Stroller-friendly barley rice buffet in Yeongtong, Suwon: Boriook

Boriook, a well-known Korean restaurant in Suwon, is a great spot to take your parents for a barley rice buffet.

I've been so busy with childcare lately that it's been ages since I opened this blog haha 🥹 My mom came to visit and help watch the baby, and in the middle of it all she said she was craving barley rice piled high with namul (seasoned vegetables)~! So I took her to Boriook, a well-known Korean restaurant in Suwon with a clean interior, tidy presentation, and a self-serve bar with unlimited namul and side dish refills :) It was so good I want to go back — let me tell you all about it!

Where is Boriook Main Branch, and what are the hours and parking?

Boriook Main Branch is in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, near Mangpo Station! It's open 10:00-21:00, last order at 20:30, with a break time from 15:00-16:30.

• Hours 10:00 - 21:00
• Last order 20:30
• Break time 15:00 - 16:30

Since it's open from 10am to 9pm, it's a good spot for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!!

Parking at Boriook Main Branch is available right in front of the restaurant, but it's a double-parked layout, so keep that in mind :) Staff will help move cars if needed and keep an eye on your spot, so I had no trouble at all!

Can you bring a baby? Inside Boriook Main Branch

The interior of Boriook Main Branch is really nice and clean, right~?! You might expect an old-school Korean buffet vibe from a barley rice buffet, but it actually has an antique-modern atmosphere, so it's perfect for taking your parents 🫶🏻 ⚠️Boriook Main Branch also has baby chairs ready and allows strollers inside!

Kiosk ordering and the mackerel set for two

Boriook has a kiosk at every table, which made ordering convenient. Every menu comes with stew, barley rice, and access to the self-serve bar, and there are sets with mackerel or gochujang/soy sauce pork as the main dish. Single portions are possible too, just so you know~! We ordered the mackerel set for two 😖

Once you order, they set the barley rice and bowls right away, and you can head straight to the self-serve bar for banchan and namul!

Unlimited namul and side dish refills at Boriook's self-serve bar

If you've ever made Korean banchan, especially namul, you'll know it takes a ton of work and the vegetables aren't cheap, but even after all that effort it barely shows in the dish 🥹 A barley rice buffet with unlimited namul refills?! Eat as much as you want here~~!!

Even the heartier side dishes like japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), braised tofu, and vegetable fritters are refillable. Every single dish tasted great, and the fritters especially were the best 🤍

You could really tell every single side dish and namul was made with care and by hand!! Down to the geotjeori (fresh cabbage kimchi) and yeolmu kimchi (young radish kimchi), so good.

If you need more rice, that's refillable too!! But honestly the standard bowl of barley rice was already plenty haha.

A stew that tastes like cheonggukjang, and house-pressed sesame oil

The stew and grilled mackerel included in the Boriook set arrived quickly too! The banchan and namul were piled on generously — a full, hearty Korean spread 😖

There's gochujang and sesame oil on the table, but the freshly pressed sesame oil has such an amazing aroma — that was the real kick for the barley rice!!!

The stew wasn't store-bought doenjang (soybean paste) — it had that toasty, nutty flavor like homemade grandma-style paste. Somewhere between cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew) and doenjang? The smell wasn't too strong, so it was easy to enjoy without any pressure. Great for mixing into the barley rice too.

Of course, the star is the barley rice!!! Load it up with fresh namul, add gochujang and sesame oil, and it's impossible not to love 🤭

Every namul had great texture and just the right seasoning, so it all came together in a really harmonious flavor!!!

How much mackerel? Half a fish each for two people

The Boriook mackerel set gives you half a mackerel per person, so ordering for two was quite a lot of food! Next time I'll probably come with my husband or mom again and split one mackerel and one pork order. The mackerel was large, the flesh inside was plump, and it was grilled really well — I ate so happily.

Barley rice and stew alone would've been satisfying, but with braised tofu, vegetable fritters, muk (jelly), and japchae too, I couldn't help but overeat,,, every single side dish was delicious!!

The lotus root and mushroom fritters especially were so good and crispy, with fresh ingredients that paired perfectly — I went back for refills even though I was already full..😖🤍

Dessert: puffed rice cakes and peach iced tea

There's even rice puffs for dessert~~! With coffee, plum tea, and peach iced tea too, you don't even need to go to a café afterward..🤍

Fresh, delicious side dishes and unlimited namul refills at a great price — Boriook is a well-known Korean restaurant in Suwon! Go enjoy some barley rice with your parents or family~~!