Bongdam grilled fish: sharing bori-gulbi and mackerel sets at Hwadamga

Today I visited Hwadamga in Bongdam, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi. I went on a weekend and, well, word travels fast about good restaurants — I waited about 15 minutes. T_T But once I actually ate, I understood why people keep coming. Especially that combo of wood-fired grilled fish and stone-pot rice — so good!

• 58 Nangnaegi-gil, Bonghyaeng-eup, Hyohaeng-gu, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Daily 11:00–22:00 (last order 21:30)
• Break time 15:00–17:00

Where Hwadamga is, parking, and how long the weekend wait runs

Hwadamga is located in Bongdam, Hwaseong. What I liked most, above everything else, was the size of the parking lot! Wow... it was genuinely huge. Nothing drains your energy faster than finding a great restaurant and then having nowhere to park. But here, parking was plentiful, which made driving in easy.

That said, I visited on a weekend and waited about 15 minutes. More people than I expected, haha. If you're planning a weekend visit, I'd recommend going a bit early or making a reservation. Don't do what I did and stand there waiting 15 minutes in front of delicious food... but that wait is there for a reason!! If you're looking for a solid meal with family in Bongdam, this feels like a spot worth stopping at as a Bongdam favorite.

Partitioned tables and private rooms at Hwadamga

The exterior felt clean and tidy from the start. When you hear "grilled fish specialist," you might picture a somewhat old-fashioned restaurant, but Hwadamga was clean throughout, which made a good first impression. Even with plenty of weekend customers, the space felt spacious enough not to feel crowded.

Inside, I saw a lot of families out for a meal. Grilled fish is a dish that tends to please a wide range of ages, so it seemed like a solid choice for family dining out. The tables had partitions, which I really loved!! And if you book ahead, you can get a private room too^^ There were a lot of families and also groups — it looked good for dining with several people too.

This is the kind of place where you come for grilled fish but end up having a proper full meal, so it felt right for either lunch or dinner. When I visited, there were also people waiting, which suggests this is a place that draws crowds during meal hours. So, once again, haha... if you're going on a weekend, I'd recommend arriving early or booking ahead!

What we ordered: the wood-fired bori-gulbi set and mackerel set

On this visit I ordered two dishes: the wood-fired bori-gulbi (dried croaker) set and the wood-fired mackerel set. I originally came for the mackerel, but the moment I spotted bori-gulbi on the menu, my heart wavered. lol. After some deliberation, I ordered one of each — bori-gulbi and mackerel — to split and share. Spoiler: that decision was a really good one.

The base rice is barley rice, but you can switch to stone-pot rice for an extra ₩2,000. Personally, I'd recommend making that upgrade. Why? Because the stone-pot rice is genuinely delicious. It's just a rice swap, but it noticeably raises the whole meal's satisfaction.

The self-serve bar: 20-plus side dishes you fetch yourself

Another thing I loved about Hwadamga was the self-serve bar stocked with about 20 side dishes and desserts.

It wasn't just one or two side dishes — you could grab a whole range of them according to your taste, which I really appreciated.

While eating grilled fish and rice, you naturally want to mix in different side dishes here and there, haha.

At the self-serve bar you can grab only what you want in the amount you want, so there's fun in mixing and matching by taste. And you can skip whatever you don't feel like eating, so there's less waste too!

Usually other places bring you a first round and then it's self-serve after that, but here it's self-serve right from the start!! Worth noting. And after the meal, there were light desserts ready too, so the ending felt just as polished.

By the way, the doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) is brought to the table by staff^^ Bubbling away, looks delicious, right? haha

How does Hwadamga's wood-fired mackerel taste?

Finally, the main dishes arrived! I started with the wood-fired mackerel. Thanks to the wood-fired grilling, the skin was beautifully golden brown, and when I picked apart the flesh with chopsticks, the inside was moist. Grilled fish can easily turn dry if overcooked, but this mackerel had really good moisture in the flesh.

The outside was golden and savory, while the inside was soft and mild, pairing well with rice. The mackerel's distinctive savory flavor especially worked well with the rice. A salty bite of fish with a warm spoonful of rice... ah, this is why people come for grilled fish, lol. If you're looking for a great spot for grilled fish in Bongdam, this is the kind of wood-fired charm you'll want to try.

Wood-fired bori-gulbi: pulling the flesh apart with disposable gloves

And the dish that stuck with me the most that day! The wood-fired bori-gulbi. Honestly, I hadn't planned to order it at all. I came for mackerel, then spotted bori-gulbi and thought, why not order one... and wow, that turned out to be a genius move.

Bori-gulbi is salty with a distinctive savory depth that pairs really well with rice. Eating the fish flesh alone, you notice the saltiness first, but paired with the warm stone-pot rice, the seasoning balanced out perfectly.

They also gave us disposable gloves, which made it much easier to pick apart the flesh by hand. Bori-gulbi has meat tucked between the bones, so eating it with chopsticks alone is a bit fiddly, but with gloves on, picking out the flesh was way easier, haha. Pile the picked flesh onto rice and it's a perfect match with the salty bori-gulbi!! I came for mackerel, but that day the bori-gulbi ended up being the more memorable dish.

Why the stone-pot rice upgrade is worth it (suhyangmi rice and nurungji)

One thing I really want to emphasize: definitely try the stone-pot rice. You can switch from the basic barley rice for an extra ₩2,000, and I'd strongly recommend making that upgrade.

They apparently use sujanghyangmi rice, and the rice itself is so good that I kept reaching for spoonfuls even without any fish. A hot spoonful of freshly cooked rice had a subtle fragrance and stickiness, and it paired beautifully with the grilled fish. And here's another fun part of stone-pot rice — scoop out the rice, pour in hot water, and at the end you get nurungji (scorched rice) that's just the best!

Final verdict on Hwadamga

Since it was a weekend, I waited about 15 minutes, but after eating, the wait didn't feel like a waste of time. A spacious parking lot, a clean space, a self-serve bar with a wide variety of side dishes, and — above all — grilled fish cooked in a wood-fired oven!

Of everything I ate that day, I'd most recommend the bori-gulbi and stone-pot rice combo. I went for mackerel and ended up completely won over by bori-gulbi instead, haha. Next time I visit, I'll probably order the stone-pot rice again too. If you're looking for a family meal out or a hearty dish in Bongdam, Hwadamga is worth a stop as a Bongdam favorite. ♡