Hwaseong room dining with kids for mackerel and pork set menus

A grilled fish restaurant in Bongdam recommended by a neighborhood mom

Hwadamga is a grilled fish spot in Bongdam that a neighborhood mom recommended after visiting herself and raving about the food. Grilled fish has to be one of the best menus for eating out with kids, right? We went to a kids' café on Saturday afternoon and headed straight to Hwadamga in Bongdam for dinner afterward.

This place just opened recently. It's tucked into a quiet spot past the Jungheung S-Class apartments near the Bongdam E-mart, and the parking lot is big so we parked easily.

Hours and break time

Hwadamga in Bongdam is open from 11am to 10pm. There's a break time from 3pm to 5pm, so plan around that. Besides wood-fired grilled fish, they also do hot-plate grilled Korean beef, pork, and seafood, plus about 20 side dishes at the self-serve bar — plenty for a hearty meal.

Right at the entrance, sacks of Hwaseong's pride, Suhyangmi rice, are stacked up. Anyone who's tried Suhyangmi knows how good and tasty it is. The rice served at Hwadamga is made with Suhyangmi.

The atmosphere and room reservations

Being a newly opened restaurant, the interior was clean and the vibe felt great for gatherings or company dinners too. I only photographed the side without other customers, so there aren't many interior shots, but there were plenty of tables further in and to the side. It's an open layout with partitions, which I liked because it still gives a bit more privacy while eating.

There are also several private rooms on one side, which would be great for birthdays or small gatherings. They don't use the Naver Reservation system yet, so if you want a room, call the restaurant and tell them your headcount and they'll set aside a table for you. Deciding on a menu with a group can be tricky, but here there's grilled fish plus meat and seafood too, so there's a wide range of choices.

What's on the self-serve bar with about 20 dishes

As soon as you walk in, the wide, colorful self-serve bar stands out. At Hwadamga, the grilled fish spot in Bongdam, the self-serve bar offers a whopping 20-plus side dishes and desserts, and every guest can help themselves freely.

A few items had been pulled out for refilling in the middle, but I wanted to show it in detail so I took a video too. This is the central main side dish section, with wraps, vegetables, and salad further back, and japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), meatballs, and seaweed soup near the kitchen side.

The basic spread for the mackerel set and pork set

We ordered two servings each of the wood-fired mackerel set and the charcoal-grilled pork set. The basic spread came with 6 side dishes, barley rice, grilled fish, stir-fried pork, and doenjang (soybean paste) stew, and we could freely add more from the self-serve bar. Think of the basic side dishes as bibimbap (mixed rice) fixings to mix with the barley rice.

Each table had gochujang (red chili paste) and sesame oil on hand. For anyone who's not a fan of barley rice, you can pay ₩2,000 more to switch to a Suhyangmi rice pot. Mixing in all 6 side dishes with a swirl of gochujang and sesame oil made a delicious bibimbap.

Add in the savory doenjang stew loaded with zucchini and tofu, and a bowl disappeared in no time before the mains even arrived.

Charcoal-fired stir-fried pork

The stir-fried pork came out with big chunks of meat stir-fried together with onion, carrot, scallion and other vegetables. Being charcoal-fired, you could taste that smoky char, and we grabbed lettuce, perilla leaves, and garlic from the self-serve bar to wrap it up and eat it deliciously.

Wood-fired mackerel

And the mackerel that the kids devoured at Hwadamga. It's grilled fresh in the wood-fired oven right after you order, so it takes a bit of time, but the mackerel flesh comes out really moist and tender because of it. I've never met a kid who dislikes grilled fish. Hwadamga is a great restaurant to visit with kids in Bongdam.

The kids grabbed seaweed soup, japchae, and meatballs from the self-serve bar and put together a well-rounded, filling dinner alongside the mackerel. Hwadamga is a Bongdam spot that both adults and kids can enjoy together.

On the side of the self-serve bar with the lettuce and perilla leaves, there's also fresh salad and tomato caprese. The dressing was black sesame dressing, which is one of my favorites, and it went so well with the salad that I kept going back for more.

Prices and what to try next time

Both the charcoal pork set and the wood-fired mackerel set were the same price, ₩16,000. I only found out about the rice pot upgrade too late to switch, but next time I want to try it with the rice pot so I can enjoy the crispy scorched rice too.

With affordable prices and a self-serve bar offering about 20 side dishes you can freely help yourself to, Hwadamga is a solid choice. At lunch it's grilled fish, and at dinner you can enjoy a full hot-plate spread of Korean beef, pork, and seafood, plus private rooms are available, making it ideal for group gatherings or company dinners. If you're looking for a room dining spot in Bongdam, I'd recommend Hwadamga!