Suwon grilled fish set for two with refillable seaweed soup: Godeungeo

What kind of restaurant is Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch?

I went with my mom to a Suwon Korean restaurant famous for grilled fish, Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch, to get the grilled fish she loves. It's at 1731 Seobu-ro, 1F, Gwonseon-gu, Suwon, and it's already well known as a Suwon Korean food spot — people wait in line at lunchtime!!!

• Location: 1731 Seobu-ro, Gwonseon-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi, South Korea
• Hours: 10:40 AM–10:00 PM (daily)
• Last order 8:50 PM
• Groups, takeout, high chairs, parking, corkage (paid), reservations available

This Suwon Korean restaurant is huge and spacious, so it's great for group gatherings, and there's a big parking lot right in front, so no worries about parking.

Is there a wait at 11:20 am on a weekday?

As soon as you step inside, there's a cafeteria on the left where you can wait or grab a coffee. Having a waiting area set up made it feel uncrowded and pleasant. We arrived around 11:20am on a weekday and had no wait, but by the time we finished eating there was already a line forming!

Menu and premium set prices at Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch

There's a set menu where you can enjoy sashimi, grilled fish, and pork bulgogi all at once, plus à la carte items. They even have mackerel sushi and mackerel mulhoe (cold raw fish soup)!

The myeongpum jeongsik was on a 3,000 won discount event, down from 32,000 won to 29,000 won per person, so it seemed like most people were ordering the premium set to enjoy sashimi, grilled fish, and pork bulgogi all together. So my mom and I ordered the premium set for two as well.

Since this place is so famous as a Suwon Korean food spot, about half the seats were already filled... I'd recommend coming before noon for lunch! After that, there's a high chance of waiting.

There was actually live fish in a tank!! It was surprising to see live fish at a grilled mackerel restaurant. I guess it's there because they serve fresh sashimi.

Self-serve banchan bar and refillable seaweed soup

At Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch, the first round of banchan (side dishes) is brought to you, and extras come from a self-serve bar. True to a good Suwon Korean restaurant, the banchan was clean-tasting and not too salty — geotjeori (fresh cut kimchi), yeolmu kimchi (young radish kimchi), doraji muchim (seasoned bellflower root), oi sobagi (stuffed cucumber kimchi), japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), and more.

I opened the drawer to grab utensils, and the utensil-and-condiment tray was neatly organized. It made me weirdly happy that everything was so tidy haha. That's also where you'll find wet wipes, soy sauce, and wasabi. Since they're disposable, it was nice to eat cleanly.

The basic banchan brought out first! For more, use the self-bar~~ Nice to eat vegetables and namul (seasoned greens) I don't usually get around to eating.

Gentle-on-the-stomach seaweed soup. It was genuinely so good I could've finished a whole bowl of rice with it. It was so tasty I went back for more at the self-bar.

The pork bulgogi that comes with the premium set

The pork bulgogi that comes with the premium set! It wasn't too salty and leaned sweet, so it seemed like kids could eat it without finding it spicy. It was delicious wrapped with the lettuce they gave us.^^

Premium set for two: grilled mackerel, imyeonsu, and mackerel and croaker sashimi

The premium set for two comes with grilled mackerel and Atka mackerel. Since they're grilled in the wood-fired oven right when you order, they came out plump and fragrant with no fishy smell at all — so good. It felt extra special since it's the kind of grilled fish that's hard to make at home. The set for two comes with grilled mackerel, grilled Atka mackerel, mackerel sashimi, croaker sashimi, and pork bulgogi, and the set for three adds grilled bakdae sole and grilled Spanish mackerel!

After the grilled fish and pork bulgogi, sashimi came out too! Mackerel sashimi and croaker sashimi, and these also had zero fishy smell, so we enjoyed them a lot. Especially since these aren't types of sashimi you'd easily order often, the mackerel and croaker sashimi were even more enjoyable!!!

The sashimi was super plump with a good variety of cuts. My mom can't handle fishy-smelling sashimi, but she ate it happily — that's how fishy-smell-free it was!!

Why Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda is worth it in Gwonseon-gu, Suwon

One full spread of the premium set at Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch! The table was so loaded it nearly buckled — a Suwon Korean restaurant that gives full-course hanjeongsik a run for its money. If you're looking for a Gwonseon-gu restaurant, I recommend Godeungeo — clean, delicious, and neat enough to be great for treating someone to a meal!!

On the way out, I had a glass of sikhye (sweet rice punch) after the meal. It was sweet and perfect for cleansing the palate.