Chungmuro buckwheat noodle spot: 10-bowl tomato soba, Nagwon-ui Soba

I visited Nagwon-ui Soba Bossam Kalguksu Chungmuro Station Main Branch, one of the well-known restaurants near Chungmuro Station. Since they make their own buckwheat noodles in-house, the noodles here are much nuttier and hold together far better than at other soba places — genuinely one of the great soba spots. On top of that they do tender bossam (boiled pork wrap) and crispy tonkatsu, so it's a place families and friend groups both visit a lot.

Where is Nagwon-ui Soba Chungmuro Station Main Branch, and when is it open?

• 📍Location: 2F, 2 Seoae-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul — close to both Chungmuro Station and Euljiro 4(sa)-ga Station.
• ⏰Hours: Weekdays 10:00-22:00 / Weekends 10:00-21:00, no break time
• 🚗Parking: Paid public parking available nearby at Mukjeong Park
• ✔️Visit on a rainy day and get a Naver coupon for 3 free dumplings!
• Meal kits can also be ordered through their Smart Store!

Nagwon-ui Soba Chungmuro Station Main Branch, home of the unusual cheongyang tomato soba you can only find near Chungmuro Station

Nagwon-ui Soba is in Chungmuro now, but it's actually an old, longstanding favorite from Seoul National University's Nakseongdae neighborhood. It even got featured on Hong Seok-cheon and Lee Won-il's YouTube channel as a soba spot near SNU haha. These days they've relocated and are operating out of Chungmuro Station. Since they make their own buckwheat noodles in-house, I was excited even before walking in.

The menu board you can see right at the entrance of Nagwon-ui Soba Chungmuro Station Main Branch. Soba is the main focus, but the bossam and their crispy tonkatsu are excellent too.

Second-floor window seats at Nagwon-ui Soba, including solo tables

The restaurant is on the 2nd floor with a full glass window wall across the front, so if you sit by the window the open view really sets a nice mood. Standard tables seat four, there are also 6-tops, and there's solo seating toward the back, so it's easy to visit no matter your group size.

What we ordered: cheongyang tomato soba and bossam for two

• Cheongyang tomato soba ₩14,000 — limited to 10 bowls a day!
• Bossam for two (360g) ₩36,000

After some deliberation, we ordered bossam and the cheongyang tomato soba. I originally wanted to order the lemon soba, but the cheongyang tomato soba is limited to 10 bowls a day.. and I just can't resist a limited item haha. So I picked something to go with the bossam instead.

The banchan at Nagwon-ui Soba: pollock roe soup and two kinds of kimchi

The basic three-piece banchan (side dish) set. The soup was moderately spicy and refreshing — not quite like a typical beef radish soup, more like a spicy stew? It had that clean taste of an alcohol-hangover soup. Plus there was napa cabbage kimchi and green onion kimchi. The kimchi was so good I think it would've paired great with kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) or sujebi (hand-torn dough soup) too.

The dishes started coming out while we were still on the soup — service was quick, so we barely had to wait. But can we talk about the bossam portion?? It was so much food we worried whether the two of us could finish it. (Secretly, we did finish it all haha.)

360g of bossam with seasoned pollock salad at no extra charge

What I loved about the bossam here: it comes with kimchi, radish, and pollock roe salad included! I was genuinely touched. The warm, tender bossam speaks for itself — always delicious — and getting pollock roe salad thrown in for free was the real highlight. The basic setup was perfect too, with wrap greens, salted shrimp, ssamjang (dipping paste), peppers, and garlic.

I wrapped a bite with radish kimchi first, then had another bite with pollock roe salad and kimchi. They give you a good variety of wrap greens too, so it's fun to mix and match to your taste.

What does the 10-bowls-a-day cheongyang tomato soba taste like?

The cheongyang tomato soba, limited to 10 bowls a day. Since I love spicy food, I had high expectations for this one. Honestly I'm not usually a big fan of buckwheat noodles, so I figured I'd mostly enjoy it for the broth — but wow. Maybe because it's made in-house, the buckwheat noodles were chewier than at other buckwheat places, if that makes sense. Really springy and delicious.

Eating the sweet tomato together with a piece or two of the spicy cheongyang pepper made for a great combo with the springy buckwheat noodles. It also went well with the tsuyu-flavored soba broth. Since cheongyang pepper was already in the broth, I didn't even need to mix in wasabi — it was just right as is. And piling a tender piece of bossam on top made it even better. Definitely a refreshing, memorable dish.

📝 Honest review of Nagwon-ui Soba near Chungmuro Station

A certified great buckwheat soba spot carrying on the legacy from its Seoul National University days 👍🏻 The flavors overall are clean and unfussy, easy to enjoy without any hassle. They also have unusual soba menu items you can't find elsewhere, making this a fun place to try something different.