Grilled tilefish and cheonggukjang set near Jeju Airport: Naneun

A filling grilled fish meal near Jeju Airport

Whether you're starting or wrapping up a trip to Jeju, you end up looking for somewhere to eat near the airport. This time I visited Naneun Jigeum Saengseoni Meokgo Sipda Yongdam Airport Branch (나는 지금 생선이 먹고 싶다 용담공항점) in Yongdam-dong, close to Jeju Airport.

The name itself is a bit of a laugh — it literally means "I want to eat fish right now" — so it sticks in your memory once you hear it haha.

Best of all, you can get grilled and braised fish together, so it seemed like a good option for a family meal too.

What comes with the dad's set for two: tilefish, braised cutlassfish and cheonggukjang

We ordered the dad's set for two. This set comes with grilled fish, braised fish, and a stew all together, so it made for a nicely full spread on the table.

For the grilled fish in the dad's set, we swapped the base fish for tilefish. Switching to tilefish adds ₩2,000, but since we were in Jeju, it felt right to try the grilled tilefish.

For the braise, you can choose between mackerel and cutlassfish, and we went with braised cutlassfish. You can also choose your stew — cheonggukjang, soft tofu stew, or kimchi jjigae.

There was no need to think twice for me here haha. I'm the kind of person who could happily eat cheonggukjang for the rest of my life, so I went straight for it.

With the grilled fish, braise, and stew all out, it felt like a pretty generous single meal.

Flame-grilled tilefish: golden outside, moist inside

The grilled fish was the highlight of this meal for me. Because it's cooked over direct charcoal fire, the outside came out nicely golden while the inside stayed moist — I really liked that.

Grilled fish can sometimes turn out too dry or too heavily seasoned, making you eat way more rice than you meant to, but the tilefish here was clean and let the fish's own flavor come through nicely.

Tilefish in Jeju really does go well with rice. It's good on its own, and good dipped in the sauce that comes with it too.

We also had the braised cutlassfish, and the seasoning had soaked well into the fish, pairing nicely with rice. Having both grilled and braised fish at once made the meal feel richer than ordering just one dish, and anyone who loves grilled fish like I do would probably be especially happy here.

Parking and timing: eating here before or after a Jeju flight

Since it's located in Yongdam-dong, close to Jeju Airport, it fits easily into a travel schedule. It works as a first meal after landing in Jeju, and it's just as good for a hearty meal before heading to the airport on your last day.

For a family meal with kids, ordering grilled fish along with a stew seems like a good combo too. For parking, you can use the Hancheon Bokgaecheon temporary lot in front of Jeju Top Mart, right across the street. The address is 3 Yonghan-ro, Jeju-si, and it's free, so I could eat without worrying about parking.

If you're near the airport during your Jeju trip and can't decide what to eat, and a clean, filling fish table comes to mind, this place is worth a stop.

Of everything I ate this time, the grilled tilefish stuck with me the most. People often go for black pork or noodle soup in Jeju, but sometimes you just crave grilled fish that pairs perfectly with a bowl of rice.

This is the kind of place that comes to mind for those moments. If today's just one of those days when you want fish, you might enjoy a warm grilled fish meal at Naneun Jigeum Saengseoni Meokgo Sipda Yongdam Airport Branch near Jeju Airport.