Solo dining at the counter: tuna rice bowl at Padong, Mangwon Station

I genuinely love tuna rice bowls and salmon rice bowls, so on a trip to Hongdae I decided to hunt down a good Japanese rice bowl spot. Turns out there are surprisingly many pretty, tasty Japanese rice bowl places around Hongdae~ And that's how I found Padong (파동) 💛 The tuna rice bowl especially was insane. So good ♥

Where Padong is and when it opens

• 🏠 Address: 47 World Cup-ro 17-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, B1F, South Korea
• 🧭 Hours: Daily 11:30–21:00 (closed Mondays)
• 📍 Features: no break time, Wi-Fi, takeout, reservations
• Group-friendly, waiting area, no parking

At our Mangwon favorite Padong, you can taste the essence and atmosphere of Japanese cuisine through a variety of dishes made with fresh ingredients and full attention to detail. — from Padong's Naver profile

How to book Padong on Catch Table

Naver reservations aren't available, but you can book or wait via Catch Table! Weekends especially get busy, so I'd recommend booking ahead.

Parking at Padong: a 3-minute walk from Mangwon Station Exit 2

It's about a 3-minute walk from Mangwon Station Exit 2, but Padong doesn't have its own parking lot. You can use the nearby public parking lot, but it's always crowded. I found a lot through Kakao T in advance, parked there, and walked about 10 minutes — much less stressful. If you're worried about waiting for the public lot, I highly recommend searching Kakao T for parking 👍🏻

Inside Padong: a semi-basement room on B1F

Since it's listed as basement level, I expected a dark, cramped space, but it actually feels like a semi-basement — basically street level. The restroom is inside too, so that was convenient.

We came around noon on a weekend and luckily a table was free right away. But while we were eating, customers kept streaming in, and by the time we left there was already a long wait. With only about 6-8 tables for two, seating isn't exactly generous.

The open kitchen made it feel clean and hygienic, and the wood-toned interior is cozy — perfect for a date or a small gathering. The tables were a bit close together, but hey, that's basically the Mangwon-dong vibe haha

It's also great for solo dining since there are counter seats right in front of the open kitchen!

Padong's menu and what we ordered

💰 Padong's full menu

• ✔️ Futomaki (₩16,000)
• ✔️ Tuna rice bowl (₩15,000)
• ✔️ Steak rice bowl (₩13,000)

What the food was like

Cooking starts the moment you order, and after about 5-10 minutes of waiting, the dishes arrived.

🍣 Tuna rice bowl (₩15,000)

Tuna, egg yolk, flying fish roe, egg strips, and chives were all packed in fresh and generously.

When the dish arrived, the staff kindly explained how to eat it — mix everything together except the seaweed (gim) and wasabi, then eat it with the seaweed and wasabi 🫶🏻

Honestly I wasn't expecting much, but I was shocked at how good it was...💛💛💛 So the Hongdae crowd has been eating this all along~ so jealous. If you like sashimi or raw fish, I strongly recommend this rice bowl!

🥩 Steak rice bowl (₩13,000)

Skirt steak comes with wasabi and vegetables on the side. If you love meat, you'll definitely love this rice bowl. It also paired really well with the other dishes.

There's a generous amount of steak piled on the rice — no skimping at all, so this bowl alone will fill you up.

🍙 Futomaki (₩16,000)

This Japanese-style rolled seaweed rice roll (gimbap) packs in tuna, fried shrimp, shiso leaf, fried tofu, burdock root, dried gourd strips, pickled radish, cucumber, and kelp all at once. It's genuinely huge — hard to fit in one bite.

The seasoning is already perfectly balanced, so I highly recommend eating it as is without dipping in anything. Add just a touch of wasabi on top and it's absolute heaven~~~

Is Padong worth a visit?

The tuna rice bowl, futomaki, and steak rice bowl were all genuinely delicious 👍🏻 The tuna rice bowl especially was rich without being greasy — top notch. If you're craving Japanese rice bowls in Mangwon-dong, I fully recommend Padong. I think I'll be back next time for the salmon rice bowl and mazesoba too 💛