Hongdae restaurant in Seoul for a couple's late-summer meal: Anok

I visited Anok, a well-loved spot in Hongdae. Summer's almost over and somehow I hadn't had Pyongyang naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles) even once this year, so when I heard Anok lets you enjoy both naengmyeon and gomtang (bone broth soup) in one visit, I had to check it out! Here's my review of Anok, a Hongdae restaurant that manages to feel quiet and unhurried in the middle of always-crowded Hongdae. ❛˓◞˂̵✧

Anok's opening hours and parking

• Hours: Tue-Sun 11:00-22:00 / Closed Mondays / Last order 21:00
• Address: 13-4 Hongik-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Parking: use nearby public parking lots

Finding Anok: 7 minutes on foot from Hongik University Station

I never imagined a place this quiet and unhurried could exist just 7 minutes' walk from Hongdae Station, but I was already excited from the entrance alone! Ah, there's no dedicated parking, so you'll need to use a nearby public lot, but since it's Hongdae I'd recommend public transit anyway! ʚ♡ɞ

Inside Anok: hanok atmosphere and seating

The inside of Anok was just as neatly kept, with everything from two-person tables to group tables, so it looked like it could easily handle a work dinner too! •‿• Since it's a hanok (traditional Korean house) space, it also felt like a nice place to bring parents.𓇼

Anok's menu and its 48-hour broth

There were simple single-meal options like gomtang, Pyongyang naengmyeon, and yukhoe bibimbap (raw beef mixed rice), plus plenty of shareable dishes like hot pots, braised pork tail, chilled pork, and pancakes.

Apparently Anok's broth is simmered for 48 hours with various medicinal ingredients like astragalus root and burdock! Exactly what I needed since I'd been feeling run down 𖥔 ˖ Ah, and they're also giving out a drink with their review event, so be sure to check that out too 𓇼

The side dishes at Anok: sauce, kimchi and gungchae

Anok's basic side dishes come as seasoning sauce, kimchi, and gungchae (aster greens) — and I happen to love gungchae, so the crunchy texture with soy seasoning was exactly to my taste!

Salt and pepper were set out on the table like this, so you could season to your own taste!

What the couple ordered at Anok, and what it cost

• Clear pork gomtang ₩13,000
• Pyongyang naengmyeon (water) ₩14,000
• Braised pork tail ₩29,000

Clear pork gomtang, 13,000 won

Anok's gomtang comes in an XL size too, but even the regular size had a ton of meat, so I was completely stuffed! The rice doesn't come separately — it's served together, gukbap-style. The clear broth was truly clean-tasting 𖥔 ˖

Gomtang really needs kimchi to taste right, doesn't it. I put kimchi on a spoonful of rice and finished off every last bit of broth!

Pyongyang naengmyeon buried in meat, 14,000 won

The naengmyeon's presentation genuinely surprised me,,,,, Pyongyang naengmyeon is usually really pricey, right? And even at that price you usually only get a couple of slices of meat on top — but Anok's naengmyeon is absolutely loaded with meat!

There was so much meat it completely covered the noodles. I'm not really a meat person, but the meat on top of this kind of naengmyeon is low in fat so I eat it just fine! Usually I'm disappointed by how little meat there is, but Anok's naengmyeon has as much meat as the gomtang! 𖤐

And it's not like the noodle portion was small either. There was a generous amount of noodles too!

The noodles weren't the kind that snap apart easily, which made them nicer to eat, and the naengmyeon broth was very mild! I'm someone who really loves that mild flavor, so it suited my taste perfectly ◡̈♥

Braised pork tail, a first taste at 29,000 won

And then, braised pork tail, which I'd never had before! It's one of Anok's signature dishes so I ordered it — and the moment it arrived, the smell of the sauce was incredibly appetizing ღ

This was my first time eating pork tail, so I only just learned it's a part with a lot of fat!

Can you see how springy it looks? Chewy texture, solid✦

And this pork tail sauce is genuinely amazing. It seems to be gochujang (red chili paste)-based, and it's just so, so appealing. I usually avoid red sauces like this since I find them too intense, so I was a little worried. But despite how it looks, it's not intense at all. Just plain delicious sauce. I wished they had extra rice cake toppings to add to it lol◡̈⋆

The sauce was so good that my husband and I ended up putting it on everything while we ate. On the gomtang, on the naengmyeon, even on the meat from the gomtang and naengmyeon lol lol. It was that delicious! It felt like it would go great with an extra noodle add-on too. A sauce that won over both me, who dislikes intense flavors, and my husband, who can't handle spicy food!•ᴥ•

Who will enjoy a meal at Anok?

Anok🎀, a Hongdae favorite, won me over with gomtang and Pyongyang naengmyeon made from a clear, deep, home-simmered broth — but it was the unexpectedly memorable pork tail sauce that really stuck with me ◡̈⋆

For anyone wanting a quiet, unhurried atmosphere in the middle of always-crowded Hongdae, anyone looking for a hanok-style restaurant to bring a foreign friend to, or anyone needing a spot for a small group dinner — this place works for all kinds of occasions. And with no break time, you can drop in any time, which felt like a big plus!