Sokcho makguksu spot with buckwheat dumplings and omija sikhye: Topgol

Why visit Sokcho Topgol Makguksu in the afternoon instead of at lunch?

While searching for a good makguksu (buckwheat noodle) restaurant in Sokcho, I came across Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch and went in the afternoon to avoid the crowded lunch hour. It's located at 12 Haeoreum-ro 188beon-gil, Sokcho, Gangwon, South Korea, 1st floor, with hours Mon-Fri 09:30-21:00 (last order 20:30) and Sat-Sun 09:30-22:00 (last order 21:30). Using the public parking lot in front gets you 2 hours free.

What caught my eye while searching was that they make their own noodles in-house using 100% Bongpyeong buckwheat flour mixed with squid ink and yeongji sanghwang mushroom.

Park at the wide public lot in front (well, diagonally across) of the store, and

you'll spot this big sign

Here's the front of the shop

Turns out it's quite famous on Instagram too

Can you bring a dog to Sokcho Topgol Makguksu?

Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch does allow pets, but cages or strollers must have a cover on. Still, it's a lot to have pets welcome at all haha

Inside Sokcho Topgol Makguksu: seating, self-serve bar and yagwanmun tea

Walking in, the counter is right there on the right

A sikhye (sweet rice drink) ad board... it looked good so I ordered one

Here's the interior. Counting the parts not visible here, there are actually quite a lot of indoor seats.

Past weekday mealtime, but customers kept coming in steadily

This place is proud of its deulmemak — they even have it trademarked;;

Nice that you could also drink yagwanmun tea, and next to it the squid and mushroom I was wondering about turned out to be a display of the noodle ingredients, including the buckwheat ^^

Here's the self-serve bar

First I cooled down the omija sikhye — refreshing and delicious, though it felt more like omija tea than sikhye.

The side dishes were shredded radish and yeolmu kimchi, plus salted shrimp and seasoning sauce

Drinking the yagwanmun tea felt nice too. Not sure exactly why, but it kind of felt like my body was getting healthier? Haha

The sign said the public parking lot gives 1 hour free, but when I left it turned out they gave me 2 hours free

The interior again. Apparently this is the only place in Sokcho that sells perilla oil makguksu

Sokcho Topgol Makguksu menu and prices

• Deulmemak (perilla oil buckwheat makguksu) ₩13,000 — trademarked with the Korean Intellectual Property Office on 2026.3.03, made with in-house sea-style noodles
• Handmade perilla oil buckwheat makguksu ₩13,000 — made with perilla oil pressed in-house from perilla grown facing land and sea winds in Goseong, Gangwon
• Sokcho memil makguksu (large) ₩13,000 — 100% Bongpyeong buckwheat with squid ink and yeongji sanghwang mushroom powder, self-made noodles
• Sokcho pollack-hoe makguksu ₩13,000 — pairs well with sweet-and-spicy seasoned suyuk, they say
• Sokcho perilla bomb perilla buckwheat makguksu ₩13,000 — made with domestic perilla powder, customers call it 'Korea's pasta'
• Memil makguksu ₩10,000 — 100% Bongpyeong buckwheat flour, with a secret perilla oil dough recipe
• Suyuk (large) ₩30,000 / Solo suyuk ₩17,000 — solo suyuk comes with dried radish strips, pollack-hoe, and makguksu combo
• Potato pancake ₩17,000, acorn jelly ₩17,000 — the acorn jelly is tossed fresh to order in a special sauce
• Sokcho wang-mandu soup ₩12,000, seafood perilla buckwheat kalguksu ₩12,000
• Memil wang-mandu, 5 pieces ₩10,000 — steamed fresh to order in 8 minutes, one piece free if you come in military uniform
• Memil jeonbyeong (buckwheat pancake roll) ₩10,000 — a side dish for Sokcho makgeolli
• Kids' set meal ₩6,000, extra noodle bundle ₩5,000 (required when ordering the large size)

Our group ordered one deulmemak, one memil makguksu, solo suyuk, memil wang-mandu, and omija sikhye.

Bags of 100% buckwheat flour from Bongpyeong Nonghyup sitting in a corner of the store — seems like their way of showing proof ^^

Deulmemak vs buckwheat makguksu, and the fruit dongchimi trick

Finally, the famous deulmemak (perilla oil buckwheat makguksu) arrived. It was nutty with just the right seasoning already in it, so no extra sauce was needed. I get why it's the signature dish.

As instructed, pouring in the fruit dongchimi (radish water kimchi) at the end gives it a tangy, totally different flavor.

The memil (seasoned) makguksu

This was delicious too~~

Here's how to eat the makguksu. The fruit dongchimi really is the hidden cheat code at this place

Suyuk for one and buckwheat wang-mandu at Sokcho Topgol Makguksu

We also ordered the solo suyuk

The meat was so tender, quality everyone would love. Isn't suyuk with makguksu just the universal rule at this point? Haha

The buckwheat wang-mandu was also delicious

[overhead shot]

The fruit dongchimi was delicious even on its own haha

They also sell buckwheat cookies and noodles.

On the way out I noticed a bunch of printed photos from other customers' visits displayed in a corner

Leaving full and satisfied made for a great afternoon. This is a place I'd love to come back to next time I'm in Sokcho. Hope this helps if you're looking for a good makguksu restaurant in Sokcho.