PlaceDong-gu, DaeguRestaurants

No-wait weekend lamb skewers in Dongdaegu, 24 for two: Yangbokjeom

Yangbokjeom Dongdaegu Station Branch is a lamb skewer restaurant in Dong-gu, Daegu, about 500m on foot from Exit 2 of Dongdaegu Station. Arriving at 4:30pm, shortly after the 4pm weekend opening, two diners ordered 3 servings of jumbo skewers (210g, 8 skewers per serving) and the signature black guobaorou (crispy sweet-and-sour pork), and finished all 24 skewers. Verdict: to enjoy the thick jumbo skewers at Yangbokjeom Dongdaegu Station Branch without a gamey smell or a wait, come at opening time or book ahead.

Written Aug 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJeju, JejuCafés

Udo peanut latte at Aewolbon Café, an Aewol coastal road café in Jeju

Aewolbon Café is an ocean-view café in a red two-story building on Aewol Coastal Road in Jeju. On a windy last day of the trip, the writer sat on a sofa by the second-floor window with a Udo Peanut Latte, a Dolce Latte and a Café Latte, and the peanut latte tasted deeply nutty, almost like soy milk. Aewolbon Café is about 30 to 40 minutes from Jeju Airport, so it makes an easy stop before returning a rental car.

Written Sep 24, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJeju, JejuRestaurants

Aewol, Jeju hangover soup in a Le Creuset pot: Aewol Eomma

Aewol Eomma is a hangover soup restaurant on Ilju-seoro in Aewol, Jeju, reopened in 2026 under a new name after operating as Hanjil-dongne. After an hour's drive from a guesthouse in Pyoseon, arriving at Aewol Eomma at noon meant two bowls of Aewol Eomma haejangguk (hangover soup) as a late breakfast, with the garlic scape pickles refilled the moment they were asked for. The best part was the cast-iron pot in place of the usual earthenware bowl, which kept the broth hot right down to the last spoonful of rice.

Written Sep 23, 2026Sponsored