Kid-friendly Sokcho makguksu restaurant with sanitized high chairs: Topgol

When you're traveling with a little one, picking a restaurant really matters, right? Beyond the taste, you end up checking closely whether the menu is easy for a baby to eat and whether the hygiene and facilities are up to scratch. This time I found a spot near Sokcho Beach that the whole family was happy with.

It's Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch (속초탑골막국수 본점), which pulls its noodles the moment you order for a nuttiness on a whole other level! We came in hungry after playing our hearts out at Sokcho Beach, and it was perfect for enjoying the taste of Sokcho without anything overpowering. It's close to the beach and the Ferris wheel, so it's easy to fit into a travel route too.

They open early, from 9:30 a.m., so it's a really nice option for brunch when you're kicking off your Sokcho trip. We booked ahead and got seated comfortably without any wait.

A clean interior and a sanitization notice on the baby high chairs

Stepping inside, there were a lot of tables. But the thing that moved me most as a parent was the baby high chair.

You know how the baby chairs restaurants hand you are often a bit unhygienic? Here, though, the pink baby chair had a notice attached reading "This baby chair has been fully sanitized with a non-irritating disinfectant."

Thanks to that small attentiveness and hygiene care, my trust shot up before we'd even eaten. Ordering was easy too, done on a tablet installed at each table.

For cash payment or any other questions, the staff at the counter kindly walk you through it, so ordering isn't hard even on a first visit.

Fresh-pulled deulmemak paired with suyuk

Sitting down and looking around, I saw a big sign reading "Makguksu noodles are pulled from buckwheat the moment you order."

Buckwheat makguksu (cold buckwheat noodles) blended with Sokcho's famous squid ink and powdered reishi and sanghwang mushrooms from Seoraksan — there's no way that could taste bad, right?

One wall was covered in celebrity autographs, so I really felt I'd arrived at Sokcho's deulmemak mecca. We ordered the deulmemak (perilla oil makguksu) in the large size, the pollack salad buckwheat makguksu, and a tender single-serving suyuk (boiled pork slices) that goes great alongside.

Before long the table was full of food, and just the look of it had me drooling.

Deulmemak (perilla oil makguksu)

This is the signature dish: a shallow pool of perilla oil sauce topped generously with fresh perilla leaves, nutty seaweed flakes and toasted sesame salt.

I gave it a quick mix and took a bite, and the nutty aroma filled my whole mouth — the savoriness was seriously incredible. We added extra noodles for the large size, and my two kids and I ate it between the three of us! The portion is really generous.

Pollack salad buckwheat makguksu

This makguksu is topped with sweet-and-spicy myeongtae-hoe muchim (spicy pollack salad), a Sokcho essential,

and the seasoning isn't overly hot but deeply savory, so it was the best for alternating bites with the perilla oil makguksu.

Single-serving suyuk

The suyuk was boiled moist and tender with no porky smell at all, and the ratio of lean meat to fat was perfect. Eaten with the dried radish and crunchy chili peppers that came with it, it made a dream pairing with the makguksu.

Perilla oil makguksu even a small child ate happily

Honestly, even though my kid likes noodle dishes, I was slightly worried they wouldn't eat it if the flavor was too strong.

But what do you know — the second I put a little perilla oil makguksu on their plate, they grabbed the noodles with a fork and inhaled them hahahaha

It's not a harsh or artificial-seasoning kind of taste; the earthy flavor of the buckwheat itself and the rich nuttiness of the perilla oil come together, which I think is why it suited a small child's palate so well.

Watching my kid happily eat with noodles smeared around their mouth, I thought, we really did the right thing coming here. Grown-ups who like a spicy kick can enjoy the pollack salad makguksu and suyuk,

while kids who can't handle anything strong can be set up with the perilla oil makguksu, so it couldn't be a better place for a whole-family meal. Portions are generous too, and we were properly stuffed by the end.

On the way out after a great meal, I noticed a Naver receipt review event was running too.

Post a review and you get two warm, chewy large buckwheat dumplings on the house, so if you visit, be sure to join in and grab them.

Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch, where we ate this time, had a clean dining environment, that thoughtful baby chair sanitization service, and above all

healthy, delicious makguksu pulled fresh on order — a Sokcho spot that satisfied on every front. If you're stopping by Sokcho Beach and looking for a Sokcho makguksu restaurant where the whole family can eat comfortably,

I wholeheartedly recommend heading straight to this Sokcho deulmemak mecca without a second thought. You'll fall for its clean yet deep nuttiness for sure!