Daejeon family restaurant with free kids' meals: Gatjidong Noeun

Exhausted from solo parenting on a Saturday, I met up with my younger sibling's family after a kids' café visit for a family meal, and we headed to a Noeun-dong restaurant near Daejeon World Cup Stadium: Gatjidong. We'd been once before after a walk at Daejeon National Cemetery, and the kids devoured the pork cutlets so happily that we swung by again on our way through.

Where is Gatjidong Noeun Branch, and what are its hours?

Gatjidong Noeun Branch is located at 53 Eungubinam-ro 7beon-gil, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon — easy to spot by its bright yellow sign. It's open daily from 11am to 9pm, with last order at 8:30pm, so you can still get a meal in the late evening.

Driving over, the vivid yellow sign was visible from far away, so it was easy to find.

Weekend lunch parking and what the restaurant feels like

Even though it was weekend lunchtime, there were plenty of spaces in the lot out front, so parking was easy. Noeun-dong is generally hard to park in, which makes people hesitant to drive there, so having ample parking at Gatjidong was a big plus.

True to its reputation as a Yuseong favorite, the inside was packed even in the late lunch hour. Luckily the food came out fast, so turnover was quick. It seems like a good spot for office workers to grab a fast lunch on weekdays too.

There's a waiting area with seats, so you can sit while you wait. The restroom is outside the restaurant.

What we ordered at Gatjidong Noeun Branch

While waiting, we read through the menu carefully. Last time we just ordered pork cutlets because they were so good, but this time my salmon-loving sibling ordered the tomato green citrus salmon udon, I got the boneless soy sauce shrimp rice bowl, and the kids had the signature half-and-half pork cutlet.

How the free kids' meal works at the kiosk and self bar

Ordering at Gatjidong Noeun Branch is done via table kiosk. And here's exactly why Gatjidong is so family-friendly: the kiosk kids' service!!! Free kids' furikake rice! Free soup! Free soup! All you need to order is one pork cutlet as the main dish!

You can freely help yourself to rice, soup, soup, and side dishes, plus grab kids' tableware, a high chair, scissors to cut food, small plates, and more without any hesitation.

The tableware was totally the kids' style too.

First, we settled everyone's stomachs with soup. Of course, they ate it up eagerly.

They just picked up the bowls and drank straight from them. I hurriedly stopped them, worried people would think I never feed them. Both the 4- and 6-year-old ate it without any fuss.

Signature half-and-half pork cutlet and the cheese hourglass

While the soup was settling our stomachs, the pork cutlets arrived right away. With delivery orders constantly coming in and the place full of customers, I expected a wait, but it came out faster than I thought.

Apparently the cheese pork cutlet tastes best if you wait for the hourglass timer — one minute — and then cut it into pieces. But, well, typical Korean impatience.

Nobody reads the instructions. For the hungry kids, we'd already cut in. Even so, the cheese stretched beautifully — they must be using good cheese. I gave the kids a piece and tried some myself, and the sauce was really delicious. Some places go overboard with their cutlet sauce, but Gatjidong's was sweet with a flavor that kept me coming back for more.

How the tomato green citrus salmon udon tastes

After portioning out rice for the kids and adding extra rice, the tomato green citrus salmon udon arrived. I love how straightforward the menu names are.

The salmon comes cut nearly as long as the udon noodles themselves. I think this is intentional on the chef's part — eating the noodles and salmon together in one bite, the chewy texture of the udon dominates and the salmon barely registers at first. But as you keep chewing, right as the udon is nearly finished, the salmon's savoriness suddenly announces itself: 'I'm here.' At that moment, the scallion aroma along with the subtle tartness and sweetness of the green citrus and tomato mediate between the two and linger on the tongue. That's fine dining!

It's like watching two dragons ascend to the sky.

Boneless soy sauce shrimp rice bowl

The boneless soy sauce shrimp rice bowl — another straightforwardly named dish.

I scooped up a spoonful and topped it with shrimp and fresh wasabi.

Chomp. It looks messy because of my mustache, but I really wasn't eating that sloppily. As for the taste: the shrimp was firm and plump, well-seasoned with soy sauce, and you could taste the rice, egg yolk, onion, and scallion all together. The seasoning was balanced, not too salty, and the wasabi brought out the shrimp flavor nicely. Genuinely delicious.

The soy sauce shrimp was really plump and large. Having eaten a satisfying meal, I finally started noticing the thoughtful little touches scattered around the restaurant.

There was a first-aid box with medicine and bandages, plus mix coffee available to drink after the meal. They even had a decaf option — did they think of pregnant customers too??

Is Gatjidong Noeun Branch worth it with kids?

On weekends, it's a family-friendly restaurant that satisfies everyone's tastes, from adults to kids. On weekdays, it's a restaurant with fast turnover, good for office workers to grab a quick meal. The food was outstanding, no complaints at all.