Gwangalli lunch, Gwangan Bridge view rooms: wood-fired mackerel grill

What is Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Gwangalli Waterside Park Branch?

Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Gwangalli Waterside Park Branch is an ocean-view grilled fish restaurant on the 2nd floor of 147 Minrak Subyeon-ro, Suyeong-gu, Busan. It's on the second floor with Gwangalli's Gwangan Bridge right in view, and the shop's windows are rounded. It's a famous ocean-view grilled fish spot known for its wide-open scenery.

It's on the 2nd floor, but there's an elevator, so it's easy to get to.

Walking in, the first thing you see is Gwangan Bridge stretching out like a panorama. Wow, the view here is really nice~! The refreshing river and city skyline come into view all at once. That feeling of stuffiness just melting away~ The stylish interior helps too. The natural light is really great, so the inside is very bright, but shooting into the light meant the interior came out dark in photos — a bit of a shame.

It'd probably be pretty whether you come at lunch or dinner. And there's almost no fish smell. The restaurant is spacious and well-ventilated, so it doesn't feel like a grilled fish place at all. I could eat without worrying about the smell sticking to my clothes.

In the main hall there are seats along the window with the Gwangan Bridge view, plus about a dozen 4-person tables. Besides that, there were also lots of rooms of various sizes.

Are the private rooms in Suyeong good for a family lunch?

From the biggest room to the smallest, every single room has the Gwangan Bridge view opened right up. It's already famous as a go-to gathering spot in Gwangalli, so I'd wanted to try it once, and it's nice. Good for bringing your parents, or if you're looking for a room restaurant in Suyeong-gu. The interior is super bright, but again, shooting into the light made it come out dark.

Self-bar side dishes and the menu at Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo

The self-bar is free to use, and it's packed with tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), rice, various namul (seasoned vegetables), banchan (side dishes), kimchi and plenty of vegetables. For dessert there's coffee, plum tea, iced tea, and barley tea prepared.

The signature menu items are the wood-fired grilled mackerel and grilled hairtail.

There were a lot of fish options — dried yellow corvina, dried pollack, soy sauce and seasoned crab meal sets. If you can't eat seafood, there are also tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties) and jeyuk (spicy pork) meal sets, so it's good for coming with people who don't like fish.

It's one menu item per person, and even elementary school-age kids need to order their own menu item.

For +₩2,000, any grilled fish comes topped with a spicy sauce. Rice can be chosen as white rice, brown rice, or gondre-bap (+₩2,000).

Wood-fired grilled mackerel, wood-fired grilled Spanish mackerel + gondre-bap.

It took about 10–15 minutes, so the grilled fish came out freshly cooked. Maybe because the oven's at 500°C? They come out really fast.

Gondre-bap and seaweed soup with the wood-fired grilled fish. Side dishes were jangajji (pickled vegetables), mushrooms, bean sprouts, kimchi and egg.

There were more side dishes at the self-bar that didn't overlap. I went and grabbed more pickled onion, japchae, cucumber salad, and cucumber peppers from the self-bar.

How does the wood-fired grilled mackerel taste?

The wood-fired grilled mackerel came out as a large half-mackerel, well cooked. The mackerel skin looked crispy, and a nutty aroma drifted up.

The mackerel flesh, full of umami, was so moist, packed with juices. In the high-heat oven the fat rendered right out and only the nutty flavor remained, so it wasn't fishy at all and was delicious.

I mixed the gondre-bap with the seasoned soy sauce, so for the grilled fish I skipped dipping it further into soy sauce and just topped it with wasabi. The gondre's subtle aroma had soaked in well, so eating it together with the grilled fish gave really nice depth of flavor.

They also gave a generous bowl of cool seaweed soup, so much that even after serving myself some, plenty was left. The side dishes were well-seasoned too, so I ate a good variety.

Not just the back portion but the lower flesh near the bone was also crispy and well cooked~! A really great, healthy rice side dish, this wood-fired grilled mackerel~

Eating slowly while looking at the scenery outside made for good digestion and a good time. I thought I'd have to bring my parents back here.

Wood-fired Spanish mackerel: two fish to a plate

The wood-fired grilled Spanish mackerel came out as a big fish, even bigger than the mackerel earlier. Two came together on one plate, and there were serving plates next to the spoons for dividing it up, so it's good for sharing. If you want to eat it separately, it might be nice to mention that in advance...!

The Spanish mackerel was also well grilled — crispy skin, with the fish's own natural fat oozing out moist.

The Spanish mackerel was fluffy, really soft and tender. Clean and nutty tasting~! Since the fish was big, the flesh was thick too, so getting a big! bite in was really satisfying.

Eating the Spanish mackerel with wasabi and gondre-bap too was sharp and nice. The mackerel had that deep umami I liked, and the Spanish mackerel was soft as castella cake — good good..!! I enjoyed both so much.

It was a quiet meal where I could slowly feel the change of seasons. I'll have to bring my parents back to Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Gwangalli Waterside Park Branch, with that panoramic Gwangan Bridge view.

Hours, parking and how to visit

• Location: Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Gwangalli Waterside Park Branch, 147 Minrak Subyeon-ro, 2nd floor, Suyeong-gu, Busan
• Hours: 11:00 - 21:00
• Parking: ₩1,000 support per table when parking at the public parking lot
• Receipt review gets a canned drink or 3 shrimp jang (soy-marinated shrimp)