Buan seafood restaurant near Sonovel: 5-fish grill set at Gyehwado

While on a day trip to Buan, I was trying to figure out where to eat and ended up at Gyehwado, a Byeonsan restaurant known for its clay-pot rice and grilled fish. It's right in front of Sonovel Byeonsan, so it's also a great pick for lunch or dinner if you're staying at the resort haha. If you're looking for a good grilled fish spot in Buan, keep this one in mind!

Gyehwado / 46 Byeonsanhaebyeon-ro, Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeonbuk / Daily 07:00 - 22:00 / Break time 15:00 - 16:30 / Last order 21:30 / Parking available

Where is Gyehwado, and where do you park? Right at the Sonovel Byeonsan entrance

Gyehwado is on the 1st floor of the shopping strip right in front of the entrance to Sonovel Byeonsan! Gyeokpo Beach is also just up front, so it's a great spot to grab a meal and then walk over to see the ocean before or after.

If you're driving, there's a parking line right in front of the restaurant and a large lot beside it. Plenty of space, so it's easy to come by car.

Inside Gyehwado: group tables and high chairs

The interior of Gyehwado was really big and spacious, easily big enough for large groups! There was a shoe rack, so I thought you had to take your shoes off to enter, but turns out you keep them on haha. Shoes on, come on in!

They have disposable aprons, high chairs, and even phone chargers, which is super handy for someone like me who takes a ton of photos while traveling haha.

Water and side dishes are brought out first, and you refill from the self-service bar after that. The self-bar area was clean and everything had lids on it, which I liked — felt well managed.

Grilled fish or braised fish — which to order at Gyehwado

Gyehwado's signature menus are grilled fish and braised fish. We went back and forth between the two, but since each menu has to be ordered for 2 people, choosing braised would mean only getting pomfret or hairtail. So we went with grilled, since it lets you try a variety of fish.

The other reason I went with grilled fish — it comes with live rockfish! There's a rockfish tank right behind the restaurant, so they catch it live the moment you order and cook it up.

This is the full table with the clay-pot rice and grilled fish set. The side dishes were all plated cleanly, and the smell of the grilled fish, plus the sound of it still sizzling as it arrived, got my mouth watering immediately!

7 side dishes and the complimentary clam seaweed soup

Isn't this a seriously generous spread haha. With 7 side dishes, fresh clam seaweed soup, and perfectly grilled clay-pot rice, this feels like a great place for adults to have a meal with a drink, and just as good for a family meal.

The clam seaweed soup comes free, but it still had plenty of fresh clams in it, which made it feel high quality. And maybe because Jeolla-do is known for good food, the side dishes were all delicious too — I kept reaching for more!

The five grilled fish: jeoge, rockfish, croaker, flounder and bakdae

Gyehwado's grilled fish set comes with a total of 5 kinds of fish: jeoge, rockfish, croaker, flounder, and bakdae. They apparently use higher-grade fish rather than the cheaper options. Rockfish especially is a pricier fish, and since it comes out whole, the whole set felt like great quality.

• Jeoge
• Rockfish (whole live-caught rockfish)
• Croaker
• Flounder
• Bakdae

Maybe because it's fresh rockfish eaten right away, it was so, so good~~ Chewy enough to remind me of eating rockfish sashimi, and every other fish was also way better and fresher-tasting than grilled fish I've had in the city! Ordering one grilled fish set to try this many different flavors felt like great value too.

The seasoning is on the stronger side, so it was plenty tasty even without dipping it in soy sauce haha. I came here while searching for good food in Buan, and I'm really glad I did because the fish was genuinely delicious haha. If you're looking for a Korean restaurant near Sonovel Byeonsan, try the grilled fish at Gyehwado!