Avocado burger and crispy chicken lunch set at Buggies Tangbang

My husband and I wanted to grab something good together for lunch, just the two of us, for once. Nothing too fancy though — I'd been looking around for whatever was hot in Tanbang-dong these days, and that's when Buggies Tangbang caught my eye. Since our 14-month-old had to come along too, it wasn't exactly a pure date, but picking out a lunch spot with my husband after a long time still felt pretty nice.

• 61 Gyeryong-ro553beon-angil, Seo-gu, Daejeon, South Korea, 1F
• Daily 11:10–20:30
• Parking: some spots in the building lot (not spacious, so use nearby white-line parking)
• Baby chair ❌️

An American-style burger joint in Tanbang-dong

Walking in, the place felt more American than the typical simple burger shop you'd picture.

The menu is built around burgers, and you order at a kiosk. What I found fun while looking at the order screen was that you can customize the menu. It said you could ask for extra tomato or onion, whatever you like, so adjusting the burger to your own taste seemed like a nice option. What we ordered that day was the crispy chicken set (₩14,500) and the avocado burger set (₩15,800).

Even in photos the burgers had looked pretty big, but they were even more filling than I expected in person.

The avocado burger's soft patty stood out

We started with the avocado burger. Cutting it in half, the patty was quite thick, layered with avocado, bacon, cheese, and a crunchy topping.

Above all, the patty was really soft. Even being thick, it didn't feel dry at all — it chewed softly and you could really taste the meat itself. With the avocado in there, everything blended together even more smoothly. Overall it wasn't the kind of simple burger where each ingredient tastes separate — every bite was packed with multiple flavors at once. The seasoning was a bit salty overall, but honestly, I enjoyed it, salty edge and all.

The crispy chicken delivered on crunch and size

The crispy chicken lived up to its name — the chicken patty was crispy, and the chicken itself was much bigger than I expected. With the crunchy coating and a thick piece of chicken in every bite, this was also a pretty hearty menu item.

My husband and I each had one burger, and after finishing them both we were pretty full.

Visiting with a 14-month-old

We went that day mainly for a lunch date, but our 14-month-old came along too. One downside was that there was no baby chair. Still, there was a hand-washing area inside the store, which was convenient for before and after the meal with a baby. And the staff noticed the baby and gave us a token for the gacha machine.

Thanks to that, we got to try the gacha machine with our little one after eating. This wasn't a visit meant to feed a hamburger to a 14-month-old, but that small kindness when we walked in with a baby stuck with me. The store was also running a Naver review event — participating gets you a Buggies scratch ticket, and it was fun to check out while waiting for our order.

A surprisingly wide range of ages

Something I personally found interesting during the visit was the age range of the customers. I figured a trendy handmade-burger place these days would be mostly young people, but surprisingly there were plenty of guests who looked 50 and older too (the tables next to and in front of us were both 50-plus).

So it felt like a much more varied crowd than I originally expected. Maybe it's because the burgers are done in that American style, packed full of ingredients — it felt different from a simple patty-and-bun burger.

Plan ahead for parking

It's worth checking parking before you go. There was a small amount of parking at the store itself (about 6 spots), and we tried the public parking lot behind the building, but there was no space.

In the end we parked on a side street and walked over. If parking matters for your visit, it's better to give yourself some slack around the area. That said, it's only about 330m from Tanbang Station Exit 4, so taking public transit is also a solid option.

After trying it myself

Buggies Tangbang, where we went for a lunch date, turned out to have burgers heftier than I expected.

The avocado burger stood out for its soft patty and flavor, while the crispy chicken was memorable for the size and heartiness of its crunchy chicken patty. The seasoning was a bit salty, but if you like that rich, packed-full flavor typical of American-style burgers, this is a style you'd probably enjoy. It ended up being a fun meal — finding somewhere new with my husband for once, and even getting to try the gacha machine with our little one.