Grilled mackerel & braised cutlassfish for two in Suwon: Godeungeo

There are days when only grilled fish will do. Nothing too spicy or heavy — just a nicely browned piece of fish with a warm bowl of rice. On one of those days, while looking for somewhere to eat around west Suwon, I ended up at Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch. Here's my honest review after ordering braised cutlassfish for two and grilled mackerel.

• 1731 Seobu-ro, 1st floor, Gwonseon-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Daily 10:40–22:00 (last order 20:50)

Location and exterior — how's the parking?

Arriving at the restaurant, it looked pretty sizeable. When you think 'grilled fish restaurant' you tend to picture something small and cozy, but this place felt more like a spot built for groups eating together. So if you're looking for a good grilled fish restaurant in Suwon, this would especially suit people thinking of a family meal or a gathering rather than solo dining. Of course it's also perfectly comfortable for two, haha.

Godeungeo Myeongpumi Doeda Suwon Branch is easy to visit by car from the west Suwon area. Seeing it in person, the dining room was spacious and there was plenty of parking, which made a good first impression. Parking is one of those things that quietly matters as much as the food itself when you're hunting down a good restaurant. Especially when moving as a family or taking your parents along, cramped parking can wear you out before you've even sat down — but that wasn't a worry here. So if you're looking for a good restaurant in west Suwon that's easy to reach by car, this fits the bill. And if you're searching around Topdong for somewhere to eat, this is also worth considering as a Topdong restaurant option.

Interior atmosphere and seating

Walking inside, the interior really was spacious. The spacing between tables and the overall sense of room didn't feel cramped at all, so it seemed comfortable for larger groups too. When eating out as a family, the food matters, but it's also awkward to talk if you're crammed right up against the next table. In that sense, this place had a relaxed atmosphere for dining. There's also a waiting area, which is nice in case you visit during a busy stretch and need somewhere to sit while you wait.

For families visiting with kids, having high chairs on hand is a nice touch. There's also a wheelchair-accessible entrance and wheelchair-accessible seating, which gave the impression that the restaurant had put thought into welcoming a range of guests comfortably. These details don't jump out the way the taste of the food does, but they're actually pretty important once you're actually using the place.

Inside, there's a massive fish tank that immediately catches your eye!! Haha, it really drew me in and I even filmed it. Haha. It gave me the sense that they use genuinely fresh fish for the raw dishes!

Can a grilled fish restaurant really be this pleasant to be in? There's zero fishy smell! Usually you walk into a grilled fish place and there's that fishy odor, but there was none of that here! I guess it's because the fish comes grilled in this wood-fired oven, turning round and round.. it was so fascinating I had to film it. Haha.

Menu, ordering, and the premium set discount event

There was a discount event on the premium set menu (myeongpum jeongsik) running at the time!! I genuinely agonized over it for ages!! But... my mother, who came with me, had been singing the praises of braised cutlassfish for days beforehand! So I figured this time I'd have to go with the cutlassfish. I'm definitely trying the premium set next time!! Last time I also had mackerel sashimi and it was totally satisfying — and now they've added croaker sashimi too. Just something to keep in mind~

What I ordered that day was braised cutlassfish (galchi jorim) for two and grilled mackerel. It felt like a shame to come to a grilled fish restaurant and only have mackerel, but then again, ordering only braised fish meant missing out on the grilled version too... so in the end I decided to have both. Haha. This is exactly the fun of visiting with two people — you get to share and try a bit of everything. Braised cutlassfish goes great with rice, while grilled mackerel lets you enjoy the clean, plain flavor of the fish itself.

Basic side dishes, the self-serve bar, and mini pork stir-fry

Before the main dishes arrived, I checked out the basic side dishes first. When eating fish, if the side dishes are too strongly flavored they can overpower the main dish, but overall the lineup here paired well with rice and made for an easy meal.

Personally, when I eat braised fish, I like putting a piece of fish on rice along with a bit of side dish. Sounds like nothing, but it's a combination that keeps calling for another bite of rice. Haha. Braised or grilled fish just feels incomplete without rice. With warm rice ready, I got down to actually eating.

A mini pork stir-fry (jeyuk bokkeum) came with the basic side dishes!! Isn't that amazing? Haha. Pork at a grilled fish restaurant. Haha. You can also order a full pork stir-fry separately for anyone who doesn't eat fish or for young kids. But the fact that a mini version comes as part of the basics — I tried it and it was so good!!!

For reference, this is what comes out as the basics at first, and you can get more from the self-serve bar. There was seaweed soup and a savory roasted rice tea (sungnyung), which were both great. The sweet rice punch (sikhye) was satisfying too!!! Just note the pork stir-fry isn't refillable — you'd need to order it as an extra menu item. Haha.

Every single side dish was so tasty that people kept going back for refills!!! I guess that says a lot about how good the basic side dishes were. Haha.

Braised cutlassfish for two — the sauce keeps demanding more rice

And finally, the braised cutlassfish and grilled mackerel arrived! Doesn't it look incredibly generous? I took the photo from a bit of a distance, but it's genuinely huge in person. Haha. I got so full. Haha. Seriously, you have to see this in person!! Haha.

Looking at the braised cutlassfish served in its pot, the sauce had clearly soaked in deeply, and my mind went straight to rice. I carefully picked apart the cutlassfish flesh and tried it together with the sauce.

Cutlassfish has soft, mild flesh, and once the braising sauce is added, the flavor really comes alive. Compared to eating the fish plain, adding the sauce brings out a noticeably deeper savory taste.

When I eat braised cutlassfish, I prefer not to just eat the fish alone but to spoon a bit of the sauce onto rice too. This is genuinely a delicacy. A spoonful of rice, a piece of cutlassfish flesh, and a touch of sauce.

Before you know it, your rice bowl is nearly empty. Haha. Genuinely surprising!! Haha. The tender cutlassfish flesh combined with the salty, savory sauce made for the perfect pairing with rice.

Grilled mackerel, straight from the wood-fired oven

And finally, the grilled mackerel arrives. Haha. This is the mackerel I showed you earlier, turning round and round in the wood-fired oven!! Haha. With grilled fish, what matters is how nicely browned the outside is and how moist the inside stays. Picking apart the flesh with my chopsticks, the outside was browned nicely while the inside stayed moist. With the first bite, the distinctive nutty flavor of mackerel came through first, followed by a subtle savory richness.

Especially when you put the mackerel flesh on warm rice and eat it together, it's plenty delicious without needing extra seasoning. The outside is browned, the inside is tender, and the more you chew, the more that rich, oily mackerel flavor comes through — amazing!! Haha. Honestly, there are times I crave exactly this kind of plain grilled fish. After eating too much spicy, heavily seasoned food, at some point you start craving a rice-thief spread like this one. If you're looking for a good grilled fish restaurant in Suwon and want somewhere that also does braised fish well, not just grilled, I'd definitely recommend this place. Haha. And since the restaurant itself is spacious, it didn't feel crowded even eating as a family. So it also suits anyone searching for a good Korean restaurant in Suwon, or looking for a place where a larger group can sit down together.

Final thoughts

For anyone looking for a good grilled fish restaurant in Suwon, this is a great place to enjoy grilled fish on its own terms, and for anyone looking for a good Korean restaurant in Suwon, it's an appealing full Korean spread that goes well with rice. Being an easy restaurant to reach by car in west Suwon was also a real advantage in practice. Above all, fish dishes tend not to divide opinion much among family members, so I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a good family dining restaurant. On a day when you're craving fish, or want a proper Korean meal, this is a solid pick as a good Korean restaurant in Suwon.