Icheon family room with self-serve lettuce bar: Neul Gogi Jip

You all know Icheon means Icheon rice, right?! So whenever I'm in Icheon I end up hunting down hanjeongsik (Korean set-meal) or rice-set restaurants. On this trip I tried a bunch of famous Icheon spots, and "Neul Gogi Jip Icheon Main Branch" stood out for how satisfying both the food quality and the service were. So I wanted to introduce it to anyone looking for a proper meal in Icheon. :)

Location and business hours

• 📍 2541 Gyeongchung-daero, Icheon-si, Gyeonggi-do
• ⏰ Hours: Daily 11:00–21:30 (break time weekdays 15:30–16:30)
• ⏰ Last order: 20:30
• 🚗 Parking: available
• 📌 Extra info: group bookings, reservations, takeout, corkage, wheelchair access, kids' chairs available

Neul Gogi Jip Icheon Main Branch is right next to Icheon Bareun Hospital, so it was easy to find! There's an Icheon Hi-Mart and Happy Mart nearby too, and it's across from Icheon Miranda Hotel, which made it easy to give directions to. It's close to downtown Icheon, Seolbong Park, and Icheon Medical Center too, so it's a convenient stop when you're looking for a place to eat in Icheon — and it's only about a 10-minute drive from Icheon Simon Terrace or Icheon Terme Den, so it worked well during my Icheon trip. 😊

Exterior — a standalone building with parking for 30 cars

Neul Gogi Jip is a standalone building, so it's easy to find even on your first visit! Best of all, there's parking for about 30 cars right in front of the restaurant, so I could visit without any parking stress.

It seemed like a great option for a family meal out or taking your parents, since you don't need to worry much about parking. There can be a wait if the restaurant is full, but since I visited around 11am on a weekend, I was seated right away with no waiting.

Interior — a 120-seat hall and rooms for 6 to 26 people

The interior was huge! There's a 120-seat hall along with sofa seating and rooms, so I could eat comfortably.

There are separate rooms too, which seemed perfect for family gatherings, meeting-the-in-laws dinners, or group get-togethers! Kids' chairs and tableware were also available, so it's a good recommendation for visiting with a baby too 👍 (rooms hold a minimum of 6 up to a maximum of 26 people). Each table also had a kiosk for easy ordering, and there was a separate waiting area.

And the aura you get right from the entrance—they even received a 2026 Blue Ribbon award 🎀. They're also running a Chuseok gift set discount, so keep that in mind!

How's the self-serve wrap vegetable bar?

The self-serve bar was kept really clean, and there were so many kinds of wrap vegetables—perilla leaves, lettuce, napa cabbage, celery, cabbage, and more! Best of all, the vegetables were fresh and generously stocked, so the fun of wrapping ssambap and the jeyuk (spicy stir-fried pork) just kept going into my mouth—haha.

Menu and prices

Neul Gogi Jip is a meat restaurant, but it's also a place where you can properly enjoy a full Korean set meal! The signature dishes are the soy crab ssambap set and the nuruk-marinated grilled ribs, and at lunch the ssambap set with warm pot rice and the jeyuk bokkeum (stir-fried pork) are apparently popular. ※The lunch special runs until 14:30※

I visited for lunch and ordered the soy crab jeyuk ssambap set (₩24,900 per person), and looking around at other tables, plenty of people were having the meat dishes too!

The meat is domestic fresh meat, naturally aged with nuruk (rice malt) salt, so it's basically guaranteed to be delicious... drooling already (anyone looking for Icheon galbi, come here!!)

The soy crab jeyuk ssambap set review

The soy crab jeyuk ssambap set came out generously loaded, made up of jeyuk bokkeum + master-crafted side dishes + doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) + pot rice!

Apparently Neul Gogi Jip mills its own golden rice fresh every day for the pot rice. Maybe that's why even the plain rice tasted good on its own? Haha. Eaten with all the other dishes, a whole bowl disappeared in no time.

Number of side dishes and seasoning

Can you see how many side dishes there were...? The kimchi ranged from aged kimchi to yeolmu (young radish) kimchi, plus shishito peppers, seasoned danmuji (pickled radish), seasoned eggplant, perilla leaves, various namul (seasoned vegetables), and more. You could finish a whole bowl of rice on the side dishes alone! Best of all, the seasoning overall wasn't too strong, so I kept reaching for more—the portions were so generous that I couldn't even finish some of them, no refills needed. 😅

Beef tendon doenjang jjigae

The beef tendon doenjang jjigae wasn't just a basic stew—it had a really deep, savory flavor! The beef tendon especially was so chewy, and simmering it over charcoal doubled the flavor‼️

Master-crafted soy crab

And the thing I remember most from this meal was the master-crafted soy crab. Since it's soy crab made directly by a fermentation master, the umami hit as soon as I tasted it!! Plus the seasoning at Neul Gogi Jip was just right. It ranks among the best soy crab I've ever had.

They apparently use domestic hwangge (yellow crab) from Tongyeong, and the meat was pretty well-packed—total rice thief! (a Korean expression for a side dish so good it makes you eat more rice). If you're trying soy crab for the first time, this is the place to do it.

Jeyuk bokkeum

The second main dish, jeyuk bokkeum, had a nice charred flavor and a slight kick of spice, so wrapping it with the lettuce and vegetables was the perfect combo!

Things to check before visiting

One thing that surprised me while eating was the water they served separately at the restaurant! With the philosophy that "water is food too," they apparently use mildly alkaline water for cooking the rice, making broth, and washing ingredients. It was even served to guests neatly in bottles, which made it feel like they put extra care in. :)

Also, if you take part in the receipt review event, you can get a ₩8,000 cheese egg steam dish, so definitely take part if you visit!

After the meal, you can enjoy dessert ice cream and coffee in the lounge or outdoor area!

Dessert ice cream at typical meat restaurants often tastes kind of cheap, but here even the ice cream tasted premium, which really surprised me! They nailed the dessert too, so it was a satisfying meal right through to the end.

Who should visit

From the soy crab to the jeyuk, the pot rice, and the side dishes—this was the most memorable meal I had in Icheon.

• ✔ Anyone looking for a good restaurant in Icheon
• ✔ Anyone looking for an Icheon Korean restaurant to take their parents to
• ✔ Anyone looking for an Icheon meat restaurant or Icheon galbi spot
• ✔ Anyone looking for a venue for family gatherings, meeting-the-in-laws dinners, or group events
• ✔ Anyone looking for an Icheon restaurant with easy parking

Of all the places I've eaten in Icheon, Neul Gogi Jip Icheon Main Branch was especially satisfying! It's a spot in Icheon I'd love to visit again, next time bringing my parents along. :)