Daegu Korean restaurant family meal with individual grills: Cafe Dongi

Today I’m sharing our filling lunch at Cafe Dongi Dongseong-ro Main Branch, where my mom, sibling, and I stopped by while we were in Dongseong-ro.

Dongseong-ro has so many good places to eat, but since the three of us were dining together that day, we ended up visiting while looking for somewhere everyone could choose the menu they wanted.

It focuses on Korean food, so it looked like a nice place to visit with parents too. More than anything, I liked that there were lots of individual meals, so everyone could order what they felt like eating.

Cafe Dongi Dongseong-ro Main Branch location and hours

Cafe Dongi Dongseong-ro Main Branch is near Banwoldang Station on the Dongseong-ro side, so it is an easy place to stop for a meal when you are shopping in Dongseong-ro or meeting someone. The address is 58-9 Dongseong-ro 3-gil, Jung-gu, Daegu, South Korea, 2nd floor. It is open 11:00–20:30 Monday through Friday and 11:00–21:00 on weekends. Break time is 15:00–16:30, and there is also a last-order time, so keep that in mind if you are visiting late.

There is an elevator, too, making it really convenient to come up with family!!!!!

Korean set meals and robot serving

I visited with my mom and sibling, and when we went in and looked at the menu, there were more choices than I expected. There were especially Korean set meals, so people like me who love rice and stew, as well as people who want a main dish such as spicy pork or webfoot octopus, could all choose according to their tastes.

Also, a robot served the food at Cafe Dongi, which was so interesting. While we were waiting, the robot came over carrying our dishes and brought them right near the table, haha.

My mom and sibling watched in fascination at first too. When the food arrived, we took the dishes one by one from the robot, which was a different kind of fun. I think children would enjoy watching the robot serve food while they wait too. It felt like a place where you could have a comfortable meal and a little fun, rather than just an ordinary Korean restaurant.

What the three of us ordered

The three of us ordered different things that day.

• My sibling: [individual brazier] spicy pork set meal, ₩12,900
• My mom: [individual brazier] stir-fried webfoot octopus set meal, ₩16,900
• Me: 40-year master's kimchi stew set meal, ₩9,900

It is nice when everyone eats the same thing too, but ordering different dishes like this was even better because we could share little tastes of each one.

The spicy pork set meal my sibling chose

My sibling ordered the [individual brazier] spicy pork set meal. It costs ₩12,900 and comes with flame-grilled spicy pork in an individual brazier, doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew), and a seasonal drink for dessert.

I liked that the spicy pork came in a brazier, so we could eat it warm.

As expected, spicy pork over rice was a great match, and with the doenjang-jjigae too, it was a very filling meal. My sibling enjoyed eating the spicy pork with rice. Omija tea also came with it, which was nice after we had finished eating. But my sibling does not like it, so I drank it haha.

The stir-fried webfoot octopus set meal my mom chose

My mom ordered the [individual brazier] stir-fried webfoot octopus set meal. It was ₩16,900! It came with stir-fried webfoot octopus, traditional homemade doenjang-jjigae, and omija tea for dessert. My mom chose it because she likes webfoot octopus, and the spicy stir-fry went well with rice. I was curious too, so I tried a little of it.

It was a dish that went really well with rice.

This one also came with doenjang-jjigae. It had the flavor of cheonggukjang (fermented soybean paste), so I enjoyed it. I love cheonggukjang!! Since the three of us ordered different dishes, it was fun to taste a spoonful or two of each other’s meals too, haha.

The 40-year master's kimchi stew set meal I chose

And the dish I ordered was the 40-year master's kimchi stew set meal. It was ₩9,900! I wanted kimchi stew more than anything else that day, so I chose it right away without hesitating.

The kimchi stew had aged kimchi and meat in it, with a rich broth that was perfect with rice. I normally love mixing rice into kimchi stew, so eating a spoonful of rice together with the stew was exactly my kind of combination. At ₩9,900, it did not feel burdensome, and since I could have stew, rice, and side dishes together, I thought it would be fine for a solo lunch too.

Unlimited fried eggs, multigrain rice, and barley gangjeong

And this was something I loved at Cafe Dongi! Fried eggs, multigrain rice, and barley gangjeong are unlimited. You can have fried eggs and multigrain rice for free so you can eat generously like a home-cooked meal, and there is even barley gangjeong, an old-fashioned snack, after the meal. You make the fried eggs yourself, so you can have as many as you want.

We each made a fried egg while we ate, and it was delicious again with the egg over rice and kimchi stew, haha.

You can also have extra multigrain rice, which I think is a pretty nice touch for anyone who wants to eat plenty of rice.

There was roasted seaweed and soy sauce too. These are seriously delicious with rice! And after the meal, barley gangjeong too! The barley gangjeong was nice to pick up lightly once we were done. I thought the generous rice and dessert, not just the main dishes, were one of Cafe Dongi’s strengths.

How was it as a family meal with my mom and sibling?

The three of us visited together that day, and it was especially convenient that we could each order what we wanted. My mom chose stir-fried webfoot octopus, my sibling chose spicy pork, and I chose kimchi stew. Since all three dishes were different, we shared little tastes too. When eating in Dongseong-ro, we often end up choosing a café or something simple, but that day, with multigrain rice, side dishes, and stew, it really felt like we had taken care of a filling meal. Especially when you are out in Dongseong-ro with your parents and wondering what to eat, I thought a place with Korean set meals could be a good option.

A filling meal in Daegu’s Dongseong-ro

Overall, the three of us comfortably ate the dishes we each wanted that day. There were plenty of menu options, plus fried eggs, multigrain rice, and barley gangjeong, so I think it would suit people who want to eat a generous meal. I especially liked having rice with kimchi stew, and my mom and sibling enjoyed the dishes they chose too, so it was a satisfying family meal.

If you are shopping or on a date in Dongseong-ro and want a proper meal rather than something quick, or are looking for a Daegu Dongseong-ro restaurant to visit with parents or family, you might want to keep Cafe Dongi Dongseong-ro Main Branch in mind :)

There is also an event giving two king prawn tempura pieces with a Naver reservation, so check the reservation benefit if you are planning to visit!