Grilled bakdae and imyeonsu sole at 5pm weekday, no wait: Godeungeo

A grilled fish restaurant worth knowing in western Suwon — I visited Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch.

This is a place where you can enjoy fish grilled golden brown in a wood-fired oven alongside plentiful side dishes. I ordered grilled bakdae (tonguefish sole) and grilled imyeonsu (Atka mackerel) and enjoyed them with warm rice.

Let me walk you through the menu, wait times, parking, and self-bar in detail.

Location and hours of Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch

• Address: 1731 Seobu-ro, 1F, Gwonseon-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch
• Hours: Daily 10:40 AM – 10:00 PM
• Last order: 8:50 PM

What about parking?

There's free parking with a dedicated lot for the restaurant. It's convenient for family meals, group gatherings, or company dinners where several cars might show up at once — no need to worry about parking.

Interior and seating

Walking into the restaurant, the overall feel is spacious, clean, and comfortable. There's a range of seating from 4-person to 6-person tables, plus wide bench seating for larger groups, with plenty of space between tables.

It'd be a comfortable pick for lunch or dinner, and also great for family meals or group gatherings.

What time is best to avoid the wait at Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda in Suwon?

I visited around 5pm on a weekday and got seated right away with no wait at all. But once it hit 6pm, customers started streaming in one after another, and before I knew it the place was completely full.

If you want a relaxed meal, I'd recommend visiting before 6pm on weekdays!

Fish grilled in a wood-fired oven — does the smell linger?

Near the entrance, you can watch staff grilling fish in the wood-fired oven. Even with fish grilling right there, you barely notice any fishy smell inside the restaurant, so you can eat comfortably.

The self-bar lineup

There's a wide self-bar set up in the middle of the restaurant, stocked with all kinds of side dishes plus seaweed soup, sungnyung (scorched rice tea), and sikhye (sweet rice punch).

At first, staff bring the basic side dishes to your table, and then you can help yourself to more from the self-bar.

The self-bar is really well stocked and every side dish tastes great, so it's no surprise it's popular with customers. Staff keep everything freshly refilled, and the self-bar stays clean and tidy — very easy to use.

Menu and prices at Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda

Premium grilled fish — Mackerel ₩16,000 / Spanish mackerel ₩16,000 / Cutlassfish ₩19,000 / Croaker ₩20,000 / Special croaker ₩25,000 / Bakdae ₩20,000 / Imyeonsu ₩16,000 / Special bakdae ₩25,000

Premium braised & bulgogi — Braised mackerel ₩18,000 / Braised cutlassfish ₩19,000 / Gochujang bulgogi ₩13,000

Premium sashimi & sushi — Mackerel sashimi ₩38,000 / Croaker + mackerel sashimi combo ₩53,000 / Croaker sashimi ₩55,000 / Mackerel sushi ₩20,000 / Mackerel mulhoe ₩20,000

The premium set menu, where you can enjoy everything from grilled fish to sashimi in one generous spread, is currently discounted to ₩29,000. There are also drinks and alcohol available, and braised fish can be taken home uncooked for takeout.

A full spread of side dishes

After ordering, the side dishes were neatly laid out one by one — seaweed soup, japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), yeolmu kimchi (young radish kimchi), chamnamul (aster greens), cucumber kimchi, radish namul, and deodeok (mountain herb root) salad, all great pairings for grilled fish.

Every single side dish was delicious, so my chopsticks kept reaching for them even before the main dish arrived. In particular, a mini gochujang bulgogi came out as a basic side dish, and it was so good the moment I tasted it that I ended up ordering a full portion separately.

Gochujang bulgogi ₩13,000

Gochujang bulgogi ₩13,000. After tasting the mini version served as a side dish, it was so good I ordered a full portion on its own.

The sweet-spicy gochujang sauce was deeply soaked into the meat, and the tender meat combined with the savory sauce made for a really harmonious flavor.

I polished off a whole bowl of rice before the grilled fish even arrived.

The bakdae and imyeonsu table spread

Grilled bakdae ₩20,000, grilled imyeonsu ₩16,000. I ordered bakdae and imyeonsu, and since today's bakdae happened to be a bit smaller, they kindly gave me two pieces instead.

Grilled bakdae ₩20,000

Let's start with the grilled bakdae. Grilled to a golden brown, the skin turns crispy while the flesh inside stays clean-tasting and chewy.

Bakdae's characteristic clean, light flavor combines with a savory saltiness and a subtle nuttiness — placing a piece of grilled bakdae flesh on warm rice made for a really satisfying bite.

There's no fishy smell and it's well-seasoned, so it's delicious even just over plain rice, and a light squeeze of the lemon served alongside adds a refreshing citrus note for a cleaner finish.

Grilled imyeonsu ₩16,000

Next up, my favorite — grilled imyeonsu (Atka mackerel). Doesn't it look delicious?

Imyeonsu has thicker flesh than bakdae, and its meat is soft and moist.

With the first bite, you get a light, clean fish flavor along with a mild nuttiness from the subtle fattiness, and the flesh flakes apart softly — really easy to enjoy.

The golden-grilled skin in particular has a deep, nutty flavor that's a real delicacy. Mixing a little wasabi into soy sauce and dipping it adds a salty, sharp kick that pairs really well with the light, nutty taste of imyeonsu.

Final verdict

Looking for a grilled fish restaurant in western Suwon? I recommend Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch.