Duck BBQ couple course near National Science Museum Gwacheon: Deo

Today I'm introducing the place that comes to mind whenever anyone says Gwacheon restaurant — Deo Chadol, a duck restaurant where you can enjoy duck cooked several different ways.

A spacious parking lot and a upscale interior — that's Deo Chadol. It's popular these days for delicious, fresh duck meat, and there's a reason for that. Deo Chadol has been picked as an outstanding Gwacheon restaurant and even featured on TV.

Location and hours

• Address: 5 Dwitgol 2-ro, 1st floor, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Hours: 11:00–21:30
• Break time: 15:00–17:00 (none on weekends)
• Last order: 20:30

Why it's a good stop after Seoul Land or the National Gwacheon Science Museum

Deo Chadol has a large parking lot and a comfortable waiting area. It's close to both Seoul Land and the National Gwacheon Science Museum, so it's a great restaurant to swing by after a day out. And if you're looking for a place with easy parking, this is it! I loved the clean building and the convenient parking space.

The window-side seats are decorated with plants and lit nicely, giving them an even more stylish feel.

It's a good space for family meals, and there's a room further inside. Each table has its own grill plate, and side dishes can be refilled at the self-serve bar. Baby chairs are available too, so it's easy to bring kids along.

A verified Gwacheon favorite — plenty of well-known people have eaten here. Seeing the autographs on the wall at Deo Chadol only builds up the anticipation for the food.

What's in the ₩55,000 Deo Chadol Couple Course

For duck, there's chadolbagi (thin-sliced brisket-style duck) and jumulleok (seasoned stir-fry duck), both available à la carte, but there's also a set menu letting you have both, so I ordered the Deo Chadol Couple Course.

Deo Chadol Couple Course, ₩55,000 — duck chadolbagi (200g) + raw seasoned duck stir-fry (300g) + doenjang jjigae + self-fried rice. Being able to enjoy it as a full course is what makes this couple course so good.

Take part in the event and you get an ice hongsi (frozen persimmon) for dessert!

Side dishes, sauces and the manner box

Cabbage salad with black sesame sauce and pickles pair well with the spicy seasoned duck stir-fry. Duck really has to be eaten wrapped in lettuce, and the wrap vegetables were set out too.

On the table there's salt, pepper, and a house special meat sauce. Even the salt is pink salt, which was a nice touch, but the special meat sauce was especially delicious — I kept dipping the duck chadolbagi in it.

Extra side dishes are at the self-serve bar, so help yourself :-)

Mouthwash, hair ties, floss, even stain remover — Deo Chadol's manner box is such a thoughtful touch ❤️

First course: duck chadolbagi 200g

The first course of the couple set is duck chadolbagi. It comes with mushrooms, onions, and minari (water dropwort) to grill alongside it.

Since it's duck chadolbagi, the slices are thin and cook quickly. When you're hungry, thin-sliced chadol grilling might just be the best thing.

Grilling the mushrooms and onions alongside lets the duck fat drip down and cook into them, adding great savory depth. There was also pa kimchi (green onion kimchi), so I grilled that on the plate too and ate it with the meat — amazing 👍🏻

Tender, with the distinctive texture only duck has — I really enjoyed Deo Chadol's duck chadolbagi.

Second course: raw seasoned duck stir-fry 300g

The next course is raw seasoned duck stir-fry. It's duck marinated in a sauce that tastes a bit like dakgalbi (spicy stir-fried chicken) sauce, mixed with vegetables and rice cakes.

You really have to try duck as jumulleok too, and having it right after the chadolbagi worked perfectly. It wasn't very spicy, so it was easy to enjoy — and it's smart to leave a little aside to mix into the fried rice later.

Finishing with self-fried rice and doenjang jjigae

Kimchi, perilla leaves and gim garu (seaweed flakes) come out for the fried rice, and stir-frying them with the duck stir-fry sauce hits the spot even when you're already full.

Chopping up the leftover duck finely and stir-frying it into the fluffy rice. Since it's self-fried rice, the result depends on how you cook it — I'm confident with grill-plate fried rice, so I went all in and stirred it hard.

Still, the duck and the stir-fry sauce do a lot of the work in this fried rice. I enjoyed it with the doenjang jjigae~

Packed with tofu, mushrooms and lots of vegetables, the doenjang jjigae had a light, clean flavor. Served bubbling hot, it was the perfect match with the fried rice. Between the duck cooked two ways, the fried rice, and the doenjang jjigae, I fully enjoyed the couple course, and Deo Chadol is a Gwacheon restaurant I'd love to visit again.