Gyodae Station gimbap restaurant with a 12,000 won dinner set: Halls

Halls Gimbap Main Branch at Gyodae Station: the former Auto Gimbap Seocho branch under a new name

I went to Halls Gimbap Main Branch (홀스김밥본점), a famous gimbap spot near Gyodae Station. Some of you might know it better as Auto Gimbap Seocho branch — apparently the owner, staff, and taste are all exactly the same, they just changed the name from Auto Gimbap to Halls Gimbap!

What Halls Gimbap Main Branch looks like from outside

It really stood out from a distance thanks to the cute horse character and bright exterior.

They even have outdoor terrace seats, perfect for this kind of weather!! One of the outdoor spots was already taken when I got there haha.

Solo bar table, self-serve bar and kiosk payment at Halls Gimbap

Inside, this Gyodae gimbap spot has a bar table for solo diners plus 4-person tables, so you can eat well here no matter when or who you're with. I especially liked that the solo bar table was on the taller side, which made eating comfortable.

At the self-serve bar you can use MSG-free bonito broth and hot water for cup noodles! The bonito broth can't be taken out, dine-in only.

If you're paying with cash or Zero Pay, pay at the counter; for card payments, everything goes through the kiosk. Each menu item has a photo attached, which made choosing easy haha.

The menu: gimbap, dakgangjeong and tteokbokki, all gimbap with black rice

The main menu is split into gimbap, dakgangjeong, and tteokbokki, with a shelf of various cup noodles off to the side — basically everything you think of when you think of Korean snack food, all in one place. What's especially nice is that this Gyodae gimbap spot only sells hand-rolled gimbap made with black rice, which seems great for health and for anyone dieting!!

Solo dinner order: Jindo green onion tuna gimbap + dakgangjeong set, 12,000 won

I came to Halls Gimbap for a solo dinner and went back and forth on what to order before settling on a set menu. There were quite a few set options too. Jindo green onion tuna gimbap + dakgangjeong set — ₩12,000.

Dakgangjeong that stayed crisp to the last bite

Honestly I was expecting the usual soggy, gooey dakgangjeong you often get, but what came out was crispy, freshly fried, and hot. Tasty enough they could rename it Halls Dakgangjeong! Even eating slowly, it stayed crispy the whole way through, which just made me want more 🤤🤤 If I'd known dakgangjeong was this good, I would've just ordered it on its own plus a gimbap,,!! If you love dakgangjeong, I highly recommend getting it as a standalone item! Because it's genuinely delicious.

The Jindo green onion tuna gimbap: a full roll, 10 pieces

The Jindo green onion tuna gimbap didn't look like a huge portion in photos, but it turned out to be 10 big, generously packed pieces! Even though it's part of a set, they gave a full roll instead of a half roll. The green onion flavor wasn't overpowering or spicy, and it cut through the tuna's richness nicely — people who usually find tuna gimbap a bit greasy would probably enjoy this.

Warm, soft, and crispy — best dakgangjeong of my life,,,♥︎ Already thinking about it again!