Korean restaurant with kids' meal trays in Dalseo, Daegu: Geumdeungeo

Come the weekend, deciding where to eat out with a kid can feel like a surprisingly big homework assignment, right? If you always cater to the child's taste, the adults end up craving something spicy and hearty. The place I visited this time solved that problem neatly.

At Geumdeungeo Dalseo Branch (금등어 대구달서구점), a well-known hanjeongsik (Korean set meal) spot in Dalseo, the adult had spicy pork and the child had savory oven-grilled mackerel, and the whole family left very happy. Let me tell you about it.

Where to park for Geumdeungeo Dalseo Branch

Park on the 3rd floor of the Jincheon Mat Town car park and you walk straight into the restaurant. When you drive somewhere and parking is cramped, you're worn out before you even start, but here you can park right on the 3rd floor, so the route is really convenient.

Since the car park leads directly into the restaurant, it felt safer and much easier to move around holding a child's hand.

Is Geumdeungeo's seating good for families with kids?

The interior is mostly partitioned tables, which suits family groups. Walking in, I found the whole place neatly decorated with partitioned tables. Each table is reasonably separated from the next, so you can focus on your meal without worrying about other people's glances. It was perfect for coming as a family.

What we ordered: jeyuk pot rice set and the kids' meal

The menu offers the mackerel pot rice set, jeyuk (spicy stir-fried pork) pot rice set, hanwoo bulgogi pot rice set and bori-gulbi (barley-aged dried croaker) pot rice set, so there's a fair range to choose from. On earlier visits I always had the mackerel pot rice set, but today I was craving something spicy with meat, so I picked the jeyuk pot rice set and ordered one kids' meal separately for my child.

Kids' trays, a tableware sterilizer and a baby-food microwave

As soon as we finished ordering, a staff member set out a kids' spoon and tray before we even asked. They saw the child and quickly laid out cute kids' tableware without us saying anything. It's a small thing, but it felt like they genuinely welcome guests with children, and I was grateful.

Right away I went to look around the self-serve bar, and its neatness made me smile. Crisply roasted gim (seaweed), savory japchae (glass noodle stir-fry) and homemade banchan (side dishes) were all neatly stocked, so my expectations rose before the meal even started.

What impressed me most was that they have a sterilizer for toddler tableware and a microwave for warming baby food. They even keep lap blankets ready, and seeing that, I thought the care and sense they show guests is far from ordinary.

On one side, you can watch mackerel browning in a big oven in real time. It's a hanjeongsik spot with an open kitchen, and as a Safe Restaurant with an 'Excellent' 3-star hygiene rating, the place was clean, which made me feel even more at ease.

What comes with a Geumdeungeo pot rice set: banchan and sides

The pot rice set came with basic sides such as chard doenjang (soybean paste) soup, seasoned cucumber, fried eggplant, kimchi, japchae and salad. The savory chard doenjang soup arrived at the table first. Its subtle, deep broth was just right for warming the stomach before the meal.

The side dishes were all impeccably neat too. Tangy, spicy cucumber, savory fried eggplant and well-ripened kimchi all had a deep homemade touch, and my chopsticks kept busy.

The japchae was nicely salty, and my child seemed to like it, eating it up eagerly. The salad with its fresh dressing also cleansed the palate between bites of meat, a really great combination.

How do the jeyuk pork and oven-grilled mackerel taste?

The jeyuk in the pot rice set had a faint smoky char and a spicy-sweet sauce that suited adult tastes. Then the main dish, a generous portion of jeyuk, arrived at the table. A subtle fire aroma, with a moderately spicy-sweet sauce clinging to the meat, was plenty to win over the adults.

The oven-grilled mackerel that came for the child looked very appetizing, glistening with moisture. It was crisp outside and tender inside with few bones, so it was easy to flake apart, and my child ate it up well.

Pot rice and sungnyung (scorched-rice tea)

The freshly cooked pot rice glistened grain by grain, and it was sweet enough that you could taste it just chewing the rice alone. I spooned the rice into a bowl and poured in warm water to make sungnyung (toasted rice tea), and my stomach felt warmly, thoroughly soothed.

Dessert rice cakes, drinks and the serving robot

After the meal, Geumdeungeo Dalseo Branch serves tteok (rice cake) as a K-dessert, and has a variety of after-meal drinks too. Having finished a filling meal, I eagerly tucked into the K-dessert tteok they'd prepared. As the saying goes, there's a separate stomach for dessert, and one bite in, it was chewy and honestly much tastier than I expected.

There was a good variety of drinks to freshen up the mouth, and baby chairs too, and a serving robot busily going back and forth added a little fun. My child couldn't take their eyes off it every time it passed.

Taking home self-serve banchan, and our verdict on Geumdeungeo

I packed up a few of the homemade banchan from the self-serve bar and took them home. As a Dalseo hanjeongsik favorite, the food is a given, and the thoughtful kindness makes me feel good every time I go. Geumdeungeo is a full recommendation for a family meal out.

• Hours: daily 11:00–21:30
• Break time: 15:00–17:00
• Last order: 20:30
• Parking available (Jincheon Mat Town car park, 3rd floor)