Nampo-dong bar in Busan for seafood pasta stew and Chapagetti: Budan

Trying to figure out where to go for round two, I was craving something spicy and soupy, so I headed to Budan Nampo Branch. It felt like a newer bar in Nampo-dong, so I was curious, and while checking the menu I spotted something called hangover seafood pasta stew. Tomato-based, spicy broth + seafood + pasta... I had to go.

I originally agonized over whether to order just the hangover seafood pasta stew or just the jjapaguri. My conclusion: let's just get both^^😗 It was round two, after all, haha.

Where is Budan Nampo Branch, and what do the dishes cost?

• Hours: Sun–Thu 17:00–02:00 / Fri–Sat 17:00–04:00
• About a 5-minute walk from Jagalchi Station Exit 3
• No dedicated parking lot; use nearby public street parking
• Hangover seafood pasta stew ₩30,000
• Jjapaguri with green onion kimchi ₩11,000
• Soju ₩5,500

What is the bar like inside? Big, busy and loud

Walking into Budan Nampo Branch, the place was way bigger than I expected. Even on a weekday, quite a few tables were filled, mostly with a young crowd. Off to one side, people were playing drinking games... ah, good times... haha. I'm pretty sure I was doing the same not that long ago, so I'm not sure why I found myself watching a little wistfully^^ It's a fairly large space, so it seems great for bigger groups too.

What we ordered: hangover seafood pasta stew and jjapaguri with green onion kimchi — a pretty ambitious choice for a second-round meal between two people, lol. But after trying both, we would've been sad if we'd only gotten one.

The free starter: grilled white bread with whipped cream

While waiting for the food, the free side dish arrives first: grilled toast with whipped cream. Sounds simple, but it's genuinely delicious ㅠㅠ Crispy toast dipped generously in whipped cream — my hand kept reaching for more. Little side dishes like this are actually more work than you'd think, so having it come free was such a nice touch, lol. I had to hold back so I wouldn't finish it all before the actual food showed up...

Chapagetti with green onion kimchi, 11,000 won, topped with cheese

The jjapaguri with green onion kimchi arrived first. The visuals were absolutely insane.

Cheese is piled on top of the jjapaguri, and once you mix it while it's still hot, you get that perfect thick, sticky finish. And here's the really important part: they cook the jjapaguri really well;; the noodles aren't overdone and the sauce clings to them nice and thick — it's delicious enough to eat on its own.

Pile some green onion kimchi on top of the jjapaguri and take a bite — heaven right here😇

Thick, cheesy jjapaguri🥵 with tangy-spicy green onion kimchi — how could you not drink after this? Nampo-dong bars really do need good snacks to keep the second round going, and that night, the jjapaguri was already a total success.

And the portion is genuinely bigger than expected. We kept eating and it just... stayed the same size. My friend and I were like, 'Is someone secretly refilling this? Why isn't it going down?' lol. Maybe it just felt that way since we were already somewhat full from round two, but if you think of it as a side dish, the portion feels quite generous.

Hangover seafood pasta stew, 30,000 won, in a spicy tomato broth

And finally, the hangover seafood pasta stew showed up. The visuals alone were impressive. I basically came here that night because I was craving a spicy soup and saw this dish, and once it arrived, I knew I'd made the right call, lol.

It's a tomato-based broth, but not the sweet tomato pasta kind — it's spicy and sharp-tasting at the same time. That made it pair way better with drinking. It's technically pasta, but you end up spooning up the broth like soup, lol.

The seafood is genuinely generous! There are two fried shrimp on top, plus several more shrimp mixed in, so it's not the kind of dish where you fish out one or two pieces and that's it.

And true to its name, there's a good amount of pasta noodles inside too. Slurping up noodles fully soaked in that spicy tomato broth — ah, this is a proper drinking snack. A spoonful of broth, a shrimp, a bite of noodles, then back to drinking. On repeat ㅠㅠ

Two noodle dishes in one order: do they clash?

Here's the funny thing — jjapaguri is noodles, and the pasta stew is also noodles. We ordered two noodle dishes and kept eating both, saying how good they were, lol. One is thick and savory, the other is spicy with a tomato-forward broth, so the flavors were completely different and didn't overlap as much as I expected. Actually, whenever the jjapaguri started feeling a bit too heavy, a spoonful of the pasta stew broth fixed it right up. A perfect system^^

Who will enjoy Budan Nampo Branch most?

Personally, I think this is a great fit for anyone looking for a Nampo-dong bar with something other than the usual fish cake soup or french fries. The menu itself is pretty varied too — cheese jjusaewoo, mala cream beef brisket, tripe hot pot, and more — so I'd love to come back and try something different next time.

Even on the weekday we went, there were plenty of people, and some tables were playing drinking games in groups, so it felt less like a quiet izakaya and more like a lively spot for hanging out with friends. That said, the tables weren't packed too tightly together — the place itself is spacious, so I never felt cramped. It seems like a solid choice for a second round with friends at a Nampo-dong bar, or for a drink with good snacks on a date. I'd love to come back with my boyfriend next time and try other dishes on the menu, haha.

We honestly went in planning to eat light since it was round two, but ended up being the people who ordered both the jjapaguri with green onion kimchi AND the hangover seafood pasta stew^^ lol. The jjapaguri mixed with cheese and topped with green onion kimchi was such a great combo, and the hangover seafood pasta stew, despite being tomato-based, was spicy enough to pair with drinks way better than expected. For someone who loves a soupy drinking snack like me, the hangover seafood pasta stew was a direct hit. If you're looking for good food in Nampo-dong or Bupyeong-dong in Busan and want a drink somewhere with genuinely good snacks, give Budan a try!