Seongan-gil pot rice restaurant with free parking in Cheongju: Sorori

Today I visited Sorori on Seongan-gil in Cheongju. Since I'm a regular there, I'll share my menu recommendations along with the best way to eat it! It's located right across from the Cheongju Urban Regeneration Hub Center.

• Open year-round
• Daily 11:00–20:30 (weekday break time 15:00–17:00)
• All menu items, including pot rice and buckwheat gimbap, available for takeout
• Free 1-hour parking at the Urban Regeneration Hub Center underground lot

Where is Sorori and where do you park?

Sorori Cheongju Main Branch is on the 1st floor at 37 Jungang-ro, Seongan-gil, Cheongju, right across from the Cheongju Urban Regeneration Hub Center. Park at the Hub Center's underground lot and you get 1 hour free.

Here's the exterior of Sorori! Retro yet clean, right?

The Urban Regeneration Hub Center is really right in front haha

All the menu items, including pot rice and buckwheat gimbap, are available for takeout, and they're open year-round. Since takeout is possible, people working nearby could grab it for lunch too!

Sorori seating and waiting: 20 four-person tables, full by 12:30 on Saturday

Sorori has about 20 four-person tables, each with its own kiosk, which is convenient. Around 11:30-12:00 on Saturday there was no wait, but by around 12:30 it was almost fully booked.

The restaurant is really spacious, right?!

There are baby chairs prepared for those visiting with kids.

On one side there was a space decorated in a retro style. Looks like they use Jincheon rice.

There was also an area decorated with LPs, so retro vibes were felt everywhere.

What to order at Sorori: galbi pot rice and Korean beef tripe pot rice

You check Sorori's menu and order directly on the kiosk. You can pay separately for what each person wants, or split the bill evenly, which is especially convenient when visiting with a group.

There are so many types of pot rice. Samgye (chicken) pot rice is a summer-only item, and the best menu items are the galbi pot rice and Korean beef tripe pot rice! Both are my favorites — the galbi pot rice is sweet and savory, a flavor almost everyone likes, while the tripe pot rice has spicy seasoning plus the tripe's distinctive rich, chewy texture for a different kind of flavor.

I also tried the abalone butter pot rice, and it tasted exactly as you'd imagine — delicious as expected. I haven't tried the crab pot rice or mackerel pot rice yet, so I'm planning to try the mackerel pot rice next time.

The cockle pot rice and pollack roe butter pot rice are reasonably priced too! The freshwater eel pot rice is the priciest item at ₩20,000 — good to pair with samgye pot rice on a day you really want to recharge your body.

Three buckwheat gimbap rolls, and why the fresh salmon one wins

Sorori has three types of buckwheat gimbap (seaweed rice roll): the giant buckwheat futomaki, fresh salmon buckwheat gimbap, and the basic buckwheat gimbap. I've tried the salmon one and the basic one, and personally I strongly recommend the fresh salmon buckwheat gimbap! With salmon, egg, buckwheat, and wasabi mayo all in one bite, the combination is really good. It feels like a healthy dish but it's tasty and quite filling too~!

If you're visiting with several people, the set menu is good too. You can sample a bit of both pot rice and buckwheat gimbap, perfect for those who want to try a bit of everything. Today, for two of us,

Galbi pot rice (₩16,000) Fresh salmon buckwheat gimbap (₩13,000)

this is what we ordered!

The menu even has instructions on the best way to eat it. If it's your first visit, take a look and try it that way.

Self-serve bar: anchovy broth, side dishes and buckwheat tea

Sorori has everything ready, from baby tableware to spoons, forks, and cups, and you can grab as much anchovy broth and side dishes as you need from the self-serve bar. There's also warm buckwheat tea, which I loved so much when I visited in winter.

Utensil holders, wet wipes, and tissues are also set up next to each table, so you can grab them whenever you need.

Galbi pot rice, 16,000 won: chestnuts and sweet pumpkin included

My galbi pot rice arrived. It has not just galbi but chestnuts, sweet pumpkin, and chili too. I'm actually not usually a huge fan of braised galbi, but Sorori's galbi pot rice is so delicious that I keep thinking about it! Sweet and savory, right up my alley. The chestnuts are seriously good — I ended up just picking them out one by one.

Fresh salmon buckwheat gimbap, 13,000 won: avocado and fried tofu inside

And the fresh salmon buckwheat gimbap I really want to recommend! It might not look that big in photos, but the portion is genuinely huge.

Inside there's not just salmon and egg but avocado and fried tofu (yubu) too, and all the ingredients felt harmonious together.

With these two items ordered, we had a full spread.

For basic side dishes we got seasoned squid jeotgal, diced radish kimchi, pickled chili, plus butter and seaweed to mix into the pot rice. All the basic side dishes were seriously delicious.

How to eat Sorori's pot rice the right way

The galbi pot rice is great eaten plain, and it's also good wrapped in seaweed.

What I especially love is eating it with the pickled chili. The tangy, spicy flavor completely cuts through the richness of the galbi — totally my style ❤️

Wasabi comes on the side too, so if the wasabi mayo isn't enough, you can add more, and I also like topping it with a bit of pickled ginger. Even though the two of us only ordered pot rice and buckwheat gimbap, we ate until we were completely stuffed. Thanks for the meal 💗😊

Restrooms, the parking voucher and the buckwheat gimbap grip tok

The restrooms are separated by gender (and there's a diaper-changing station too),

and they were clean. They even had mouthwash ready — such a nice touch..!

Make sure to grab your parking voucher, and they also sell a cute buckwheat gimbap grip tok.

It's priced at ₩11,000. All proceeds go to children in need and orphanages, so you get to do something good and get a grip tok too — win-win!

And they even had dental floss ready! Eating galbi or tripe pot rice always leaves something stuck between your teeth, so being able to use it right after the meal was really nice.

Who is Sorori best for?

The restaurant is spacious with plenty of seating, so it was comfortable to eat there. Above all, the menu ranges widely from pot rice to buckwheat gimbap, and many dishes use plenty of good ingredients rather than being heavily seasoned, so it's great to bring elderly parents along or visit for a meal with kids!

The atmosphere is retro yet clean and tastefully decorated, making it a great fit for family meals as well as dates! I was satisfied with both the food and the vibe 👍 If you're craving a hearty meal on Seongan-gil and like pot rice or buckwheat gimbap, I recommend Sorori!!!