Chinese restaurant near Deoksugung for a late lunch and beer: Huhugwan

On a day I'd been to Deoksugung Palace, I went looking for lunch nearby and found this City Hall Station favorite, Huhugwan (후후관).

There are plenty of office-worker restaurants around City Hall Station, but that day I was drawn to somewhere with a good vibe, not just an ordinary place ❤

Once I actually went in, the atmosphere was way better than I expected, and the taste!! Like, the taste is amazing?!

A lunch spot I really lucked into near City Hall Station. And I liked it even more because it's also a place you can have a drink in the evening.

Fall has finally arrived ❤ These days I've been going to City Hall Station a lot since Deoksugung, the Seoul Museum of Art, and the Seoul City Hall Station sky observatory are all popular, and this is where I found a real gem!

Where Huhugwan is and what's on the lunch and dinner menus

Huhugwan is a Chinese restaurant on the 2nd floor of the building at 2 Seosomun-ro 11-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul. Finally, a place for proper Chinese food — it's on the 2nd floor, so you go in through this entrance.

This place has separate lunch dishes and evening drinking-food menus — at lunch you can enjoy various Chinese dishes, and in the evening you can eat proper, hearty Chinese cuisine.

It fills up with office workers during meal times, so I visited a bit after the lunch rush and could enjoy it at ease. Huhugwan also has a waiting area set up.

A dining room straight out of a Hong Kong movie

Huhugwan looked even better once I stepped inside than it did from outside.

The space was bigger than I expected, and big windows showed the outside scenery. Since you could see a tree by the window in particular, it felt a bit relaxing even though it's right in the middle of downtown.

And Hong Kong movie posters were pasted here and there. That subtly elevated the mood.

Rather than feeling like a trendy modern café, it had the vibe of a Chinese restaurant you'd see in a Hong Kong film, which felt refreshingly different. It's open-kitchen style, so you could catch glimpses of the food being prepared, which kind of made me feel like I was traveling in China or Hong Kong, and the BGM played familiar songs that made the atmosphere even better!

It seemed like a good spot to grab a meal or a drink while on a date near Deoksugung, and also great to visit for a lunch appointment near City Hall Station. With group seating available too, it seemed perfect for work dinners or gatherings.

Huhugwan's lunch menu near City Hall Station

Huhugwan's lunch menu has both meal dishes and simple bar-food dishes. In the evening there are more delicious bar-food dishes like cumin lamb ribs, braised beef shank hot pot, mala hot pot 👍 I picked the two popular menu items, mapo tofu rice and eggplant rice bowl, one each. And decided to have a daytime beer ❤

You could also get a free item for writing a review, and I got fried dumplings 👍

Mapo tofu rice and eggplant rice bowl: how the food tasted

First, ordering a meal dish came with egg soup ❤ Egg soup that dissolves smoothly in your mouth — already a pass!!!

And here's what came out! Doesn't everything look hearty and delicious?!! From the left: eggplant rice bowl, complimentary fried dumplings, mapo tofu rice. I was seriously excited ❤

I tried the eggplant rice bowl first, and wow.. it made me think, you can fry eggplant this deliciously? I already like eggplant, but frying it makes it even better, I have to admit!!

On top of that, the soft sauce had finely diced vegetables mixed in, and it just kept going down easily!! The rice portion was generous too, plenty for a grown man to fill up on.

The mapo tofu rice came with the mapo tofu and rice served separately. It was my first time seeing a whole block of tofu served like this — the surface seemed lightly fried, so when you bit into it, it was chewy yet even more savory. And the sauce was totally my type ❤

It had a moderately punchy flavor, with a charm opposite to the eggplant rice bowl. A faint spicy aroma lingered, and it made me want a beer right away.

Even the complimentary fried dumplings were exceptional at this City Hall Station spot. Why is this so good? The chili oil sauce drizzled on top matched so well too 😍

It was a perfect combo of daytime-beer-worthy food and weather. Oh, and the atmosphere!!!! With Hong Kong movie OST playing in the background, there was no way I couldn't drink a beer.

Is Huhugwan good for a late lunch or eating alone?

Huhugwan's break time is at 16:00, so it's fine to come during a late lunch or awkward hours. It's also a place you can dine solo without any pressure.

It nailed both mood and taste more than I expected — I'd recommend it if you're on a date near Deoksugung or the Seoul Museum of Art, or if office workers nearby are looking for a lunch spot. I got to have a great Chinese food experience, so I've saved it as a place to visit again ❤

Next time I'll have to go here for drinks.

Huhugwan hours, break time and reservations

• Address: 2F, 2 Seosomun-ro 11-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Mon–Fri 11:00–23:00
• Break time: 16:00–17:00
• Closed Sat–Sun for now due to store circumstances
• Reservations available via Naver Reservation