Daegu hanok restaurant with courtyard-view rice bowls: Samdeokdong Iut

Today I visited Iut in Samdeok-dong, Jung-gu, Daegu. Here's my honest review.

Samdeokdong Iut location and opening hours

Samdeokdong Iut (삼덕동이웃) is at 60 Dalgubeol-daero 447-gil, Jung-gu, Daegu, and it's open 11:30–00:00.

What's the atmosphere at Samdeokdong Iut?

Iut is a restaurant in the shape of a traditional house. Even the outside is full of charm.

This is the entrance leading into the restaurant.

Go through the entrance and you reach a courtyard, where you can see the traditional house exterior. It's all wood, so the whole place feels old-fashioned in a lovely way.

Seating inside: round tables, window seats, courtyard view

This is the interior you see right as you step in. It was lunchtime, so it was packed.

There are also round tables where a group can sit around and eat together.

The window-side tables looked so pretty that I took a photo. The lush green trees outside the window are gorgeous and moody.

Our table faced the courtyard, and we really felt the atmosphere.

Side dish bar and amenities

Iut has a self-service bar where you can refill the side dishes that come with your order.

There are also hangers for storing your coat.

Vintage props are set out as decoration in one corner of the restaurant.

On one wall is a poster of Iut's signature menu.

What's on the Samdeokdong Iut menu?

Iut's main menu is meals, and in the evening it turns into a place for a light drink, so there are snack-style dishes too. We ordered the abalone gut rice bowl and the soy-flavored pork jowl rice bowl.

How are the abalone gut rice bowl and soy pork jowl served?

When you order at Iut, the side dishes and rice bowl come out together on a tray (chaeban, a woven bamboo tray). Every side dish looks fresh and made with care.

Here are the abalone gut rice bowl and soy-flavored pork jowl bowl we ordered. They're generous with the ingredients, and the mild, not-at-all-harsh flavor seems to be the key point.

I shot everything we ordered from a few different angles. Looking back, it looks great and it's such a tasty spread.

Abalone gut rice bowl taste

I mixed the abalone gut rice bowl well and took a spoonful: the nutty richness of the gut and the chewy abalone came together into a very savory yet clean flavor. It's addictive, the kind of taste you keep thinking about afterwards.

Soy-flavored pork jowl rice bowl taste

The soy sauce on the pork jowl bowl wasn't harsh at all, just lightly sweet, and when I took a bite with a well-cooked piece of pork jowl on top, my mouth filled with a clean, mild flavor.

Samdeokdong Iut pros at a glance

Here's a quick summary of what's good about Iut in Samdeok-dong, Jung-gu, Daegu.

• Friendly owner: A youngish middle-aged owner serves the tables himself, with a great impression and a lot of kindness, so I felt good throughout the meal.
• Food made with care: You can tell how much care goes in just from the freshness of the ingredients and how the food looks.
• Flavor everyone will like: The rice in the bowls felt like good-quality rice, and the bowls with Iut's own special sauce are mild yet clean-tasting, truly excellent.