Gyeongju Korean restaurant dinner with bulgogi and mackerel rice: Goyu

When you’re out and about in Gyeongju with your daughter, you still want one proper meal, right? This time, we were looking for a good restaurant on Hwangridan-gil for an early weekday dinner and visited the newly opened Goyu.

From Spanish mackerel gondre rice to doenjang ssambap (rice wrapped in greens with thick soybean paste), Korean beef bulgogi, and eggplant gangjeong, they were familiar Korean dishes in fun combinations. The place had a neat atmosphere and a wide range of Korean dishes, but the sweet-spicy eggplant gangjeong and smoky bulgogi especially stayed with me.

Goyu · 49 Sajong-ro, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongbuk, South Korea · 11:00–21:00 · No dedicated parking · Use Tabling if there is a wait

A hanok exterior, and a completely different atmosphere inside Goyu

I thought it was a hanok, but the inside had a totally different feel. From outside, the tiled roof immediately gives it that very Gyeongju-like hanok atmosphere.

But once you step inside, the feeling changes completely.

With white tones, wood tables, long fabric draped across the ceiling, and soft lighting, it was much more polished than I expected. It wasn’t overly like a traditional Korean restaurant, but it also wasn’t packed with nothing but trendy styling—the two moods were nicely balanced.

There were also bar seats in front of the open kitchen, which would be nice for two people.

If you want Korean food on Hwangridan-gil along with a good restaurant atmosphere, Goyu seems like a great fit. We went a little before the usual weekday dinner rush on Hwangridan-gil, so it was relatively relaxed.

Rich beef radish soup before the mains

Before the food came out, they served fresh geotjeori kimchi and beef radish soup almost like an appetizer. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much at first.

But after one spoonful—oh? The broth was really rich! The beef in it was especially tender.

Even though it was soup served before the mains, it made me want to mix in rice, haha. Starting off deliciously made me look forward to everything that followed!

Eggplant gangjeong you should try even if you dislike eggplant

And what I really got hooked on that day was the eggplant gangjeong!

First of all, the sauce was delicious. It was a sweet-spicy sauce much like the one used for dakgangjeong (crispy glazed chicken), and I had no idea it would go so well with eggplant. The sauce clung to the outside, while the eggplant inside was incredibly soft.

It practically melted in your mouth. The sweet-spicy sauce hits first, followed by the soft eggplant, so I kept reaching for another piece. If you visit Goyu in Gyeongju, I’d definitely say order the eggplant gangjeong as a side.

Korean beef bulgogi with real smoky flavor

The Korean beef bulgogi came out nicely crisped, just as its name suggests, with a properly lively smoky flavor. The moment I took a bite, the smokiness came right through.

The seasoning wasn’t overly sweet or heavy, so it was great with rice, and it tasted completely different from the eggplant gangjeong.

Ordering them together worked really well: one was sweet and spicy, the other full of smoky flavor.

Spanish mackerel gondre rice, a clean and mild accompaniment

We ordered the Spanish mackerel gondre rice because we wanted one mild dish to have alongside everything else.

First, there was quite a lot of fish. Sometimes a fish looks big but there’s not much left once you pick it apart, but this had thick, substantial Spanish mackerel flesh, haha.

The gondre (Korean thistle greens) was fragrant too, and it went well with the mackerel.

Taking a bite of the Spanish mackerel gondre rice between strongly flavored dishes like eggplant gangjeong and bulgogi was just right. It seems like a good choice for anyone looking for Korean food in Gyeongju who wants a proper rice meal rather than something overly stimulating.

Doenjang ssambap that was lighter than expected

Last was the doenjang ssambap! Since it was thick doenjang, I expected it to be a little salty and heavy, but it was much lighter than I expected.

It had the savory depth of soybean paste, but it wasn’t overly seasoned, so it was easy to eat and good alongside the other dishes.

A wrap of rice with thick doenjang and cold boiled pork on top was also a nice way to refresh the palate between bites.

So if you’re ordering several dishes, adding one doenjang ssambap would be a good idea.

Trying four dishes between two people

My daughter and I went together, and somehow we ended up ordering four dishes, haha.

But interestingly, every dish tasted different, so it didn’t get tiresome at all. The eggplant gangjeong was sweet-spicy and soft, the bulgogi was smoky, the Spanish mackerel gondre rice was mild and fragrant, and the doenjang ssambap was light! Plus, even the rich beef radish soup served at the start was delicious.

If you want slightly different Korean food rather than the usual choices among Hwangridan-gil restaurants, Goyu in Gyeongju is worth a visit. Rather than ordering only a rice dish, I especially recommend adding eggplant gangjeong or bulgogi as a side.

If you’re looking for Korean food on Hwangridan-gil during a Gyeongju trip, this was a nice place for a meal with my daughter, with a neat atmosphere and plenty of menu choices! More than anything, I keep thinking about that sweet-spicy, tender eggplant gangjeong, haha.