Gangneung makguksu restaurant for five at weekend dinner: Gossi's

I'm Jojang-geum, a certified Korean, Western, and Chinese cuisine cook. Gangmun Beach is one of the prettiest stretches of the East Sea that comes to mind when you think of a Gangneung trip! Right across from Gangmun Beach, with an ocean view to boast, is a locally-recommended Gangneung restaurant I want to introduce today: Gossi's Donghae Makguksu & Sundubu Kalguksu Main Branch.

• Basic info
• The shop and menu
• The food
• Final verdict

You can get all kinds of makguksu (buckwheat noodles), chodang sundubu (soft tofu), and buckwheat gimbap here! Thanks to the window tables looking out at Gangmun Beach, this locally-recommended Gangneung restaurant is famous with both locals and tourists — Gossi's Donghae Makguksu & Sundubu Kalguksu Main Branch.

Where is Gossi's Donghae Makguksu in Gangneung, and what are the hours?

• Name: Gossi's Donghae Makguksu & Sundubu Kalguksu Main Branch, Gangneung
• Address: 1st-3rd floor, 25 Changhae-ro 350beon-gil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do
• Hours: Mon-Fri 10:00-20:30, Sat-Sun 08:00-20:30
• Break time: Daily 15:30-17:00
• Last order: Daily 20:00

Parking and seats: free public parking and 2nd-floor ocean-view windows

For parking at this Gangmun Beach favorite, Gossi's Donghae Makguksu & Sundubu Kalguksu Main Branch, you can use the nearby Public Parking Lot 1 or 2. After paying your bill, just tell the staff — free parking service is available!

Checkout was on the 1st floor, and dining was on the 2nd and 3rd floors! We came on a weekend evening, and headed up to the 2nd floor to grab a seat.

The most popular seats were the window ones looking out at the blue East Sea! Two-seaters lined up side by side where you can eat while looking out at Gangmun Beach.

Since there were five of us, we settled into a comfortable table! The place was pretty spacious with plenty of tables, so we could sit down easily without a separate reservation.

What especially stood out at this locally-recommended Gangneung restaurant, Gossi's Donghae Makguksu & Sundubu Kalguksu Main Branch, is that they make the noodles fresh in-house the moment you order — house-made noodles.

Under the motto that good ingredients make good taste, they honestly use buckwheat noodles aged with black vinegar for the buckwheat gimbap, boiled pork simmered in Gangwon-do's black soybean paste and 15 natural ingredients, perilla oil makguksu made with perilla oil pressed directly in Yangyang, and sundubu kalguksu with chodang sundubu made from pristine seawater, and more!

Built on good Gangwon-do ingredients, this was truly a Gangmun Beach restaurant in Gangneung where you could taste real Gangwon-do craftsmanship.

There was also a self-serve bar set up in one corner of the restaurant! Radish kimchi, diced radish kimchi, and young radish kimchi, plus side plates and scissors — you could grab whatever extra side dishes or utensils you needed and use them freely.

Gossi's menu: makguksu, sundubu kalguksu and buckwheat gimbap

Gossi's Donghae Makguksu & Sundubu Kalguksu Main Branch, a top Gangneung makguksu spot, makes noodles fresh to order. Beyond buckwheat makguksu, you could also order sundubu kalguksu and buckwheat gimbap. They sold a wide range: spicy sundubu kalguksu, spicy sundubu rice, perilla sundubu kalguksu, perilla sundubu rice, mul-makguksu (cold noodles in broth), bibim-makguksu (spicy mixed noodles), pine nut sundubu makguksu, and perilla oil makguksu.

On top of that there was boiled pork and a variety of buckwheat gimbap! Salad, flying fish roe, cream cheese, hot pepper, snow crab stick, soy-braised pork, spicy pork, avocado, salmon, eel — buckwheat gimbap came with all kinds of fillings.

What five people ordered: the set for two plus perilla oil makguksu and gimbap

We ordered the 2-person set with mul-makguksu, bibim-makguksu, and boiled pork! Plus perilla oil makguksu and salad buckwheat gimbap — quite a range of menu items. Basic side dishes were diced radish kimchi, young radish kimchi, and pickled radish kimchi, and we also got a refreshing cold broth to pour over the bibim-makguksu.

Salad buckwheat gimbap (seaweed rice roll)

The healthy salad buckwheat gimbap came out first! No rice — just packed full of buckwheat noodles with various vegetables.

Loaded with vegetables, the crunchy texture really came through! And since there was no rice, it was easy on the stomach and felt genuinely healthy.

Cabbage, cucumber, carrot — the crunchy textures were the charm, I think! The mayo-based sauce was mixed in just the right amount too, adding a nice savory note to this salad buckwheat gimbap.

Suyuk (boiled pork slices)

The boiled pork came out warm and freshly boiled!! The fat and lean meat were in good balance, and it was clean and mild with no pork smell at all. Wrapping it with the makguksu, eaten like yuk-ssam style, was honestly so good.

Mul-makguksu in chilled broth

A classic mul-makguksu, its noodles submerged in a cool, clean broth. Loaded with seaweed flakes, sesame seeds, and cucumber on top.

The noodles were soft, probably because they're made fresh in-house! The buckwheat content seemed pretty high too! The slightly brittle texture and the subtle nutty buckwheat aroma were a real treat.

Enjoyed with the cool broth, this mul-makguksu had no spice at all, making it a basic style that anyone, young or old, would love.

Bibim-makguksu with spicy sauce

This bibim-makguksu let you taste spicy, tangy, and sweet all at once. Topped generously with cheongyang chili, the sharp heat that spread through your mouth was clean and became a real charm point.

We first calmed our stomachs with the boiled egg, then dug into the spicy-tangy-sweet bibim-makguksu in earnest! If it felt like something was missing, you could add vinegar, mustard, or sugar from the table to DIY your own style.

The noodles matched perfectly with the addictive sauce! It didn't feel overly artificial, and the subtle savoriness felt like a genuine charm of this locally-recommended Gangneung restaurant, Gossi's Donghae Makguksu & Sundubu Kalguksu Main Branch.

Perilla oil makguksu

Generously drizzled with fragrant perilla oil, this was a healthy, savory, umami-packed perilla oil makguksu. Seaweed flakes and sesame seeds were added without holding back, and there was even a topping of sprouts!!

Not artificial at all, just plain and mild! You could really taste the deep, rich flavor of the perilla oil — no spice, just the natural nutty aroma of the buckwheat noodles together with savory perilla oil, sesame seeds, and umami-packed seaweed flakes!! Nothing special about the ingredients on paper, but the taste was amazing.

Verdict: why Gossi's suits a group sharing three makguksu styles

With the trio of makguksu each offering its own distinct charm, plus the easy-on-the-stomach, healthy buckwheat gimbap and thoroughly boiled pork, this Gangneung makguksu restaurant let us experience the full appeal of Gangwon-do — Gossi's Donghae Makguksu & Sundubu Kalguksu Main Branch.

Being able to eat while looking out at Gangmun Beach, plus not having to worry about parking thanks to the nearby municipal lot, this felt like a locally-recommended Gangneung restaurant that locals and tourists alike would keep coming back to — my honest review of Gossi's Donghae Makguksu & Sundubu Kalguksu Main Branch.