Cheongju Korean restaurant for dining with a baby: Sorori

Having pot rice with a baby in Cheongju's Seongan-gil

Wondering what to have for lunch or dinner in Cheongju's Seongan-gil? I had lunch today at Sorori Cheongju Main Branch, a great pot-rice spot in Seongan-gil! It is perfect for dining alone and makes such a nice date spot too, so let me introduce it to you 🍚

A location that eased my parking worries

Honestly, whenever I plan to go to Seongan-gil, parking is the first thing I worry about. It is downtown Cheongju, after all, so there are hardly any places to park, and even if you find one, it takes ages... But Sorori Cheongju Main Branch offers parking support at the Urban Regeneration Hub Center, which was so nice. Better yet, after parking underground and coming up the stairs, the restaurant is right across the way, so I did not have to walk far 🅿️

I absolutely love pot rice, so I have been trying pot-rice places all over. Sorori has several directly operated branches, including its Gagyeong branch, Culture Factory branch, and Cheongju Main Branch, and I have already been to two of them. That also means it is delicious enough to trust. Whenever I cannot decide what to eat and there is a Sorori nearby, I head straight there without a second thought 🤓

Antique interiors and thoughtful little details

Is the owner of Sorori Cheongju Main Branch seriously this thoughtful? Does every Sorori branch have interdental brushes? I saw them at the Gagyeong branch too, and here they are at Sorori Cheongju Main Branch as well!!! You know how you can feel the care in small details like that, right? Even cuter is the Sorori buckwheat gimbap (seaweed rice roll) phone grip. The packaging has a slightly market-like, old-fashioned feel, and it is adorable ㅠㅠ

The whole interior has an antique feel! It is full of vintage objects, so it almost felt like I had come to a café in this style, haha.

There are so many seats inside, right? There is even waiting information, so I guess enough people visit to fill this spacious place. It seems great for a solo lunch, a date, or a visit with family!

A self-service bar that is welcome when visiting with a baby

The self-service corner is incredibly well stocked. It is a self-service bar where you can refill the side dishes that come with the meal, and there is buckwheat tea and extra white rice too. You can also help yourself to more green chili peppers, kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), and salted squid. There is even a microwave? A microwave means... you can warm up baby food! As someone raising a baby, I was so happy to see it.

What is more, the baby tableware—spoons, forks, and cups—is kept inside a sterilizer 🍶🍶 Seeing that it is managed hygienically made me feel I could use it for my child without worry.

There are self-service aprons too, so anyone who needs one can pick it up from the self-service bar.

Ordering galbi pot rice and fresh salmon buckwheat gimbap

Ordering is easy at the kiosk. Perhaps because Sorori Cheongju Main Branch feels a little different from the usual pot-rice restaurant(?), it even gave detailed instructions for enjoying the pot rice and buckwheat gimbap deliciously 🍚

I ordered the galbi pot rice for ₩16,000 and packed the fresh salmon buckwheat gimbap for ₩13,000. It was so I could eat it once more for dinner later ㅠㅠ How delicious must it be for me to do that! Some menu items contain wasabi, so check before giving them to a child.

Each table has individually wrapped utensil sets and portioned wet wipes, which felt very hygienic 👍🏻

The side dishes were anchovy doenjang-guk (soybean-paste soup), kkakdugi, green chili peppers, salted squid, butter, gopchang gim (roasted seaweed), soy sauce, and furikake. The side dishes were great for cutting through the richness while eating the pot rice, and sprinkling furikake over the rice really boosted the savory flavor 🍚

Tender beef short ribs and fluffy pot rice

Ta-da—my galbi pot rice finally arrived. At Sorori's Gagyeong branch in Cheongju, the whole meal comes on one big tray, but at Sorori Cheongju Main Branch everything came separately! Each style has its own charm, I think 👍🏻

But the taste! Both the Gagyeong branch and the Cheongju Main Branch are delicious... I guess I need to try the Culture Factory branch next. I worried the beef short ribs might have a gamey smell, but it was truly a pointless worry. The lean meat was amazingly tender and easy to eat too. The combination of glossy, fluffy rice and beef short ribs, since it is pot rice... it is completely my style... Scoop up a big spoonful, put a piece of short rib on top, then wrap it all in gopchang gim—seriously, this is heaven right here ㅠㅠ

A changing table and plenty of high chairs

I packed the fresh salmon buckwheat gimbap, and the takeaway set-up looked neat and nice too. This was my first time trying it... but if the pot rice is this good, how could that not be delicious? Haha. It looks so pretty too—I think wives and girlfriends would love it.

And do you know what was totally amazing? There is a changing table in the women's restroom! With high chairs and a changing table, it really seems perfect for visiting with a child. When you are raising a child, whether a place has a nursing room can decide if you go or not, and Sorori Cheongju Main Branch seems like a great place to visit with a child.

The high chairs are sturdy, and there are plenty of them. You can seat your baby in one and quickly eat your meal 🍚 When I visited, a baby younger than one was having lunch with their mom and dad too 👶🏻🩵 Next time, I think I need to bring my family to Sorori for pot rice. The flavor is obviously guaranteed, but there is so much consideration for children, from the high chairs to the changing table, that I think I could go out to eat feeling at ease.