Daegu Korean restaurant comparing two pork set meals: Cafe Dongi

Hi, this is Pig Professor!

Suddenly it got nice and cool out, and that meant I could finally go somewhere I couldn't even think about in the heat — I went on a trip to Daegu! A friend's wedding happened to be there too, so I killed two birds with one stone, and honestly, Daegu had so many delicious, wallet-friendly places that I just had to write about it.

Everyone was so kind, and I came back with a full stomach. I'm going to post about Cafe Dongi Dongseong-ro Main Branch, the restaurant that kicked off my Daegu trip. I saw the name and thought, is this a café? But it turned out to be a super popular Korean set-meal restaurant in Daegu. Let me introduce it!

Cafe Dongi Dongseong-ro Main Branch: hours and location

• Name: Cafe Dongi Dongseong-ro Main Branch
• Location: 58-9 Dongseong-ro 3-gil, Jung-gu, Daegu, South Korea, 2nd floor
• Closed: None (open daily)
• Hours: 11:00 – 21:00 (break time 15:00 – 16:30)

Finding the entrance and the 10% prepay benefit

Cafe Dongi Dongseong-ro Main Branch is on the 2nd floor of a building on Dongseong-ro street, so you take the elevator up. I drove about four hours from Seoul and I was starving by the time I got there, so I parked in Dongseong-ro and headed straight for the restaurant.

From outside it really looks like a café, but the standing sign out front was packed with restaurant menu items, and just looking at it made me feel a little fuller already.

Riding up the elevator, I noticed there's a prepay perk here. A must-know for anyone working nearby — an extra 10%! How great is that.

Inside Cafe Dongi and the free fried-egg self-serve bar

The interior of Cafe Dongi Dongseong-ro Main Branch was really spacious and clean, and the staff were incredibly kind. I was shown to a table and immediately given an explanation of how everything worked.

The charm of this Dongseong-ro restaurant is that fried eggs are free! These days nothing is cheap, so free fried eggs? I cracked three right away. Just take as much as you'll eat! And they even use organic nuruk salt — the quality is on point even here.

There's also a welcome drink and a barley snack for dessert. I loaded up nicely and headed to my seat.

The Cafe Dongi menu: how cheap is it really?

There are proper set menus and a solid lineup of sides too — honestly, this looks like a spread that would easily cost ₩20,000 in Seoul. And some menu items, like the yeolmu bibimbap (radish green rice bowl), are under ₩10,000. Truly great value.

There's even a kids' menu. No wonder little friends kept coming in steadily.

Jeyuk hansang vs bulbaek: which pork set was better?

At Cafe Dongi Dongseong-ro Main Branch, once you order and wait, the food comes out pretty fast — and it's actually delivered by a robot! It's been around for a while but I still find it so fascinating. It comes rolling in fully loaded with dishes top and bottom, and there's something kind of cute about it.

Starting with the jeyuk hansang (spicy stir-fried pork set) — I added kimchi jeon (kimchi pancake) as a side to this one. A set that comes with an individual grill, for under ₩13,000... how is that even possible.

Rice was piled high, and it came with doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew), side dishes, and even omija tea for dessert. The amount of meat wasn't lacking either.

This here is bulbaek (grilled bulgogi set)! It was mild and had more vegetables, which suited my taste. It was clearly stir-fried until the seasoning properly caramelized onto the meat, so I liked that they took real time on this dish. The rest of the side dishes were the same as the jeyuk bokkeum.

There was plenty of meat, so the tightly packed bowl of rice never fell short until the very last bite.

The seasoning was just right and there was no gamey smell from the meat at all — you could tell it was made with real care. Top it off with a fried egg and it's paradise!

Sides at Cafe Dongi: kimchi jeon and tangsuyuk

The sides at Cafe Dongi Dongseong-ro Main Branch were also very reasonably priced — but that doesn't mean lower quality. The tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork) came with a whole slice of lemon, and the kimchi jeon was crispy and really delicious.

Between the stew and the tangsuyuk, before I knew it, the rice was gone! I was supposed to go get dessert at the pancake shop next door after this, but I ended up completely inhaling everything without thinking. It was such a satisfying first meal on my Daegu trip. If you're looking for a great-value restaurant in Dongseong-ro, be sure to visit!