Window Tray Guest · 62 stories

Tray by the Window

I write about restaurants I visit around Gyeonggi. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés · Shopping · Things to do · Bars

PlaceYongsan, SeoulRestaurants

Hannam baguette café, matcha choco & mustard ham: Dance Dance Dance

Dance Dance Dance Hannam is a baguette sandwich café on the ground floor of a building on Dokseodang-ro, a main road in Yongsan, Seoul. After queuing, the writer ordered a matcha choco tofu cream cheese baguette (11,900 won), a ham, cheese and vegetable baguette sandwich with whole grain mustard sauce (8,900 won) and an americano (4,500 won), and the baguette's crisp crust and chewy crumb stood out most. If you want a properly made baguette sandwich, Dance Dance Dance Hannam is worth the wait.

Written May 5, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeohae, IncheonRestaurants

Autumn-foliage window seat at a Cheongna eel buffet: Songrimbok

Songrimbok Jangeo Freshwater Eel Unlimited Refill Cheongna Direct Branch is an all-you-can-eat freshwater eel restaurant on the ground floor of the Elim Art Center building in Cheongna Complex 3, Seohae, Incheon. The writer, a regular at Songrimbok Jangeo Cheongna, sat at a window seat framed by autumn leaves and grilled eel, pork belly and chicken neck over charcoal, eating them with scallion kimchi (pa-kimchi) and pickled vegetables. Verdict: for 29,900 won per adult, Songrimbok Jangeo Cheongna offers as much eel and meat as you want, plus an autumn view outside the window.

Written Nov 7, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeohae, IncheonRestaurants

Cheongna Mexican spot: fajitas with guacamole and lemonade, Taco Dot

Taco Dot Cheongna Branch is a Mexican taco restaurant in front of the Welcounty Complex 1 apartments in Cheongna, Seohae-gu, Incheon. Two diners ordered a fajita platter (37,900 won) and carnitas tacos (10,000 won), added guacamole, and wrapped pork, chicken and shrimp in tortillas until they were very full. With the fun of building your own wraps and plenty of sauce combinations, Taco Dot Cheongna Branch is a good pick for group meals and team dinners in Cheongna.

Written Nov 5, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGuro, SeoulBars

Guro izakaya for a late weekend lunch with kids: Hoyo Gudi Branch

Hoyo Gudi Branch (호요 구디점) is an izakaya (Japanese-style pub) right outside Exit 3 of Guro Digital Complex Station in Guro, Seoul, and on weekends it opens at 3 PM, so a late lunch is possible. The writer went with the kids and ordered Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki (savory pancake), gyukatsu (beef cutlet), salmon futomaki (thick sushi roll), a Jim Beam green grape highball and a peach ade. The writer was moved by how attentive the staff were, including a free tofu served without sauce for the children. Hoyo Gudi Branch is a Guro Digital Complex izakaya that also proved satisfying for a family meal with kids.

Written May 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeohae, IncheonRestaurants

Gajeong-dong pollock lunch with eggplant side dish: Hangsangcharim

Hangsangcharim Kodari Myeongga Ruwon City Branch is a Korean restaurant specialising in kodari (half-dried pollock) and braised pollock in Ruwon City, Gajeong-dong, Seohae-gu, Incheon. The writer ordered the weekday lunch special spicy braised pollock (13,000 won per person) at mild heat with stone-pot rice and extra siraegi (dried radish greens), and was happy with the staff deboning the fish, the self-serve banchan bar and the nurungji (scorched rice). The writer's verdict: always add the siraegi.

Written Nov 4, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, IncheonRestaurants

Park-view steam pot lunch with kimchi wraps, Yeongjong: Pyeonpyeonjip

Pyeonpyeonjip Yeongjong Sky City branch (편편집 영종하늘도시점) is an all-you-can-eat restaurant in Yeongjong Sky City, Incheon, serving hinoki cypress steam pot (pyeonbaek-jjim), shabu-shabu and rice paper wraps. On the weekday lunch self-bar menu at ₩18,500 per adult, the writer sat at a park-view window seat and worked through two rounds of steam pot, rice paper wraps filled with kimchi, and half-and-half seafood and spicy seafood shabu-shabu. Pyeonpyeonjip is a good-value lunch for anyone who wants steam pot, rice paper wraps and shabu-shabu in one sitting.

Written May 21, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeohae, IncheonRestaurants

Cheongna Korean BBQ with free filefish jerky & pickled peppers: Gimgol

Gimgol Yeontan-jip Cheongna Branch is a retro-style Korean BBQ restaurant on Cheongnarubi-ro in Seohae, Incheon, where meat is grilled over yeontan (coal briquettes). The writer is a regular who ordered juljuri teukmoksal (special pork neck), briquette coarse-salt pork belly, seolhwa kkodeulsal (a chewy pork cut), honeycomb pork rind and flat bibim noodles. The meal also came with jwipo (dried filefish jerky), given free for a photo review, and omija slush for dessert. Fresh briquette-grilled meat wrapped in flat bibim noodles makes Gimgol Yeontan-jip Cheongna Branch a Cheongna BBQ spot the writer wants to return to.

Written Nov 1, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Fine dining restaurant in Mangwon: sunlit lunch course with Mom, Noju

Noju is a fine dining restaurant on the 2nd floor of a building in Mapo, Seoul, a 2-minute walk from Mangwon Station Exit 2. Mangwon-dong Makguksu is on the ground floor. The writer had Noju's ₩55,000-per-person lunch course with Mom. The highlights were the anchovy red shrimp pasta, the signature gnocchi and the Iberico main with jalapeño, and staff explained how to eat each dish. Noju's lunch course is good-value fine dining, with atmosphere and portions that both justify the price.

Written May 26, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Mangwon noodle shop, club-thick bone kalguksu with Mom: Pyeongidambaek

Pyeongidambaek Ppyeo Kalguksu Main Branch (평이담백 뼈칼국수 본점) is a Korean restaurant specializing in bone kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup with pork bones) and bossam suyuk (boiled pork slices), on Yanghwa-ro 7-gil in Mapo, Seoul, between Mangwon Station and Hapjeong Station. Over lunch with Mom, the bone kalguksu (₩11,500) came with thick, meaty bones, chewy noodles and a clear yet deep broth, and the medium bossam suyuk (₩42,000) was tender and rich. Verdict: Pyeongidambaek Ppyeo Kalguksu Main Branch is a Mangwon and Hongdae suyuk spot that takes its noodles and meat seriously.

Written May 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Wondang Korean late dinner with kids and soy crab: Kim Myeongju

Kim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang Wondang Station Branch is a Korean set-meal (hansik) restaurant near Exit 1 of Wondang Station in Deogyang-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi. The writer came for a late dinner with the kids, ordered the 13,000 won-per-person Tteuranchae set plus 18,000 won ganjang gejang (soy sauce marinated crab), refilled side dishes at the self-bar and finished with nurungji (scorched rice) from the stone pot. With well-seasoned sides and a soy crab that isn't too salty, Kim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang is a good Wondang Korean restaurant to bring parents or kids to.

Written May 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulCafés

Hongdae café, post-meal Dubai sand & einspänner: Butter & Shelter

Butter & Shelter Yeonnam (버터앤쉘터 연남점) is a dessert café in a converted house on Seongmisan-ro in Mapo, Seoul, an 11-minute walk from Hongik Univ. Station Exit 3. After a meal with a friend, the writer shared a Dubai butter sand (₩4,500), a butter sand (₩3,200), a butter einspänner (₩6,500) and a Shelter einspänner (₩6,000), and the gourmet butter flavor, chewy caramel and einspänner cream stood out most. For a post-meal dessert of butter sands with a rich einspänner, Butter & Shelter Yeonnam is a great fit.

Written May 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Hongdae chicken spot for friends: dakjjim & gabrisal bossam, Ttukdak

Ttukdak Hongdae (뚝닭홍대) is a chicken restaurant in Mapo, Seoul, 3 minutes from Exit 8 of Hongik Univ. Station, serving dakhanmari (whole-chicken hot pot), dakjjim (braised chicken), fire-grilled chicken feet, bossam and jeon (Korean pancakes). On a catch-up with a friend, the writer ordered dakjjim (₩32,000) and gabri-bossam (₩29,000) and got fire-grilled chicken feet free through a Naver review event. The dakjjim was spicy even at medium, and the gabrisal bossam was surprisingly tender and nutty. Ttukdak Hongdae is a Hongdae chicken restaurant where you come for the braised chicken and fall for the bossam.

Written May 31, 2026Sponsored