Goyang Back Booth Sipper · 7 stories

Back Booth, Seoul and Gyeonggi Cafes

Writes about cafes and restaurants across Seoul and Gyeonggi, favoring quiet back tables. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés

PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Ilsan sushi restaurant for a boyfriend who can't eat sushi: Hwangje

Hwangje Sushi Ilsan Main Branch is a sushi restaurant on Baengma-ro in Ilsan, Goyang, Gyeonggi, on the main road heading from Western Dome toward Lake Park, with plenty of side dishes beyond sushi. Sitting at the sushi bar with a boyfriend who doesn't really eat sushi, the writer shared a VIP 12-piece sushi set with mini udon (25,000 won), tonkatsu (11,500 won) and half-size cold soba (5,000 won), and the complimentary seaweed fulvescens porridge, grilled salmon and potato croquette were satisfying too. Hwangje Sushi Ilsan Main Branch is an Ilsan sushi restaurant where everyone leaves happy, even someone who can't eat sushi.

Written Jun 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Jonggak pizza pub: Friday cheese pizza after Dongmyo shopping, Didi's

Didi's Pizza Pub Jongno Main Branch is a pizza pub on Sambong-ro near Jonggak Station in Jongno, Seoul, with outdoor tables and an annex across the street. After shopping in Dongmyo and Dongdaemun on a Friday evening, we sat outside with a cheese pizza, 2 cheese oven spaghettis, Terra draft beer and Saero soju for somaek (soju mixed with beer). Didi's Pizza Pub is a good Jonggak pizza-and-beer spot for anyone who wants generously cheesy dishes and a lively outdoor-drinking atmosphere.

Written Jul 9, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Katsu and nabe date near Kintekseu Station Exit 2: Jeongseong Katsu

Jeongseong Katsu Ilsan KINTEX (정성카츠 일산킨텍스점) is a tonkatsu and nabe (Japanese hot pot) restaurant on the first floor of the Forena KINTEX building, right outside Exit 2 of Kintekseu Station in Goyang. The writer and her boyfriend shared a triple assorted katsu set with fillet, loin and cheese cutlets and a mini curry, plus a kimchi cheese nabe with tonkatsu in it, and also liked the spicy sauce on the table. The kimchi cheese nabe changed the mind of a writer who never cared for nabe: Jeongseong Katsu Ilsan KINTEX does nabe as well as it does katsu.

Written Jul 18, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Ilsan steak house day-off date: wagyu and ragu pasta, Upstairs Kitchen

Upstairs Kitchen Bamridan-gil Branch is a European-style Western restaurant on Bamridan-gil in Ilsan, Goyang. On a day off, the writer and her boyfriend sat at a floor-to-ceiling window seat at Upstairs Kitchen and shared a 300g premium wagyu sirloin steak cooked medium-rare with tomato ragu pasta, switching between whole-grain mustard and wasabi sauce for different flavor combinations. With food, atmosphere and service all satisfying, Upstairs Kitchen is worth recommending for a date or a special meal.

Written Aug 2, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Goyang pork gukbap restaurant for hangovers, heaped rice: Roman Gukbap

Roman Gukbap is a pork gukbap (pork and rice soup) restaurant in Daehwa-dong, Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang, near Kintex. A hungover couple ordered the Roman Gukbap set (gukbap, suyuk boiled pork slices and sundae blood sausage) and a sundae pork gukbap. They finished every drop of the clear broth, which Roman Gukbap says is made from 100% Korean pork leg bones with no scrap bones, along with the heaped bowls of rice. Verdict: for a hangover meal, go to Roman Gukbap and taste the broth plain before adding any seasoning.

Written Aug 4, 2026Sponsored
PlacePaju, GyeonggiRestaurants

After-work stone-grill Korean BBQ in Yadang, Paju: Girin Samgyeopsal

Girin Samgyeopsal is a newly opened Korean BBQ restaurant in Yadang on Gyeongui-ro in Paju, Gyeonggi, where meat is grilled on a stone plate. After work, two diners ordered 2 servings of fresh pork belly, 1 serving of kkodeulsal (a chewy pork cut) and fried rice. The meal came with free minari (Korean water parsley) and three dipping sauces, and every table at Girin Samgyeopsal had hair ties, dental floss and wet wipes. From the pork to the fried rice and the dessert slushie, Girin Samgyeopsal is a place worth revisiting whenever a pork belly craving hits.

Written Aug 5, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Ilsan noodle restaurant: cold soybean kongguksu at Auseong Gaeseong

Auseong Gaeseong Sonmandu is a 24-hour hand-dumpling and Korean restaurant on Jeongbalsan-ro in Ilsan, Goyang. On a hot day the order was kongguksu (cold soybean noodle soup) made with 100% Paju jangdan soybeans, plus a plate of hand-made dumplings split half kimchi and half meat, pairing thick soybean broth with tightly packed dumplings. For anyone who likes kongguksu rich and creamy, the bowl at Auseong Gaeseong Sonmandu is a satisfying one.

Written Aug 19, 2026Sponsored
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