Seogwipo restaurant with ocean views: Seongsan Bada Punggyeong

Not long ago, Ella took a trip to Jeju. Rather than only racing around tourist sights this time, I made room for delicious food here and there and plenty of sea-gazing, so it was a more relaxed trip.

A place near Seongsan Ilchulbong for cutlassfish dishes with an ocean view

Since I was in Jeju, I thought I had to have cutlassfish at least once! While looking for somewhere to eat near Seongsan Ilchulbong, I found Seongsan Bada Punggyeong Jeju Seongsan Ilchulbong Branch (성산바다풍경 제주성산일출봉점).

True to its name, the sea is close to the restaurant, making it lovely to take in a little ocean scenery along with your meal. The weather was especially beautiful on the day Ella visited, and the view of blue water against Jeju’s black volcanic basalt was quite memorable.

Seongsan Bada Punggyeong is at 17 Ilchul-ro 288beon-gil in Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo. It is close to Seongsan Ilchulbong, so it is an easy stop while exploring eastern Jeju.

Another advantage is that the Jeju sea unfolds right in front of you with just a quick look around! Rather than eating and immediately leaving, I would recommend taking a moment to look around the shore if you have time.

Parking was quite convenient. There is space right in front of the restaurant, and you can see cars parked there in the visit photos too. Lots of Jeju travelers use rental cars, after all. Being able to park right outside and walk in was handy, and the parking area felt fairly spacious :)

At first glance, it was not a sleek, pretty building like the newly opened, stylish Jeju restaurants you see these days. It is instead housed in an older brick building, so for a moment I wondered, “Is this really the restaurant?” haha. But that look somehow feels warmly familiar in Jeju, too.

A large Seongsan Bada Punggyeong sign hangs on the exterior, and there are restaurant notices and funny phrases by the entrance. The one on the door especially made me laugh: “Oh? Are you leaving already? What a shame—we give you whole grilled cutlassfish for free.” Haha, it is the kind of line that makes you read it twice.

More than the building itself, though, my favorite thing was the scenery around the restaurant. Step outside after parking, and the blue Jeju sea and black basalt spread out before you; turn your head a little and you can also see scenery around Seongsan Ilchulbong that feels so distinctly Jeju.

So rather than calling it a restaurant with a pretty exterior, I would describe it as a place where the feel of an old Jeju restaurant meets ocean scenery. It was also nice for taking a few photos by the sea after eating.

A spacious dining room and self-serve station

Once inside, it was a more spacious and comfortable restaurant than I expected.

The tables were set fairly far apart, with wooden tables and chairs, so it looked suitable for a family meal too. Near the entrance was an area where you take off your shoes, with slippers provided. There was also a section on one side where you could help yourself to rice, tableware, and more.

What was especially fun were the notices posted throughout. From “We want to be a kind restaurant. Please be wonderful guests,” to the ordering instructions, everything was written with a little humor, which made the place feel friendly rather than stiff.

Choosing Bada Punggyeong braise according to your hunger

Looking over the menu, Bada Punggyeong braise was clearly the standout. It is a braised dish with both cutlassfish and mackerel, and I thought it was funny that the guide said to choose a size according to how hungry you are(?) rather than how many people are dining, haha.

• Bada Punggyeong braise, large-small ₩39,000
• Bada Punggyeong braise, large-medium ₩59,000
• Bada Punggyeong braise, large-large ₩79,000
• Bada Punggyeong braise, special king-large ₩99,000

What makes it special is that ordering the braise comes with whole grilled cutlassfish, so you can enjoy braised and grilled cutlassfish at once. The menu says, “The ordering standard is the size of your hunger. It is not an order by number of guests!” That gave me a little chuckle :D

Whole grilled cutlassfish and ttukbaegi dishes

If you love cutlassfish, whole grilled cutlassfish is hard to skip. They say it uses only Jeju silver cutlassfish, grilled directly over a flame for a nutty, tender finish. The menu offered sizes starting at ₩28,000.

If you are craving a warm bowl of soup rather than braise or grilled fish, there are ttukbaegi (earthenware pot stew) options too. The ₩16,000 Bada Punggyeong ttukbaegi is a hangover-soup-style stew with fresh seafood and abalone, made by simmering a broth for a long time with blue crab, pollock heads, dried anchovies, kelp, radish, apple, pear, and more before adding the seafood. For something you can only taste in Jeju, there is also the ₩19,000 obunjagi ttukbaegi, cooked with obunjagi, a local small abalone caught by haenyeo women divers, and fresh seafood.

Overall, there was a good spread of Jeju favorites, from whole braised and grilled cutlassfish to seafood ttukbaegi, so it seemed like a fine place for families to choose dishes according to their tastes. Ella ordered the ₩39,000 large-small Bada Punggyeong braise, which comes with complimentary Jeju whole grilled cutlassfish!

Complimentary Jeju whole grilled cutlassfish

Jeju whole grilled cutlassfish

They serve grilled cutlassfish here, and the fish’s size is the first thing you notice. A long, whole fish arrives on the plate, so I thought, wow, how am I supposed to eat this? haha. But a staff member removed the bones and prepared the flesh so it was much easier to eat than expected.

The cutlassfish flesh was thick and tender when I picked up a piece. It was clean-tasting on its own, but putting a piece over hot rice—what more is there to say about that combination? haha. Since the grilled fish was not heavily seasoned, it was easy to appreciate the cutlassfish’s own mild, nutty flavor.

For anyone wanting to properly enjoy a whole cutlassfish along with a satisfying meal of rice, it was an impressive spread from the very first dish.

Whole braised cutlassfish, with delicious seasoned radish too

Whole braised cutlassfish

Of everything we ordered, the dish Ella had been looking forward to most was the whole braised cutlassfish.

When you go for braised cutlassfish in Jeju, the visual matters a lot, right? Rather than arriving in a ttukbaegi(?), a big cutlassfish came with a shallow pool of red sauce, topped with sliced scallions and sesame seeds. It was the kind of presentation that made me reach for my chopsticks the moment it arrived, haha. The red sauce alone really gets your appetite going. You can see in the photos how richly colored it is, right?

There was plenty of sauce over the cutlassfish, with radish and vegetables underneath. It was not just about eating the fish—the radish soaked in sauce was fun to eat too. When Ella has a braised dish like this, I am actually the person who looks for the thoroughly seasoned radish before a piece of fish, haha. When soft-cooked radish is infused with that red sauce, a spoonful of rice naturally follows.

Because it was a whole cutlassfish, there was pleasure in picking off the flesh too. The fish was generously sized, and when I gently separated it with chopsticks, thick white flesh came away. It was good on its own, but for Ella, of course! A piece of cutlassfish on hot white rice! That was the most delicious way to eat it, haha.

Put cutlassfish over rice and add a little braising sauce, and the salty, spicy sauce comes together with the mild fish flavor so beautifully that the rice goes down in no time. This must be why white rice is the ultimate partner for braised cutlassfish.

For Ella, the fish matters in braised cutlassfish, but the seasoning really matters too. Even great fish is disappointing if the sauce feels separate, right? Here, the sauce and fish worked well together: it was good lightly coating the flesh, letting the radish soak up plenty of it, and finally dipping a spoonful of rice into the leftover sauce. Haha, “a braising sauce that calls for rice” feels like exactly the right phrase. Before you know it, a whole bowl of rice has disappeared.

And when you order whole braised cutlassfish, complimentary Jeju whole grilled cutlassfish comes out too! That is quietly amazing, right? haha.

A self-serve corner for more seaweed soup and side dishes

And that was not the end. One thing I quietly loved was being able to have as much miyeokguk (seaweed soup) as I wanted. There were quite a few side dishes too, so it was great alongside the mains and rice.

On one side is a self-serve station where you can bring yourself seaweed soup and side dishes. The soup is kept warm, so it is easy to get more during the meal if you run short, and it was nice to take only as much of the side dishes as you wanted. There was an especially varied selection of side dishes, making it fun to try a little of this and that. Whenever there is a self-serve corner like this, Ella somehow ends up taking another look around, haha.

A satisfying cutlassfish spread during a Seongsan Ilchulbong trip

Seongsan Bada Punggyeong Jeju Seongsan Ilchulbong Branch felt like a place worth stopping by if you want a proper braised-cutlassfish meal. Above all, pulling apart the big whole fish and placing the flesh over hot rice somehow seems even more delicious when you eat it in Jeju, haha.

It was not only braised cutlassfish: with complimentary whole grilled cutlassfish, seaweed soup, and various self-serve side dishes, it was a satisfying place for a full meal overall. Especially for families visiting Jeju with people who enjoy braised cutlassfish, the menu selection and generous portions seem like a good choice for a meal.

Jeju has so many delicious places, but this was a whole braised-cutlassfish spread I think I will remember even after going home. If Ella returns to Jeju next time, I am going to properly mix rice into the remaining sauce and finish every last spoonful, haha.

After such a satisfying braised-cutlassfish meal, it would be a shame to go straight back to the accommodation, right? haha. After eating here, it would be nice to stop by nearby Seongsan Ilchulbong, look at the Jeju sea, and take a slow walk—or make it part of a leisurely itinerary if you have a little extra time!

The braised cutlassfish I had in Jeju—this meal was delicious too!