Suwon Korean restaurant with high chairs for toddlers: Boriook Main

Boriook Main Branch: unlimited barley rice in Mangpo-dong, Suwon

Boriook Main Branch is a Korean restaurant at 99 Yeongtong-ro 200beon-gil, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi. Hours are 10am to 9pm with a break time from 3pm to 4:30pm, parking for about 8 cars in front (tight), and it accepts Suwon local currency.

My friend and I went to a studio today and spent about 2 hours taking photos of the kids... total energy drain. My stomach started growling around 5pm, so we headed to Boriook, a Suwon Korean restaurant my friend recommended. It's near her place, and since she'd already been 4-5 times and recommended it confidently, I tagged along :) We walked over, and the parking space in front fit about 8 cars, with nearby roadside parking signposted too, so keep that in mind if you're driving.

Boriook Main Branch hours, break time and parking

Boriook Main Branch is open from 10am to late at 9pm, with a break time from 3pm to 4:30pm — just avoid that window and you're fine. Below is a map showing nearby roadside parking spots.

How to join the waitlist on CatchTable

My friend said she's had to wait every time she's come, but luckily since we arrived around 5pm for an early dinner, there was no wait. Enter your headcount and phone number on CatchTable, then wait for the KakaoTalk notification before heading in.

Is Boriook Main Branch good with a toddler?

Even though the break time had just ended, the restaurant was already full of diners. High chairs are stocked generously, and the han-jeongsik (Korean set meal) menu has plenty of dishes that appeal to everyone from kids to adults — I'd strongly recommend Boriook Main Branch as a spot for family meals or gatherings. The wood-tone interior gave it a warm feel, and the atmosphere stayed comfortable the whole meal.

Boriook Main Branch menu and how to order

Boriook Main Branch's menu board. Their signature menu has 4 set options: barley rice set, mackerel half-portion set, grilled soy sauce pork set, and grilled gochujang pork set. We ordered two mackerel half-portion sets, since they're easy for kids to eat.

At Boriook, a Suwon Korean restaurant, only 3 things come pre-set: barley rice, doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew), and your main dish (bulgogi, mackerel, whatever you order). Everything else comes from the self-serve corner. Since my friend had been there several times, she knew exactly what to grab, but staff will explain everything to first-timers.

What's on the self-serve bar?

We grabbed the large brass tray they set out and headed to the self-serve bar. I remember being blown away by the spread at a grilled fish restaurant recently, but Boriook Main Branch tops that. From sungnyung (scorched rice tea) to japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), braised tofu, lotus root, chwinamul (aster greens), stir-fried doraji (bellflower root), yeolmu kimchi, bean sprouts, bracken fern, seaweed stem, stir-fried oyster mushrooms, mu-saengchae (radish salad), geotjeori (fresh kimchi), acorn jelly, wrap vegetables — and that's not even everything, since dessert-worthy plum tea, peach tea, ppeongtwigi (puffed rice snacks) and gangjeong (sweet rice puffs) round it all out perfectly.

We piled the bibimbap ingredients, japchae, and fritters onto our plates like this. Plus if you run low on rice, you can grab more white or barley rice from the self-serve corner at no extra charge — so anyone visiting Boriook Main Branch should come prepared for two bowls each.

Mackerel half-portion set, 15,000 won per person

Boriook Main Branch's mackerel half-portion set is ₩15,000 per person. At this price you get a healthy, tasty Korean set meal with unlimited barley rice refills, plus dessert of plum tea, peach tea and snacks — isn't that a steal!

I thought half a mackerel might feel skimpy, but with so many side dishes, half was exactly right. If we'd gotten a whole fish, we'd have been too busy eating mackerel to enjoy the other dishes — this way we could sample everything. The mackerel flesh was moist too, so both my kid and I enjoyed it.

Feeding a 32-month-old at Boriook Main Branch

The doenjang jjigae wasn't spicy, so I gave my 32-month-old some tofu, zucchini and a bit of the broth, and she ate it right up. Grilled mackerel, japchae, bean sprouts, plus white rice from the self-serve bar — that took care of my kid's dinner. Usually when you eat out, you end up paying extra for a kid's rice portion, but I loved that Boriook Main Branch has separate barley and white rice with unlimited refills.

Mixing the barley rice bibimbap

Now let's mix a bowl of barley rice with all sorts of namul (seasoned vegetables), shall we? Sesame oil and gochujang (red chili paste) are set on every table.

Add whichever namul you like — seaweed stem, bracken fern, mu-saengchae, bean sprouts, oyster mushrooms, chwinamul — then a spoonful of gochujang and a swirl of sesame oil, and your barley bibimbap is complete.

I ordered the mackerel because of my kid, but if it's just adults, Boriook's basic barley rice set at ₩13,000 would be plenty. Fill up on a hearty bowl of barley bibimbap, add japchae and assorted fritters from the self-serve corner, finish with sungnyung, then dessert of plum tea, peach tea and snacks — that sounds like the perfect meal.

Back for refills: japchae and fritters

After finishing the side dishes we'd brought earlier, we went back for this much more. The japchae quality at Boriook Main Branch is really excellent, the acorn jelly is soft, and the fritters refill well too — you have no idea how good they are piping hot straight out of the fryer. There's sweet pumpkin, sweet potato, lotus root, and chili pepper fritters too, and for a moment I thought all this needed was some tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) to be perfect haha... already getting hungry again just thinking about it, not gonna lie!

Dessert tea and the verdict on Boriook Main Branch

We were already stuffed, but the kids love ppeongtwigi, so we probably ate about 10 pieces of that too. Had a cup of plum tea to help digestion and some sweet gangjeong, and having visited Boriook on my friend's recommendation, I can see exactly why she recommends it. I'm definitely planning to bring my parents here next time :-) Affordable and delicious, Boriook Main Branch lets you enjoy over 20 self-serve dishes with unlimited refills. I confidently recommend it as a Suwon Korean restaurant ★★★★★