Suwon wood-fired fish family meal: Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo

Going out for wood-fired grilled fish instead of cooking it at home

Grilled fish is easily in my son’s top five favorite foods, haha. So I cook fish at home often too, but no matter how much I grill it, I can’t replicate restaurant flavor—and my house just ends up smelling like fish. Plus, food someone else made always tastes best to me ㅠㅠ......

It was my first time at Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo (화덕으로간고등어), the grilled-fish chain I’ve been seeing everywhere lately, and not only was the fish great, the self-bar food was perfect too. Let me share my happy review of this Jowon-dong spot that I already want to revisit~!

Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo Suwon KT Wiz Park Branch

Beyond grilled fish, there are lots of options, including soy-marinated raw crab, braised fish, spicy stir-fried pork, and pizza, so it’s great for a family meal. Naver reservations were available, so I booked ahead before visiting. It seems like they set aside tables separately when you reserve in advance, especially for bigger groups.

Parking, floor-to-ceiling windows, and things to know before visiting

There’s a parking lot behind the building, and its parking area differs from the restaurants on the other floors, so keep that in mind. I experienced how quickly empty spaces disappear around weekend lunchtime, hahaha. There are lots of apartments near the restaurant, so maybe all the nearby residents come out to eat on weekends—the place gets really busy!

There were so many diners inside that I couldn’t take proper photos, but we could eat while enjoying this view through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Fish set meals and a kids’ menu for preschoolers

The grilled-fish set meals cover pretty much every fish you could want: mackerel, saury, atka mackerel, Spanish mackerel, hairtail, flounder, dried yellow corvina, and more. There are also spicy stir-fried pork, braised mackerel, and marinated crab options, so you have plenty to choose from.

From age eight, everyone has to order one menu item each, so I liked that they have a kids’ menu for preschoolers. My son is six, so I was torn between ordering two or three dishes; with a kids’ menu like this, the amount is just right!!!!

But for a family like ours—two adults plus one preschooler—I recommend two fish set meals and the kids’ tteokgalbi (grilled minced-meat patty) menu. Without realizing it, I ordered grilled mackerel for the kids’ menu too, and the amount of grilled fish was enormous. If you want a more varied spread, the kids’ tteokgalbi would be a good choice.

The self bar, from side dishes to dessert

The basic side dishes and seaweed soup come out right when you order at the kiosk. Everything above is also at the self bar, so taste them first and go back for refills.

The basic banchan (Korean side dishes) at the self bar. My husband especially liked the seasoned deodeok root and refilled it several times.

There are also vegetables for bibimbap (mixed rice) and tofu ssamjang (savory soybean-paste dip). Such a shame—I was so busy eating grilled fish that I couldn’t make it to bibimbap....

When ordering grilled fish, you can choose white rice or multigrain rice. If you need more rice, help yourself to white rice at the self bar.

This is crazy. Tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) at the self bar.....

It was my first time seeing pumpkin jeon (savory pancake), pink sausage, and other jeon at a self bar, so I was completely thrilled and excited......

This is crazy. They even have japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), hahaha. And the japchae is actually good, so japchae lovers like me could go wild!!!

Sungnyung (scorched-rice tea) and seaweed soup.

I piled my plate up at the self bar because I wanted to eat a lot. For under ₩20,000, you get unlimited use of the self bar, and there’s such a variety of food that there is really so much to eat. The quality is better than most Korean buffet restaurants, so I can see why there are so many customers... haha.

What the Spanish mackerel, atka mackerel, and mackerel sets were like

• Wood-fired grilled Spanish mackerel set ₩18,000
• Wood-fired grilled atka mackerel set ₩17,000
• Children’s mackerel set ₩9,000

The Spanish mackerel was huge—could the three of us really finish all this? Hahaha.

Still, it was nice to try three kinds of grilled fish at once. At home, we only grill mackerel, so I didn’t know atka mackerel had such tender, soft flesh. It broke apart easily when I picked it up with chopsticks, but it was the most delicious.

The Spanish mackerel was crisp outside and tender inside, grilled beautifully. You really can’t beat the flavor of fish cooked in a wood-fired oven. It wasn’t heavily salted, so it was good even without rice, and delicious dipped in wasabi soy sauce too~

The rice came out in such a generous portion that I barely finished one bowl. I had thought I’d put away two or three bowls with those side dishes, but my body just wasn’t cooperating ㅠㅠ My husband, who said he wasn’t even in the mood for rice, finished two full bowls instead, hahaha.

The self bar also has plum tea and peach iced tea, which are nice and refreshing for dessert.

Us oldies have to have sungnyung too~ I’m now old enough to understand the flavor of sungnyung, which I never appreciated as a child, hahaha. Drinking this is what makes the meal feel perfectly complete...

Why I want to return for another family meal

The price is affordable, while the food and overall spread are just perfect—this is grilled fish in Jowon-dong that I want to eat again. Mackerel should absolutely be grilled by someone else, and especially in a wood-fired oven, where it comes out crisp outside and tender inside at its very best.

The self-bar food also felt thoughtfully prepared, making this a truly satisfying place for a family meal. I think my parents would love it too, so a return visit is absolutely in the cards. If you like grilled fish and Korean food, definitely visit Hwadeogeuro Gan Godeungeo in Jowon-dong at least once.