Night Sea Tray · 23 stories

Tin Tray, Seoul and Busan Nights

Writes about restaurants, bars, and cafes across Seoul, Busan/Gyeongnam, and Gyeonggi. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés · Bars

PlaceSeocho, SeoulRestaurants

Sinsa Korean BBQ opening event: free yukhoe and crab ramen at Sansol

Sansol Sinsa Main Branch (산솔 신사본점) is an aged-pork Korean BBQ restaurant with a rustic country-house feel, a 5-minute walk from Sinsa Station in Seocho, Seoul. At Sansol Sinsa Main Branch, the staff grilled the San Assortment of aged pork belly, aged pork neck and aged kkodeulsal (a chewy pork cut), and the meal came with free yukhoe (Korean beef tartare) from the opening event and free red crab ramen from the Naver notification event. Verdict: thanks to the quality of the aged meat and the well-built set, Sansol Sinsa Main Branch is strongly recommended for pork belly in Sinsa.

Written Jun 9, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongnam, GyeonggiRestaurants

Seohyeon Station bossam restaurant for a work dinner: Gwihan Jokbal

Gwihan Jokbal Bundang Seohyeon Branch is a jokbal (braised pork trotters) and bossam (boiled pork wraps) restaurant in Seohyeon-dong, Bundang, Seongnam, near Seohyeon Station, open from 16:00 to 01:00 the next day. Our group ordered the Gwihan Bossam as the main dish and added a second plate, and the flying fish roe rice balls were so popular that the group wanted another round. With moist bossam that has no porky smell and a spacious dining hall, Gwihan Jokbal Bundang Seohyeon Branch is worth recommending for a work dinner or evening drinks near Seohyeon Station.

Written Jun 11, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongnam, GyeonggiCafés

Seohyeon Station café for matcha Basque cake & dolce latte: Slowway

Slowway Coffee Bundang Seohyeon branch is a 24-hour, open-all-year café on two floors on Seohyeon-ro near Seohyeon Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi. The writer ordered a matcha Basque cheesecake, an iced Americano and a dolce latte, found both the cake and the drinks generously sized, and got a seat without waiting at peak time thanks to the roomy, widely spaced second floor. At Slowway Coffee Bundang Seohyeon branch, the matcha Basque cake with a dolce latte is the pairing to order.

Written Jun 11, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangseo, SeoulRestaurants

Summer-night Korean BBQ in Magok: brisket and egg pot, Chadol Grill

Chadol Grill Magok is an aged beef brisket (chadolbaegi) Korean BBQ restaurant near Magok Station in Gangseo, Seoul, close to Seoul Botanic Park. On a friend's recommendation, the writer ordered 3 servings of aged brisket with chadol doenjang sulbap (soybean-paste rice stew with brisket) and a steamed egg in an earthenware pot, and found that Chadol Grill Magok's open full-length windows on a summer night made it a good place for a group dinner without worrying about the meat smell. Verdict: the aged brisket alone is worth the visit, and the sides are just as solid, making Chadol Grill Magok a reliable pick for a Magok group dinner.

Written Jun 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangseo, SeoulCafés

Balsan Station café: pistachio financier & iced americano, Byway

Byway Bakers Balsan Station (바이웨이 베이커스 발산역점) is a dessert café specializing in financiers and salt bread in Gangseo, Seoul, a 5-minute walk from Balsan Station. At Byway Bakers, the writer ordered the summer-only matcha melon latte and an iced americano, paired with a salty financier and a pistachio financier. The verdict: Byway Bakers' sweet-and-salty financier and rich pistachio financier make it worth coming back for.

Written Jun 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceDongdaemun, SeoulBars

Izakaya in Hoegi, back for 10 different yakitori skewers: Hamaru

Hamaru Hoegi (하마루 회기점) is a Japanese-style izakaya near Kyung Hee University in Hoegi, Dongdaemun, Seoul, a 10-minute walk from Hoegi Station Exit 1. After a first visit turned the writer into a fan, a return trip brought two 5-skewer yakitori omakase sets with ten different skewers, plus a Shin-chan-shaped handmade-batter seafood okonomiyaki and seafood yakisoba. Hamaru Hoegi is worth revisiting whenever you want to relive a trip to Japan in Hoegi.

Written Jun 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Hyehwa blind-date Korean restaurant: minari beef yukhoe, Goeunjeong

Goeunjeong Daehangno Main Branch is a fusion Korean restaurant in Hyehwa, Jongno, Seoul, less than a 5-minute walk from Exit 4 of Hyehwa Station. On a date there, the writer ordered the minari (water parsley) pork belly set, mushroom bulgogi buckwheat noodles with perilla oil and 1++ hanwoo minari yukhoe (Korean beef tartare), and especially liked the soft lighting, the private feel of the space and yukhoe with no off smell. For a blind date in Hyehwa or a dinner date in Daehangno, Goeunjeong Daehangno Main Branch is well worth recommending.

Written Jun 19, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYongin, GyeonggiRestaurants

Yongin noodle shop's perilla soba with soft-boiled egg: Myeonsikdang

Myeonsikdang Suji Government Office branch is a Japanese noodle restaurant in the cram-school district near Suji-gu Office Station in Yongin, Gyeonggi, serving soba, katsu and rice bowls alongside ramen. Back in a neighborhood full of school-day memories, the writer had dinner at Myeonsikdang: perilla oil buckwheat soba, kimchi mini butadon (pork rice bowl) and mozzarella cheese katsu, with the soft-boiled egg on the soba and the stretchy cheese in the katsu as the highlights. With reasonable prices, solo seats and a self-serve bar, Myeonsikdang is a solid dinner pick near Suji-gu Office Station.

Written Jun 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulRestaurants

Butcher-style Korean BBQ in Sinnonhyeon: Jeju thick-cut black pork

Deo Bareun Jeongyuk Sikdang (더바른정육식당) Gangnam Sinnonhyeon Station Main Branch is a butcher-style Korean BBQ restaurant a 1-minute walk from Sinnonhyeon Station in Gangnam, Seoul. After eating meat every weekend and vowing to try something else, the writer saw the meat display case at the entrance, walked straight in and ordered Jeju thick-cut pork (Jeju geun-gogi, black pork, 600g), grilled by staff and eaten alternately with salt and in doenjang (soybean paste) lettuce wraps. Deo Bareun Jeongyuk Sikdang is a solid recommendation for anyone looking for a group dinner or 4–6 person gathering spot near Gangnam Station and Sinnonhyeon Station.

Written Jun 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulCafés

Dessert café in Sinnonhyeon: Geisha americano & tiramisu, Selecto

Selecto Coffee Sinnonhyeon Branch 24 Auto Brew Cafe is a bakery café near Sinnonhyeon Station in Seocho, Seoul, open 24 hours, staffed by day and unmanned at night. The Mocha americano and the Geisha americano, 3,800 won each, were tasted side by side, along with a ricotta cheese sandwich and a tiramisu. The most memorable part of Selecto Coffee was the floral, fruity Geisha americano paired with the coffee-forward mascarpone tiramisu.

Written Jun 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSuwon, GyeonggiBars

Korean pub in Suwon for team dinners: bossam at Dongbaek Yeonhwa

Dongbaek Yeonhwa Yeongtong Station Main Branch is a Korean pub near Yeongtong Station in Suwon serving bossam (boiled pork wraps), suyuk (sliced boiled pork) and spicy seasoned dishes. For a team dinner with coworkers, the writer ordered suyuk, Dongbaek bossam and spicy whelk and octopus salad with extra somyeon noodles (₩2,000), paired with makgeolli, and liked the roomy space, partitioned group seating and generous portions. For a team dinner near Yeongtong Station, Dongbaek Yeonhwa Yeongtong Station Main Branch is a safe choice.

Written Jun 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceIcheon, GyeonggiRestaurants

Icheon Korean BBQ for an in-law meeting: tofu tangsuyuk, Neul Gogi Jip

Neul Gogi Jip Icheon Main Branch (늘고기집 이천본점) is a pork and beef galbi restaurant on Gyeongchung-daero in Icheon, Gyeonggi. The meal opened with a Korean set-meal-style banchan spread, including tofu tangsuyuk (sweet-and-sour fried tofu) and marinated crab (gejang), followed by 3 servings of nuruk-marinated pork galbi neck at 250g each, grilled at the table by staff, and finished with bibim naengmyeon (spicy cold noodles). With no weak spot across atmosphere, side dishes, main and noodles, Neul Gogi Jip is a safe choice for a family meal or an in-law meeting.

Written Jun 30, 2026Sponsored